70 Years ago today, the allies initiated a vast evacuation of British and French troops from the beaches of Dunkirk, after they were cut off by the Germans in the Battle of Dunkirk.
Dunkirk evacuation in maps
Over 200 ships where lost, and close to 500 planes as the RAF diligently protected the fleet from the Luftwaffe.
Given that initial plans had been to evacuate 45,000, the fact that 338,226 soldiers were rescued is a great testament to the planning and execution of the operation. In his famous speech to the House of Commons ("We shall fight them on the beaches"), Churchill called the events in France "a colossal military disaster", saying that "the whole root and core and brain of the British Army" had been stranded at Dunkirk and seemed about to perish or be captured. He hailed their rescue as a "miracle of deliverance".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunkirk_Evacuation and an interesting read from one of the "little ships of Dunkirk".