Dunkirk: The Construction of a Myth and the Anatomy of a Naval Miracle, May–June 1940
Operation Dynamo was not a romantic miracle but a complex military evacuation. Enabled by naval planning, German hesitation, and French sacrifice, Dunkirk lifted 338,226 troops via damaged ports and beaches. It exposed coalition friction and air-sea realities, leaving Britain militarily disarmed yet strategically resilient in morale