Editing Dunkirk (section)

====Evacuation====
{{main|Battle of Dunkirk|Dunkirk evacuation}}
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:DUNKIRK1940.jpg|thumb|175px|British troops embarking from Dunkirk's beaches]] -->
[[File:Dunkirk 26-29 May 1940 NYP68075.jpg|upright=0.9|thumb|right|British troops evacuating Dunkirk beach in 1940]]
During the [[World War II|Second World War]] 1940 [[Battle of France]], the [[British Expeditionary Force (World War II)|British Expeditionary Force]] (BEF), while aiding the French and Belgian armies, were forced to retreat in the face of overpowering German Panzer attacks. Fighting in Belgium and France, the BEF and a portion of the French Army became outflanked by the Germans and retreated to the area around the port of Dunkirk. More than 400,000 soldiers were trapped in the pocket as the German Army closed in for the kill. Unexpectedly, the German Panzer attack halted for several days at a critical juncture. For years, it was assumed that [[Adolf Hitler]] ordered the German Army to suspend the attack, favouring bombardment by the [[Luftwaffe]]. However, according to the Official War Diary of [[Army Group A]], its commander, ''[[Generaloberst]]'' [[Gerd von Rundstedt]], ordered the halt to allow maintenance on his tanks, half of which were out of service, and to protect his flanks which were exposed and, he thought, vulnerable.<ref>Levine, Joshua (2017) Dunkirk, Harper Collins, New York</ref> Hitler merely validated the order several hours later.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lord |first=Walter |title=The Miracle of Dunkirk |date=1982 |publisher=Open Road Integrated Media, Inc. |isbn=978-1-5040-4754-8 |location=New York City |pages=28–35 |language=en |chapter=2: No. 17 Turns Up}}</ref> This lull gave the British and French a few days to fortify their defences. The Allied position was complicated by Belgian King [[Leopold III of Belgium|Leopold III]]'s surrender on 27 May, which was postponed until 28 May. The gap left by the Belgian Army stretched from Ypres to Dixmude. Nevertheless, [[Battle of Dunkirk|a collapse was prevented]], making it possible to launch an [[Dunkirk evacuation|evacuation by sea]], across the [[English Channel]], codenamed Operation Dynamo. [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|British Prime Minister]] [[Winston Churchill]] ordered any ship or boat available, large or small, to collect the stranded soldiers. 338,226 men (including 123,000 French soldiers) were evacuated – the ''miracle of Dunkirk'', as Churchill called it. It took over 900 vessels to evacuate the BEF, with two-thirds of those rescued embarking via the harbour, and over 100,000 taken off the beaches. More than 40,000 vehicles as well as massive amounts of other military equipment and supplies were left behind. Forty thousand Allied soldiers (some who carried on fighting after the official evacuation) were captured or forced to make their own way home through a variety of routes including via neutral Spain. Many wounded who were unable to walk were abandoned.