What happened was a sheer miracle, and we should never forget that fact.’ Those bowing their heads at the Dunkirk memorial, situated on an esplanade overlooking the beach, certainly never would. Some had travelled over from England on a fleet of ‘little ships’ – the craft which, during the long days of May and June 1940, had helped to ferry an astonishing 338,226 stranded Allied troops back to Britain.

In one of the most widely-debated decisions of the war, the Germans halted their advance on Dunkirk. Contrary to popular belief, what became known as "the Halt Order", did not originate withAdolf Hitler. Gerd von Rundstedt and Günther von Kluge suggested that the German forces around the Dunkirk pocket should cease their advance on the port and consolidate, to avoid an Allied break. Hitler sanctioned the order on 24 May with the support of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht.[4] The army were to halt for three days, giving the Allies time to organise an evacuation and build a defensive line. Despite the Allies' gloomy estimates of the situation, with Britain discussing a conditional surrender to Germany, in the end over 330,000 Allied troops were rescued... (Read more at: http://peopleus.blogspot.com.es/2013/02/documentarydunkirk-operation-dynamo.html)