# Dunkirk a city on the northern coast of France which was nearly bombed out of existence during World War II. In 1940 it was the scene of the evacuation of more than 300,000 Allied troops, cut off from retreat on land by the Germans. A fleet of almost 1,200 British and French ships carried the Allied soldiers from Dunkirk to the coast of England. One of the most heroic and most memorable actions in naval history, it lasted from May 26 until June 4.