Military Model Scene

Title: Dunkirk Evacuation Operation Dynamo
Author: John Grehan & Alexander Nicoll
Publisher: Frontline Books
ISBN: 978-1-52677-035-6

Another addition to the very popular Images of War series, and this time taking on the subject of the Dunkirk Evacuation. The legend of the 'small ships' is perhaps one of the most well known events from the early stages of WW2. A story of defeat that has had a spin put on the history making it out as some sort of victory. Well, this is not the time or place to get into that debate but the fact that so many soldiers, both from the BEF and the French Army, were successfully rescued from almost certain captivity was indeed a remarkable accomplishment.
The book provides an excellent collection of archive photos which tell the story of what happened. After an Introduction to set the scene, and which includes a map showing the 3 main sea routes used during the evacuation, avoiding the large minefields laid in the English Channel, the story is split over 10 chapters. These are split so each of the 9 days of the operation are covered individually, with appropriate photos, and the last one showing the Aftermath. There are elements of text to each chapter to tell the story, and this is accompanied by a series of archive photos which add to the story thanks to their captions. In the final chapter we see the devastation left behind. Huge quantities of equipment, both English and French, numerous ships wrecks on the beach and more. Importantly though for me, there are the faces of the men who did successfully get home, tired and very relieved, along with those who did not escape, and endured the fear of their capture and imprisonment by the German victors.
An interesting collection of archive photos, many of which I had not seen before, and some informative text to accompany them. A good addition to the series.

Robin