BBC - War Walks Series 2 (1997) Part 5 Dunkirk

A series of six journeys through six centuries of warfare in the company of military historian Professor Richard Holmes. Battlefields were Holmes's natural habitat, and defined him as a television presenter, often up to his knees in mud for the BBC series War Walks in the 1990s, in which he toured the trenches of the First World War. Dates such as 1066 and names such as Dunkirk often strike a chord of nostalgia, but the details of the historic events associated with them are forgotten. In the War Walks 1-2 Richard Holmes takes us on fascinating journey through time to visit twelve battlefields throughout Britain, Northern France and Belgium that mark crucial moments in Britain's bloody and turbulent history. From Hastings to Dunkirk, Agincourt to The Somme, Richard vividly recreates the atmosphere of these key battles in our history. With his expert knowledge of weapons and warfare, Richard Holmes provides a brilliantly clear picture of the events which led up to each battle, the conflicts themselves, and the people who fought them. Using practical 'views of the field', he travels the battlefields as they exist today, pointing out their places of interest, paying tribute to the men who fought there, and bringing history to life. In War Walks 2 Richard Holmes takes us on a fascinating journey through time to visit six battlefields that mark crucial moments in Britain's bloody and turbulent history. This series focuses on a selection of battles, six fought in Britain - or, in one case, on a struggle that straddled the Channel.

Part 5 Dunkirk

Nearly 60 years ago, thousands of men waited on the French beach for days, under repeated attack from the air. They were members of the British Expeditionary Force, now surrounded by the German army. Most of their guns and their few tanks had been destroyed in battle, or smashed to prevent capture. They were running short of food, and even drinking water was scarce. German tanks had overwhelmed British and French troops and were poised to seize the British Expeditionary Force. Their only hope lay in rescue from the sea. It was a desperate situation. To the British, evacuation would be a miracle. To their French allies, it would seem like a betrayal. Professor Richard Holmes describes the events when dozens of small-scale actions combined to delay the Germans taking Dunkirk, and walks the beaches and breakwaters from which thousands of British troops narrowly escaped capture in May 1940.

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