Dunkirk!

This is coolbert:

Thanks to the Mail Online we have the pronouncements of a fellow blogger, Peter Hitchens. English bloke attempting to debunk the "myth" of British evacuation at Dunkirk [1940]! Peter - - an iconoclastic and acerbic writer, self-assured of his opinions. Even taking glee in stirring up controversy?

"This is Peter Hitchens' Mail on Sunday column"

"Dunkirk: Are we finally ready to face the truth?"

"I think enough time has passed since Dunkirk for us [British] to admit the truth about it. It was not a triumph, but a terrible national defeat – surpassed in the 20th Century only by the other Churchillian catastrophe of Singapore in 1942."

"Having entered a war for which we were wholly unready, for a cause which was already lost, at a time we did not choose and with allies on whom we could not rely, we were flung off the continent of Europe in weeks. Only thanks to a double devil’s pact did we survive as a nation."

"Sooner or later, the fuzzy, cosy myth of World War Two and our ‘Finest Hour’ will fade. We once needed to pretend Dunkirk was a triumph. If we are to carve our way in a hostile world, we now need to understand – as those who were actually on the beaches well knew – that it wasn’t any such thing."

According to Peter: "it wasn’t any such thing."

To be sure, the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force [BEF], France, 1940, was a manifestation of a severe defeat [on land] during the Battle of France, 194. YES! 100 % agreement about that.

BUT - - Peter is also in part wrong! The ability to evacuate 300,000 troops, minus impedimenta [their gear], was a MAJOR SUCCESS!!

ONLY TWO NATIONS IN THE HISTORY OF WARFARE HAVE EVER BEEN ABLE TO SUCCESSFULLY CONDUCT SUCH MILITARY OPERATIONS! A reverse amphibious operation, UNDER FIRE, evacuation, departing the beaches for ships rather than landing from ships! ONLY THE ENGLISH [DUNKIRK] AND AMERICANS [HUNGNAM, KOREA] HAVE EVER DEMONSTRATED SUCH A CAPABILITY! To the extent that Dunkirk was carried out as it was, represents not a failure, but a success.

[American units being evacuated from Hungnam in addition departed with all their impedimenta, a remarkable feat!!]

Amphibious operations are generally conceded to the most difficult of all military endeavors. Going from one element [water] to another [land] is intuitively hard and presents certain unique problems.

See my prior blog entry on the entire topic of successful reverse amphibious operations.

I must also qualify my prior statement that only the English and U.S. has shown a capacity to carry out reverse amphibious operations. The German during Operation Hannibal also demonstrated a surprising, almost amazing adeptness at such "maneuvers".

Peter is in part right and part wrong, and Bert is here to correct him.

NOW you know the rest of the story.

coolbert.