Dunkirk? A fighting retreat where the rearguard fought to the last man, including the 1st French Army which held half the line. A retreat which saved over 300,000 troops to form the nucleus of those who later liberated Europe, including the free French army…
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Despite this German military success, the Allies were able to rescue 338,226 military personnel from the Dunkirk perimeter. This included 139,997 French, Polish, Dutch and Belgian troops.”…..
Dunkirk - Defence of the Perimeter » Dunkirk 1940 - The Before, The Reality, The Aftermath
But that you react in this way show the depth of the anger which losing a contract, which has been forecast for years, has generated - and makes the future of the Franco-British Lancaster agreements on joint production of missiles and mutual support of maritime and land operations in doubt.
And of course the doubts, as reflected in the articles above, on the future of NATO as US attention pivots to the Pacific theatre.