n May 1940 disaster befell the BEF. They were isolated from the rest of the fighting forces alone and encircled by large numbers of enemy troops. All could have been lost were it not for an order for the German land forces to halt briefly. Taking an opportunity while it was available, the British forces fled for the beaches of Dunkirk and fortified them while Churchill scrambled together any seaworthy vessel available to rescue his troops from the jaws of death. In all 900 vessels rescued over 300,000 men, while 40,000 brave rearguard troops lost their lives or their freedom for the good of their allies. Operation Dynamo, and its rescues from beaches and harbour, has gone down in history as a victory from certain defeat. Here Tim Lynch presents the true story of this miraculous event using stunning, rare images from the Mirrorpix archive. AUTHOR: Tim Lynch is the author of Dunkirk: 1940. 100 b/w images