Britain in 1940

📋 Plan du Cours

1. The Dunkirk Evacuation
2. The Battle of Britain
3. The Blitz and British Resistance

📅 Repères chronologiques

1. May 26, 1940The evacuation of Dunkirk began after the Allied armies in northern France had been surrounded by the German advance.
2. June 4, 1940The evacuation had saved 198,000 British troops and 140,000 French and Belgian troops, although virtually all their heavy equipment had been abandoned.
3. July 10, 1940The Luftwaffe began attacking British ships before bombing British air bases, aircraft factories, and radar stations.
4. September 7, 1940The Blitz began around 4 p.m., and more than one million bombs were dropped on London during 57 nights until November 2.
5. October 12, 1940Hitler announced that the invasion of England was postponed for the winter, and the invasion plans were cancelled by spring 1941.
6. May 11, 1941Hitler called off the Blitz after eight months of attacks that had killed 60,000 people, seriously injured 87,000, and destroyed two million homes.

📖 1. The Dunkirk Evacuation

★ À maîtriser

• The civilian boats that helped ferry Allied troops to safety became known as the “Little Ships”, giving rise to the expression “Dunkirk spirit”.

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