Episode 14: The Dunkirk Evacuation (1)
On May 24, we arrived at that famous Dunkirk beach.
It felt like just yesterday that I watched the movie *Dunkirk* in theaters, yet here I was at the actual scene.
So this is what they mean when they say life is full of unpredictable twists and turns.
I felt a thrill at standing on the historical site that had even been made into a movie, but at the same time, I couldn't shake the thought: why did I have to be here of all places?
It was somewhere I had wanted to visit someday, but I had absolutely zero desire to return to an era where bullets were flying.
To be blunt, the Dunkirk beach was five minutes away from total chaos.
Behind the soldiers standing in line, waiting for some ship that might come someday, hundreds and thousands of soldiers who had lost both morale and discipline wandered about aimlessly.
All manner of vehicles, artillery, and ammunition crates that would make the German army drool were abandoned everywhere along the beach.
At this point, it was hard to tell whether this was a beach or a garbage dump.
Some soldiers were lying on the sand, casually sunbathing or playing cards. There were also many who drank liquor procured from civilian homes and lamented their lot in life.
In this place mixed with chaos and peace, order and disorder, we waited for two days.
When we first arrived and couldn't see a single ship, the company members were visibly disappointed. And they trembled with anxiety.
“What the hell, why isn't there a single ship?”
“Weren't the ships supposed to be waiting for us?”
“The Germans could descend upon this place at any moment, are they out of their minds?”
It wasn't just the soldiers.
Even Sergeant Gates, a veteran hero, showed extreme disappointment and anxiety at the fact that there were no ships on the coast.
But I was different.
Because I knew the future, I knew that in two days, the Dunkirk beach would be crowded with ships from the British mainland, so there was no need to be impatient.
“Don't worry, you bastards. Ships will come soon to rescue us back to England. Until then, enjoy your sunbathing. Worrying all day won't change a thing.”
“Aren't you worried, Platoon Leader?”
At Adam's question, I waved my hand.
Yep. Not~ at all!
Of course, I couldn't say that since it would ruin my air of authority, so I answered while putting on as solemn an act as possible.
It was about time I started paying attention to my dignity.
“Of course I'm worried too. But!”
“But?”
“If an officer trembles in fear, how do you think the soldiers will see him? So no matter how scared you are, you mustn't show it. That's what being an officer is! Got it?”
Then Adam put on an impressed expression.
Anyway, he's a simple guy who's easy to fool.
Still, seeing him believe my words so steadfastly without a single doubt, I couldn't help but feel fondness for him.
“Do you really think the ships will come, Lieutenant?”
This time it was Sergeant Gates.
Worry and distrust could be felt from his voice and tone.
But from my perspective as someone who knew the future, it was nothing but needless worry.
“Yes. So please don't worry, Sergeant. Our country isn't one that abandons its own soldiers, is it?”
“Yes, that is correct, but……”
Perhaps because my words had unexpectedly hit the mark, Sergeant Gates flinched.
He seemed to have more to say, but soon shook his head and headed toward a corner.
A moment later, he sat down on the ground and watched the sea.
Waiting endlessly for the ships that would take them to England.
***
“Fortunately, the German army has currently halted its advance.”
Churchill, a thick cigar clamped in his mouth, continued speaking while exhaling pungent smoke.
“The total number of troops trapped inside the encirclement currently amounts to a whopping 340,000, including our allies, the French and Belgian forces. Our top priority is to rescue as many of these troops as possible and transport them safely to the British mainland.”
Churchill temporarily lowered the cigar from his mouth and pointed at the red dot marked Dunkirk on the map with a pointer.
A large circle was drawn centered on the red dot, and inside the circle, blue wooden pieces were clustered.
Outside the circle, black wooden pieces symbolizing the German army were packed tightly around it.
“But the problem is that to transport all these personnel, ships are woefully insufficient.”
Churchill's concern was precisely the lack of ships.
To rescue the allied forces trapped in the Dunkirk pocket, the Navy had mobilized every ship they had, but that alone was not enough.
Given the sheer number of men, even more ships were needed.
“Is there no other way?”
Churchill's gaze naturally turned to Vice Admiral Bertram Ramsay, the admiral responsible for the defense of the Strait of Dover.
To Churchill's questioning gaze, Ramsay answered as if he had been waiting for this.
“As it happens, we have already requested the participation in the operation from the French, Dutch, and Belgian navies that evacuated to the mainland, Prime Minister.”
“What was their response?”
“They have all conveyed their willingness to participate in the operation.”
Sighs of relief burst out among the attendees.
But Churchill wore an expression that said that alone was not enough.
“That is certainly fortunate, but even so, will we not still be short of ships? Given how many men there are.”
Ramsay nodded with a bitter expression.
“Yes. Even if we mobilize all the ships the Navy currently has, it is absolutely impossible to transport all 340,000 men. So……”
Ramsay trailed off, gauging Churchill's reaction.
Sensing that Ramsay had something to say, Churchill blinked. It was a gesture telling him to speak.
“To make up the necessary numbers, we will inevitably need to requisition civilian vessels.”
No sooner had Ramsay finished speaking than officials from the relevant departments raised objections.
“Wait, Admiral. That is too much. No matter how serious the situation is, indiscriminately requisitioning civilian-owned ships is a bit……”
“There will be tremendous backlash.”
But Ramsay had something to say as well.
“I did not want to make such a decision either. But the situation being what it is, we have no choice!”
“Enough, enough! I have heard both opinions very well, so stop!”
As voices threatened to grow louder, Churchill intervened.
He savored another puff of his cigar, then brought out words he had prepared beforehand.
“Yes, it would certainly be unseemly for the mighty government of the British Empire to go begging to civilians simply because we lack ships.”
The officials, who had been worried about the fierce protests of civilians forcibly stripped of their ships, visibly relieved.
But Churchill's following words delivered a satisfying blow to the backs of their heads.
“But what can we do? Because of the lack of ships, if things go wrong, the sons of the British Empire will become fish food. Is that not so?”
“That is correct.”
“So immediately deploy all Navy-owned ships to the rescue operation, and simultaneously send official requests for cooperation to civilians. Given the times, even if one or two people grumble, they will eventually understand. After all, this is all for the sake of the country.”
“Understood, Prime Minister.”
Ramsay pretended to be stern on the outside, but inwardly he cheered.
Thus, a path to survival had opened for the 340,000 Allied troops trapped in the encirclement.
***
When a thunderous roar was heard from the sky, the soldiers waiting in line to board ships began scattering in all directions at once.
“Take cover, take cover!”
“They're coming!”
Soon, with a loud bang, clouds of smoke billowed up from the beach.
Black ash, sand, and small fragments poured down like hail.
To avoid getting a concussion from falling debris, I put on an abandoned Brodie helmet and lay flat on the ground.
Whenever fragments struck the helmet, clanging sounds rang in my ears.
They were less than 5mm in size, so the impact was not great.
The allied forces trapped on Dunkirk beach were getting beaten daily by Fatso Göring's air force.
The anti-aircraft guns on the beach were so ludicrously few that the German planes flew about as freely as fish in water.
Each time, the soldiers panicked and ran this way and that.
“Goddamn it! They're coming again!”
“Hey, take cover!”
“Save me!”
Having seen the Stuka that had just dropped bombs turn around and fly back, the soldiers ran once more for their lives.
I too ran until I was out of breath.
I felt the sound of sirens echoing in my ears.
And then, bang.
The ground shook as if an earthquake had struck, and my body lost its balance, falling backward so that my butt hit the ground.
It didn't hurt much because it was fine sand, but my heart felt like it would burst.
Thankfully, this time too the bomb fell far away.
The Stuka, having completed its mission, turned around again and flew east.
“You son of a bitch!”
The soldiers, toyed with by the Stuka, shook their fists in anger.
Regardless, the Stuka was already flying away, becoming a tiny dot.
After the air raid ended and the surroundings grew calm again, I gathered the scattered company members.
Fortunately, they were all not too far away.
“Is anyone injured?”
Seeing everyone standing blankly and looking at each other's faces, it seemed no one was seriously hurt. The headcount was also correct.
“Good, dismissed. Don't go far and stay gathered around here.”
As I took off my helmet to shake out the sand grains inside, Sergeant Gates approached.
When I raised my head, I couldn't help but flinch.
With his thick beard, he looked like a bandit straight out of a folktale.
“Having been unable to shave for so long, it's itching like mad, hoho.”
“Hahaha... after all, you can't get a clean shave with a bayonet.”
Sergeant Gates, who had been laughing awkwardly, soon asked with a serious expression.
“By the way, Lieutenant. It's already been three days; how much longer will we have to stay here?”
It had already been three days since we set foot on Dunkirk beach, and it was on the verge of becoming the fourth.
Ships had come, but there were so few that only a handful of soldiers could board.
Even now, ships were coming and working hard to carry away waiting soldiers, but there were absurdly few of them, so the majority of soldiers couldn't even get near the ships and were stomping their feet in frustration.
Moreover, with no food available, everyone from officers to privates suffered from severe hunger.
The situation was so dire that they even desperately prayed for rain from the sky, as there wasn't enough water to drink.
Everyone was gradually growing exhausted from hunger and thirst.
Sergeant Gates was no exception.
In just a few days, he had transformed from a large, imposing man into the appearance of an ordinary middle-aged man.
His haphazardly grown beard and sunken eyes silently showed what hardships he was enduring.
Of course, even I, who knew the future, was suffering.
“Please hold on just a little longer, Sergeant. If we wait just a bit more, we too will be able to board a ship.”
“I hope so, but... at this rate, I think it will take at least another month for our turn to come.”
Sergeant Gates let out a deep sigh.
As he said, if ships kept coming in such small numbers, it would take at least half a year for all the soldiers here to board.
I knew what he was worried about.
Becoming a prisoner of the Germans without even boarding a ship, or starving to death here.
That must be what he feared most.
“I'd rather die fighting. Than staying here like a living corpse, blankly staring...”
“Ah, over there!”
I jumped up from my spot and pointed at the horizon.
Sergeant Gates, cut off mid-sentence, looked at me blankly.
“Lieutenant, what is it?”
“Look over there, Sergeant!”
Right then, cheers erupted from all around.
Sergeant Gates, who hadn't known what was happening, turned his head and soon let out a cheer along with the other soldiers.
It was a shout so loud that one couldn't believe it had come from men on the verge of death.
Beyond the horizon, countless ships were swarming in.