The siege of Dunkirk in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

(also known as the Second Battle of Dunkirk) began in September 1944, when Allied units of the

Second Canadian Division The 2nd Canadian Division (2 Cdn Div; french: 2e Division du Canada) is a formation of the Canadian Army in the province of Quebec, Canada. The present command was created 2013 when Land Force Quebec Area was re-designated. The main unit housed ...

surrounded the fortified city and port of

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.official end of the war in Europe. German units within the fortress withstood probing attacks and as the opening of the port of

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

was more important, the

21st Army Group The 21st Army Group was a British headquarters formation formed during the Second World War. It controlled two field armies and other supporting units, consisting primarily of the British Second Army and the First Canadian Army. Established in ...

commander, Field Marshal

Bernard Montgomery Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, (; 17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976), nicknamed "Monty", was a senior British Army officer who served in the First World War, the Irish War of Independence and t ...

, decided to contain but not capture Dunkirk with the 1st Czechoslovak Armoured Brigade. The

fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

, commanded by Admiral

Friedrich Frisius Friedrich Frisius (17 January 1895 – 30 August 1970) was a German naval commander of World War II. Life Born in 1895 in Bad Salzuflen, son of the Lutheran pastor Karl Friedrich Wilhelm Frisius and his wife Karoline Luise Antoinette, Frisius ente ...

, eventually surrendered unconditionally to

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Alois Liška Alois Liška (1895-1977) was a Czech army officer who served in both World Wars, ultimately as a Brigade General commanding the 1st Czechoslovak Armoured Brigade at Dunkirk in 1944–45. He was born on 20 November 1895 in Záborčí, some 17 kilo ...

, the commander of the Czechoslovak

brigade group Brigade Enterprises Limited is a real estate and property development company that is based in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. The Brigade Group also has operations in Mangalore, Mysore, Chennai, Kochi, Hyderabad, Chikmagalur, Ahmedabad and a repr ...

, on 9 May 1945, a day after the surrender of Nazi Germany took effect.

Background

The

First Canadian Army The First Canadian Army (french: 1reArmée canadienne) was a field army and a formation of the Canadian Army in World War II in which most Canadian elements serving in North-West Europe were assigned. It served on the Western Front from July 1944 ...

had been allocated the left of the 21st Army Group line of advance and Field Marshal

had directed them to clear the

Channel ports The Channel Ports are seaports in southern England and the facing continent, which allow for short crossings of the English Channel. There is no formal definition, but there is a general understanding of the term. Some ferry companies divide their ...

before continuing into the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. Most of the ports had been fortified and despite the generally poor quality of the garrisons, it was necessary to capture them with set-piece attacks. The ports were needed to supply the

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

armies and the lack of such facilities had halted or slowed much offensive activity. Montgomery had estimated that the Channel ports would be sufficient for his needs and this view persisted until mid-September. Under orders from

Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

, the Allied Supreme Commander, Montgomery modified his instructions to the Canadian commander,

Henry Crerar General Henry Duncan Graham Crerar (28 April 1888 – 1 April 1965) was a senior officer of the Canadian Army who became the country's senior field commander in the Second World War as commander of the First Canadian Army in the campaign in N ...

, on 13–14 September, "Early use of Antwerp so urgent that I am prepared to give up operations against Calais and Dunkirk" and "Dunkirk will be left to be dealt with later; for the present it will be merely masked". Action against Calais continued in

Operation Undergo Operation Undergo was an attack by the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division on the German garrison and fortifications of the French port of Calais, during September 1944. A subsidiary operation was executed to capture German long-range, heavy artill ...

, at least partly due to the need to silence the heavy artillery sited nearby. The forces that might have been used to capture Dunkirk were released for the

Battle of the Scheldt The Battle of the Scheldt in World War II was a series of military operations led by the First Canadian Army, with Polish and British units attached, to open up the shipping route to Antwerp so that its port could be used to supply the Allies ...

and thus open access to the largely undamaged port of Antwerp. Instead, smaller Allied forces held a perimeter around the city.

Prelude

In the first weeks of the siege, while Allied forces were being deployed on the Scheldt, several formations took short turns at containing Dunkirk. The 5th Canadian Infantry Brigade, part of the 2nd Canadian Division, was relieved by the 4th Special Service Brigade (4th SSB, a

Royal Marines Commando The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

formation), which was in turn relieved by the 154th Infantry Brigade. The bulk of the siege was performed by the 1st Czechoslovak Armoured Brigade from early October until the final surrender. The German garrison consisted of a wide variety of men, including Navy and Air Force personnel, as well as Army and Fortress units. There was also a 2,000 strong Waffen-SS detachment. The total strength was in excess of 10,000 men. Many of these were remnants of five army divisions which had been mauled during the Normandy campaign and had retreated to Dunkirk. The town itself was heavily fortified and well-supplied for a lengthy siege. The Canadians approached Dunkirk from the south-west. On 7–8 September, the 5th Canadian Infantry Brigade captured

Bourbourg Bourbourg (; ) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is situated in the maritime plain of northern France, in the middle of a triangle formed by Dunkirk, Calais, and Saint-Omer. Population In 1945 Bourbourg absorbed the for ...

, about from the city itself. The German outer perimeter ran through the villages of

Mardyck Mardyck (Dutch: ''Mardijk'', vls, Mardyk) is a former commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is an associated commune with Dunkirk since it joined the latter in January 1980.Loon-Plage Loon-Plage (; nl, Loon) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Population Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic. ...

, Spycker,

Bergues Bergues (; nl, Sint-Winoksbergen; vls, Bergn) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is situated to the south of Dunkirk and from the Belgian border. Locally it is referred to as "the other Bruges in Flanders". Bergues ...

and

Bray-Dunes Bray-Dunes (; vls, Bray-Duunn) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is situated on the Belgian border, with Adinkerke being the closest Belgian town. It is the northernmost commune and the northernmost point in all of Fran ...

, from Dunkirk. The Calgary Highlanders attacked Loon-Plage on 7 September against very heavy opposition and suffered enough casualties that each of its companies was reduced to less than 30 men. The village was gained on the 9th only when the Germans withdrew. Over the next ten days, Canadian units nibbled away at the German perimeter, taking Coppenaxfort on the 9th, Mardyck on the 17th, both west of the city, Bergues on the 15th and

Veurne Veurne (; french: Furnes, italic=no, ) is a city and municipality in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Veurne proper and the settlements of , , , , , Houtem, , , Wulveringem, and . History Origins up ...

, Nieuwpoort (greatly aided by precise intelligence received from the Belgian White Brigade, the national resistance movement) and

De Panne De Panne (; french: La Panne ) is a town and a municipality located on the North Sea coast of the Belgian province of West Flanders. There it borders France, making it the westernmost town in Belgium. It is one of the most popular resort town dest ...

, east of Dunkirk, in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Bray Dunes Bray-Dunes (; vls, Bray-Duunn) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is situated on the Belgian border, with Adinkerke being the closest Belgian town. It is the northernmost commune and the northernmost point in all of Fr ...

and nearby Ghyvelde, both just within France, were taken on 15 September, with air support after initial attacks had failed. It had become clear that the German defenders could not be expelled without a major assault. Given the need to open up the

Scheldt The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corr ...

estuary to Antwerp and the likelihood that Dunkirk would be of limited use as a supply port as a result of its demolition, the major Canadian units were redeployed. Nearby Oostende had fallen easily to the Canadians when the Germans withdrew, and its port was partially opened on 28 September, easing the Allies' supply problems. Dunkirk was no longer worth the effort of its capture.

Siege

The Allied forces around Dunkirk were to contain the German garrison and minimise their inclination to fight on by reconnaissance, artillery and air bombardment and with propaganda. Coastal supply routes used by

E-boats E-boat was the Western Allies' designation for the fast attack craft (German: ''Schnellboot'', or ''S-Boot'', meaning "fast boat") of the Kriegsmarine during World War II; ''E-boat'' could refer to a patrol craft from an armed motorboat to a lar ...

of the German navy and air supply drops were to be cut off. Of all of the German fortress garrisons on the Channel coast, Dunkirk appears to have been the most resilient. The garrison thwarted early probes by the Canadians with sufficient aggression to dissuade them from a full assault. By this stage, other priorities compelled the Canadians to persist in patrolling and local counter-attacks. On 16 September, the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division was relieved by the 4th SSB. On the night of 26/27 September, the 4th SSB was replaced by the 154th Infantry Brigade,

51st (Highland) Infantry Division The 51st (Highland) Division was an infantry division of the British Army that fought on the Western Front in France during the First World War from 1915 to 1918. The division was raised in 1908, upon the creation of the Territorial Force, as ...

. The Germans attempted to take advantage of the change with sorties against the 7th Black Watch in Ghyvelde and against 7th Argylls at nearby Bray-Dunes Plage. Both attacks were repulsed but only after the Argyll headquarters had been partially occupied and houses in Ghyvelde had been destroyed. A truce was negotiated from 3 to 6 October, at the initiative of the

French Red Cross The French Red Cross (french: Croix-Rouge française), or the CRF, is the national Red Cross Society in France founded in 1864 and originally known as the ''Société française de secours aux blessés militaires'' (SSBM). Recognized as a public u ...

, to allow the evacuation of 17,500 French civilians and Allied and German wounded. The truce was extended to allow the Germans to restore defences that had been removed to allow the evacuation. On 9 October, the 1st Czechoslovak Armoured Brigade (Major-General

), took over the siege. The Czechs executed frequent harassing raids into the eastern suburbs to take prisoners; an attack on 28 October (Czechoslovak independence day) took 300 prisoners. There was a flurry of attacks and counter-attacks, mostly on the eastern perimeter during November 1944. Conditions on both sides were difficult in the winter. The low-lying ground outside the city had been flooded to form part of the defences and adjacent land easily became water-logged, hampering movement and making life unpleasant. Canadian gunners reported that gun-pits needed to be bailed out, the sides of dugouts collapsed and transport became mired. Czechoslovak morale was maintained by

leave Leave may refer to: * Permission (disambiguation) ** Permitted absence from work *** Leave of absence, a period of time that one is to be away from one's primary job while maintaining the status of employee *** Annual leave, allowance of time away ...

in nearby towns and in

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

. The defenders were stuck with poor food, deficient health care and harsh discipline. On 28 April and 2 May 1945 the Germans were able to deliver a limited amount of supplies to the garrison with some of their 28 ''

Seehund ''Seehund'' (German: "seal"), also known as Type XXVII, was a midget submarine built by Nazi Germany during World War II. Designed in 1944 and operated by two-man crews, it was used by the ''Kriegsmarine'' (German Navy) during the closing month ...

'' two-man midget submarines. These craft were normally armed with two torpedoes mounted on the outside. For the supply missions, the torpedoes were replaced with special food containers ("butter torpedoes"). On the return voyages they used the containers to carry mail from the Dunkirk garrison.

Surrender

The garrison surrendered unconditionally to Liška on 9 May 1945, two days after the surrender of Nazi Germany was signed and one day after it became effective.

Orders of battle

Allied forces * 5th Canadian Infantry Brigade (until 18 September) **

The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada , colors = , march = Quick: " Hielan' Laddie"Slow: "The Red Hackle" , mascot = , battles = Second Boer WarFirst World WarSecond World War War in Afg ...

** Le Régiment de Maisonneuve **

The Calgary Highlanders The Calgary Highlanders is a Canadian Army Primary Reserve infantry regiment, headquartered at Mewata Armouries in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The regiment is a part-time reserve unit, under the command of 41 Canadian Brigade Group, itself part of L ...

** 5th Canadian Infantry Brigade Ground Defence Platoon (

Lorne Scots The Lorne Scots (Peel, Dufferin and Halton Regiment) is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. It is part of the 4th Canadian Division's 32 Canadian Brigade Group. Organization The sub-units of the Lorne Scots are situated ...

) * 4th Special Service Brigade (until 26 September) * 154th British Infantry Brigade (from 26 September – 9 October 1944) ** 7th Battalion

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

** 1st and 7th Battalions

Black Watch The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment ...

* 1st Czechoslovak Armoured Brigade (9 October – 9 May 1945) ** 1st Czechoslovak Tank Battalion ** 2nd Czechoslovak Tank Battalion ** 1st Czechoslovak Motorised Infantry Battalion (two companies) ** Field Artillery Regiment (two battalions) ** anti-tank battalion ** Armoured Reconnaissance Squadron ** Field Engineers Company ** Attached British, French and Canadian units ***

7th Royal Tank Regiment The 7th Royal Tank Regiment (7th RTR) was an armoured regiment of the British Army from 1917 until disbandment in 1959. History The 7th Royal Tank Regiment was part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps. The regimen ...

*** 2nd Canadian Heavy Anti-aircraft Regiment *** 109th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment,

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

*** 125th Light Anti-aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery *** French 51st Infantry Regiment (two battalions formed from the FFI) German garrison
Elements of: * 49th Infantry Division * 226th Infantry Division * 346th Infantry Division * 711th Infantry Division * 97th Infantry Division ** 26th Fortress Battalion ** 1046th Fortress Battalion **

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

Reinecke group

Notes

Footnotes

Sources

* * * * * * * *

External links

Dunkirk May 1945 German Surrender to Czechoslovak Brigade (BBC People's War) a detailed account

VHU Praha : handbill also archived in Prague.
Document "WARNUNG ! An die deutschen Truppen in Dünkirchen ! ..." {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunkirk Military history of France during World War II Battles and operations of World War II involving Czechoslovakia Battles of World War II involving Canada Battles of World War II involving France Sieges involving Germany Battles and operations of World War II involving Germany Battles in Hauts-de-France

Siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...

History of Nord (French department) Dunkirk 1944-45