Written by a range of highly regarded children’s authors, these tales bring different historical periods to life for a young audience. There may be books with more updated statistical data about the Miracle of Dunkirk but for pure readability I would highly recommend this one. The Miracle of Dunkirk follows the British Expeditionary Force and all the events they went through as they were pushed out of France.

However, if Gort’s statement as quoted by Shand is true, that ‘without the Twelfth Lancers only a small part of the Army would have reached Dunkirk,’ then it would appear there is another element of the story which is still to be told.

All aspects help capture the bravery, spirit, audacity of the British people that allowed them to save their army – an achievement that would go a long way in finally defeating the Nazis five years later.

Born in Bedford in 1965, Sean Longden first became interested in history as a child listening to his grandfather’s tales of Gallipoli. Every once in awhile, Lord provides the German or French perspective (I wish there had been more from the Germans). Frankly, you are often as lost as the frantic soldiers from shattered units heading towards the beach. Walter Lord lets the reader experience what is happening as if we were reading the conflict and episodes from the daily paper or in letters home.Most purchases from business sellers are protected by the Consumer Contract Regulations 2013 which give you the right to cancel the purchase within 14 days after the day you receive the item. Surrounded by overwhelming Nazi strength, the 338,000 men gathered on the beach were all that stood between Hitler and Western Europe.

As the Third Reich swallowed one county after another and war finally broke out in 1939, the West still thought it was immune to the Poles’ distress. Churchill did his best to soothe the man – reminded him of the dark days in 1918 when all turned out well in the end – but Reynaud remained distraught. Lord presents a number of important personages in his narrative that include King Leopold III of Belgium who quickly surrendered to the Germans, General Bernard Montgomery who organized his troops to fill the gap in the BEF escape route, and General Gort (Viscount Lord) who was in charge of BEF at Dunkirk, among others.He grew up in a deprived area of Leicester, a city which is almost unique in terms of cultural mix and his style of writing is firmly grounded in the reality that he has seen around him since he was a child. Elsewhere, hospitals full of the sick and wounded who had been left behind to receive treatment from the enemy’s doctors. Thompson, drawing on his military expertise, offers a detailed analysis of the military strategies, challenges, and outcomes of the operation. Five to seven days to pull off the amazing, almost impossible logistical feat of getting close to 400,000 combatants off a section of beach, across the English Channel to England and safety from the Luftwaffe, panzers and troops of the Germans hell bent on annihilation of the French and British Expeditionary Force.

Ill-equipped and under-trained, they nevertheless fought hard for three weeks, conducting a successful fighting withdrawal in the face of a formidable foe. Dunkirk: Fight to the Last Man” is a must-read for anyone seeking a profound and enlightening exploration of this pivotal moment in history.

Bali Rai's tale of Private Fazal Khan, a member of the Royal Indian Army Service Corps, and his journey to Dunkirk is an enlightening but sadenning one.