Text 20629, 36 rader
Skriven 2006-01-01 02:48:40 av Ward Dossche (2:292/854)
  Kommentar till text 20579 av Dan Ceppa (1:138/666.0)
Ärende: Re: Lack of Gratitude
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> WD> Any Nazi invasion of England would've had to be carried out by ships
> WD> unloading troops the conventional way from ships being berthed in
> WD> port. This would assume that these ports were already taken and
> WD> serviceable.
 
> You mean like those Allied ships that were berthed in Dunkirk
> that evacuated those troops?
 
My dad found himself on the beach at Dunkirk and he told me that he had to
choose then between fleeing to England with the rest of the troops or stay
behind. Soldiers were wading chesthigh in the surf and were picked-up by
smaller craft delivering them to larger vessels in deeper water.
 
Father was afraid of water and never a good swimmer the rest of his life either
so he choose to be part of the troops covering the retreat. He doesn't tell me
a story of easily boarding ships in port but of a half-suicidal attempt
starting on the beach and getting wet in the process.
 
Dunkirk wasn't much of a port in 1940 ... mostly fishing boats and a few
ferries or coasters.
 
338.000 soldiers were saved and some sources claim that about 80% of these were
picked-up from Dunkirk-harbour. Knowing how small it was in 'ye olde days' and
how many wrecks were blocking the entrance as well as the one single usable
quay this scenario is very unlikely as 40,000 people would have had to be
loaded during limited daylight hours while under constant attack.
 
My dad, who was there and fought there, states that the main rescue was
straight from the beaches.
 
But I guess you will have your own version from someone who wasn't there.
 
 \%/@rd 

--- IN-A-GADDA-DA-VIDA
 * Origin: "Leonard will be free" - http://www.leonardpeltier.org (2:292/854)