dunkirk a race agains't time

[mark windley]

hi all
just woundering does any one know any think about this mini series
regards mark

[ShirlGirl]

No sorry - I don't know of any thinks about it.

...but I'm fascinated as to why "against" would be given an apostrophe!

[ChristineCB]

Mark, does it add/detract from your prior knowledge on the subject? More positives than negatives?

[Fareham_Bee]

If it was the recently shown docu/drama on UK History it was very well made and very informative. I learnt an awful lot from it. Some cameo performances from well know faces too, - DON'T ask me to name them, not in a thinking mood.

As UK History showed it on freeview recently it is bound to be shown again soon.

[ChristineCB]

It's a small period in the war I've never studied and only come across it anecdotally ("Goering has Werchmacht hold up so he can prove what air-power can do") from time to time. I hate to admit that MRS MINIVER's inclusion of it makes me more fascinated in those events than any other anecdote.

[Steve Crook]

Originally Posted by ChristineCB It's a small period in the war I've never studied and only come across it anecdotally ("Goering has Werchmacht hold up so he can prove what air-power can do") from time to time. I hate to admit that MRS MINIVER's inclusion of it makes me more fascinated in those events than any other anecdote.

Dunkirk (1958) tells the story quite well from a few different viewpoints, although that is a drama of course. With John Mills as a corporal left in charge of some men trying to get to the beach after their officer is killed. Various civilian boat owners are brought in to help rescue the troops, including Dickie Attenborough who does a minor version of his snivelling coward act.


The Wikipedia article gives some good information and pointers to further reading.

It certainly wasn't a victory for our side. It was a miracle that the Nazis stopped or slowed as much as they did and let so many get away.

The Luftwaffe did do quite a bit of damage and the soldiers were all asking where the RAF was. The answer is that they were on the edges, keeping the rest of the Luftwaffe away. The soldiers only saw the few that got through.

Similarly, the Wermacht didn't stop completely, but they were held up by troops, mainly rifle brigades, who knew that they were almost certainly not going to be able to be evacuated. Sure enough most of them were killed or captured.

The French complained that not enough of their troops were evacuated. But about 30% of the more than 300,000 troops evacuated were French

If they hadn't managed to evacuate so many Allied troops then we probably would have had to surrender quite quickly afterwards because there would have been no troops to resist an invasion.

Steve

[dogstar]

.As the saying goes ShirlGirl, 'if you can't say anything nice say nothing'. :-)

[ChristineCB]

Steve, yes, that's what I've understood. I wondered if this mini-series was more detailed, more drama & character (probably fictionalizing or sensationalizing it), or if it gave more accurate historical insight to some of the questions about why the French were headed there, why their evacuations weren't more complete, or maybe the interesting tales of those who were left behind but weren't killed.

[orpheum]

what is rarely mentioned are the disasters such as the sinking of HMT Lancastria just outside St Nazaire when nearly 5000 troops were lost when the ship was sunk.I have had the good fortune to be at one of the memorial services held on the anniversary each year with the dwindling band of survivors.

[sippog]

The French have a fairly jaundiced view of Dunkirk; if the 60's film "Weekend At Dunkirk" (aka "Weekend a Zuydecoote"), starring Jean Paul Belmondo, is anything to go by. I saw it when it first came out and, at 16, was struck by the raw battle scenes and the anti-war message.

Incidentally I've been trying to get a copy of this for some time with English subtitles. The French DVD release doesn't have them. Anyone help?