Warehouses burning at Dunkirk, 1940

Photograph, World War Two (1939-1945), 1940.

German propaganda photograph of a British ship sunk during the evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940.

In late May and early June 1940 outflanked Anglo-French forces retreated towards the beaches at Dunkirk. Fighting a series of rearguard actions en route they were forced to abandon much of their equipment to the advancing Germans. Equipment dumps and vital fuel supplies had to be destroyed in the face of the relentless German advance.