After Dunkirk was evacuated in the opening days of World War II in Europe, there were still plenty of soldiers left on the continent who despised Nazi Germany, but were now stuck in enemy territory. With France fallen and Spain friendly to Germany, there was nowhere for such soldiers to go. So the British decided to try rescuing them.
The order went out to any remaining British Expeditionary Forces who had missed Dunkirk, and any friendly forces, including French, Belgium Polish, Czech, et cetera. If they could get to the ports along the French west coast, they might get picked up by a British ship, and evacuated to Britain. Every ship available began visiting the French west coast; many merchant ships were requisitioned to assist in the evacuation, some little more than sail boats. But it worked! They were able to rescue 191,870 fighting men including 144,171 British, 18,246 French, 24,352 Polish, 4,938 Czechs, and 163 Belgians. Each soldier was one more person that could eventually be sent back to fight the Nazis.
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário