TNA ADM 234 360

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CHAPTER XII
THE FINAL NIGHT, 3RD - - 4TH JUNE
Decision to terminate evacuation after night 3rd-4th June (Appendix V)
After the last ship quitted Dunkirk at daylight on 3rd June a large number
of French troops still remained behind, and it was decided at Dover that the
evacuation must continue.
There was no certainty that the coming night would see the end of the
operation. Admiral Nord stated in a situation report timed 0403 June 3rd,
that as enemy attacks were probable during the day the situation concerning
munitions might become critical; but the message was much mutilated, and
the possibility that exhaustion of ammunition might prevent the continuance
of resistance after the night 3rd-4th June was apparently not taken into account
at Dover.
Vice-Admiral Ramsay, who had no reliable information of the number of
French troops still to be evacuated but was aware that the figure was con-
siderable and conscious that it was his duty to our Allies to continue evacuation
as long as any French troops offered themselves for embarkation, was faced
with a situation with which the forces remaining at his disposal might, with the
best will in the world, be unable to cope.
The operation which had been in progress for the past nine days was of a
nature unprecedented in naval warfare, and imposed on the crews of ships
engaged an unprecedented strain. Officers and men had not only to cope with
the ordinary hazards of the war-such as bombing on an unparalleled scale,
frequent shelling, constant working in mined waters, and rescue work under
most unpleasant conditions-but were also exposed to the exhaustion pro-
duced through having their mess decks and every other available space in
their ships constantly crowded with troops. This precluded rest for the watch
below, the preparation and enjoyment of proper meals, and such meagre
amenities as a small ship operating in face of the enemy could offer. Stokers
suffered equally with the seamen because, owing to the physical exhaustion
of boats' crews after hours of work, relief crews of stokers were frequently
provided from amongst the many who volunteered.
Even as early as the 28th May the strain was beginning to tell. Lieutenant
P. F. S. Gould, R.N. of M.T.B. 16, working off Bray Beach, reported: "Com-
paratively fresh appearance of troops.
contrasted increasingly as the evacua-
tion progressed with the evidence of strain shown by ship's companies of H.M.
ships"¹. Exhaustion was particularly marked in the destroyer force, the
remnants of which had been executing a series of round trips without inter-
mission for several days. Some of the ships had been working off the coasts
of France and the Low Countries for the two weeks preceding the beginning
of Operation "Dynamo", engaged on various duties such as evacuating
refugees and giving supporting fire to the army and evacuating Boulogne,
work which had imposed an intense strain and resulted in heavy losses of ships
and men. Vice-Admiral Ramsay consequently represented to the Admiralty
that continuance after the night of 3rd-4th June of the demands made by the
evacuation would subject a number of officers and men to a test that might be
beyond the limit of human endurance, and he requested that fresh forces should
be employed if evacuation continued after the coming night, any consequent
delay being accepted.
I M.011883/40, p.38.
E
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