article_snippet.sent: After Nazi Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was sent to help defend France.
article_snippet.sent: But in May 1940, three German Panzer corps attacked France through the Ardennes and quickly advanced to the English Channel.
article_snippet.sent: By May 21, the German forces had trapped the BEF and the remains of the French and Belgian armies in an area along the northern coast of France.
article_snippet.sent: The British force retreated to Dunkirk as The British force was the best site for an evacuation and the Battle of Dunkirk raged between May 26 and June 4 1940.
article_snippet.sent: However, in one of the most bizarre military manoeuvres of the war, the Nazis halted the Nazis final advance -
article_snippet.sent: this gave the Allies three days to plan the Allies escape and arrange the evacuation of 330,000 troops.
article_snippet.sent: Escape: Soldiers are pictured queuing up waiting to be rescued from Dunkirk during Operation Dynamo .
article_snippet.sent: The mission, codenamed Operation Dynamo, was one of the most extraordinary moments of the war, and allowed the British authorities to rebuild the British authorities military strength.