Whether reading history or watching a movie, both are storytelling and alternative lessons in life wisdom.
Take, for example, the Great British Retreat of Dunkirk in 1940. That year, Churchill had just come to power, the European theatre of war was lost, Hitler’s German lightning air raids, with paratroopers and land forces pinned to the Dutch, French and Belgian borders, the Allies were taken by surprise – it was thought that the Germans would only come from the Maginot Line, and the Drunken Bay Line in Hong Kong that year, pulled from Tsuen Wan to Sai Kung via Lion Rock, was also the British Hong Kong Commander The same idea of Maud Pitt – Belgium and the Netherlands surrendered; the British army in France was forced to the water’s edge by successive German attacks, and was resisting in the Dunkirk area.
At this point, the British army was faced with only two options: the first was to resist to the end, the whole army died a heroic death, but Europe would be occupied by Germany as well. The second was to cross the Channel and retreat back to England and wait for the right moment.
Churchill knew that Britain was fighting alone and that Roosevelt and Congress in the United States would not intervene. Withdrawing the elite army and defending the country would at least reduce the cost of unnecessary casualties and buy time. After Hitler occupied Europe, would he also cross the Channel to attack Britain? The chances are fifty to fifty. The English-French Channel and the chalk cliffs in southern England were always a natural danger, and Churchill could bet on that fifty percent chance.
German front-line army panzer division officers at one point considered going after the 300,000 or so British and French troops who had retreated to Dunkirk Beach. But Hitler repeatedly gave strongly worded instructions to front-line officers to halt the advance of the panzers, arguing that the main threat lay to the south. The historian Halder recalled that the “Flanders” (Flanders) in northern Belgium to the coastal area was full of wetlands and lakes, which could put the armored troops in danger, and in order to avoid unnecessary losses, the future full-scale attack on southern France, the division must be stopped to preserve its strength.
The reason why Hitler was so determined, as later revealed in history, was a secret meeting of five people. One of the staff members in attendance was called Blumenthal. He later recalled that Hitler spoke in admiring tones about the contribution of the British Empire to world civilization and compared it with the Catholic Church, claiming that it was the two main elements of stability in the world. It was therefore decided to use Dunkirk as a buffer to give the British troops enough time to withdraw.
Churchill’s decision proved to be correct afterwards, and after the great retreat of Dunkirk, Churchill gained time, i.e., to launch a secret diplomacy across the Atlantic and wait for the Pearl Harbor Incident.
This was the origin of the Atlantic Charter signed by Britain and the United States.
Without the preceding Dunkirk, there would be no later Normandy.
British director Keith Duhua Nolan as a blueprint, made a “Dunkirk action” piece; can be parallel with Spielberg’s “Thunderbolt” common appreciation.
Two blockbusters, which one looks good? I think the deep structure of historical events, the battle of Dunkirk than Normandy more fascinating; in terms of drama, or Spielberg’s play is a winner.
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