Siege of Dunkirk (1944)

Part of Western Front, World War II

Czechoslovak soldiers on a Cromwell tank near Dunkerque shortly after the German capitulation.

Date	15 September 1944 – 8 May 1945
Location	Dunkirk, France
Result	German force capitulate on 8 May 1945

Belligerents

Canada

United Kingdom

Czechoslovakia

France

Belgian Resistance

Germany

Commanders and leaders

The Siege of Dunkirk in World War II occurred from September 1944 when units of the Second Canadian Division surrounded the heavily fortified city and port of Dunkirk. German units within the fortress withstood initial probing attacks, and as the opening of the port of Antwerp became a higher priority, 21st army group commander Bernard Montgomery, decided to merely contain the Germans within Dunkirk without attacking the fortified city. For this task, the 1st Czechoslovak Armoured Brigade was used. The German garrison remained in Dunkirk until the general German surrender in May 1945. In so doing, the garrison denied the Allies the use of the port. The fortress, commanded by Admiral Friedrich Frisius, eventually surrendered unconditionally to Brigade General Alois Liška, the commander of the Czechoslovak brigade group, on 9 May 1945.

The 1st Canadian Army had been allocated the left of the 21st Army Group's line of advance and General Bernard Montgomery, the commander of 21st Army Group, had directed them to clear the Channel Ports before continuing into the Netherlands. Most of these ports, however, had been heavily fortified and, despite the generally poor quality of the garrisons, it was necessary to mount full-scale major assaults.

The ports were needed to supply the allied armies and the lack of such facilities had halted or slowed much offensive activity. Montgomery had estimated that the Channel Ports would be sufficient for his needs and this view persisted until mid-September. Under pressure from Dwight Eisenhower, the Allied Supreme Commander, Montgomery modified his instructions to the Canadian commander, Henry Crerar, on 13–14 September thus: "Early use of Antwerp so urgent that I am prepared to give up operations against Calais and Dunkirk" and: "Dunkirk will be left to be dealt with later; for the present it will be merely masked."

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Wikipedia