<P> After Nazi Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, France and the British Empire declared war on Germany and imposed an economic blockade . The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was sent to help defend France . After the Phoney War of October 1939 to April 1940, Germany invaded Belgium, the Netherlands, and France on 10 May 1940 . Three of their Panzer corps attacked through the Ardennes and drove northwest to the English Channel . By 21 May, German forces had trapped the BEF, the remains of the Belgian forces, and three French field armies along the northern coast of France . Commander of the BEF, General Viscount Gort, immediately saw evacuation across the Channel as the best course of action, and began planning a withdrawal to Dunkirk, the closest good port . </P> <P> On 22 May, a halt order was issued by the German High Command, with Adolf Hitler's approval . Preventing the evacuation was left to the Luftwaffe (German Air Force), until this order was rescinded on 26 May . This gave trapped Allied forces time to construct defensive works and pull back large numbers of troops to fight the Battle of Dunkirk . From 28 to 31 May, in the Siege of Lille, the remaining 40,000 men of the once - formidable French First Army fought a delaying action against seven German divisions, including three armoured divisions . </P> <P> On the first day only 7,669 Allied soldiers were evacuated, but by the end of the eighth day, 338,226 of them had been rescued by a hastily assembled fleet of over 800 boats . Many troops were able to embark from the harbour's protective mole onto 39 British Royal Navy destroyer, 4 Royal Canadian Navy destroyers, and a variety of civilian merchant ships, while others had to wade out from the beaches, waiting for hours in shoulder - deep water . Some were ferried to the larger ships by what came to be known as the little ships of Dunkirk, a flotilla of hundreds of merchant marine boats, fishing boats, pleasure craft, yachts, and lifeboats called into service from Britain . The BEF lost 68,000 soldiers during the French campaign and had to abandon nearly all of its tanks, vehicles, and equipment . In his speech to the House of Commons on 4 June, Churchill reminded the country that "we must be very careful not to assign to this deliverance the attributes of a victory . Wars are not won by evacuations ." </P> <P> In September 1939, after Nazi Germany invaded Poland, the United Kingdom sent the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) to aid in the defence of France, landing at Cherbourg, Nantes, and Saint - Nazaire . By May 1940 the force consisted of ten divisions in three corps under the command of General John Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort . Working with the BEF were the Belgian Army and the French First, Seventh, and Ninth Armies . </P>

Who rescued the 350 000 troops at dunkirk
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