Dunkirk was victory for morale but ultimately a humiliating military defeat

Pride that the British people felt after successful rescue of the country's men had casualties too

For Britons, Dunkirk is one of the proudest moments of World War II. The evacuation of 338,226 troops and other personnel from the beaches of northern France – which took place between May 26 and June 4 1940 – was an act of stubborn defiance by a plucky island nation against Hitler’s blitzkrieg. It was a victory snatched from the jaws of defeat.

Yet this was anything but a military success. Quite often we now forget the catastrophic defeat that led to “Operation Dynamo”.

On May 10, 1940, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) – totalling approximately