The Massacre at Dunkirk

3 June 1939 - Allied Forces took another blow, perhaps a fatal one, in their conflict against Germany. The past year has seen the fall of Poland, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, and Luxembourg, and the invasion of Norway who teeters on the edge of surrender. German forces have crashed through French defenses, bypassing the Maginot Line, leading to an unprecedented advance and the pocketing of French and British forces at Dunkirk. Those Allied forces are now either wiped out or have surrendered.

Following a series of clear skies over the past several days, the Luftwaffe bombed Allied Forces at will inflicting horrid damage to forces on the ground as well as to Allied ships attempting to extract soldiers to the British Isles. Port facilities also took a major blow limiting naval access. Pandemonium ruled as soldiers threw down their weapons and battled with one another for seats on the few ships that made it through, the lines evaporating as every man thought of himself. German forces drove into the chaos on May 28 and gradually crushed all resistance. Only 45,000 Allied troops escaped. Casualties and dead are estimated in the hundreds of thousands.

The RAF did their best to ease the relentless onslaught on the RN and Allied soldiers, flying from their bases in Britain to try and disperse Luftwaffe aircraft. The RAF suffered heavy losses, all for nought.

France is not expected to survive the month as little stands in the way of German forces and Paris. Already, the French government is preparing to evacuate to the south. Britain, her Army all but gone, finds herself in dire circumstances. Prime Minister Chamberlain's government is facing its end with calls for peace before the Empire is torn apart.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune