List of Illustrations

iv Retreating soldiers up to their necks in water, 1940. Bert Hardy / Keystone / Getty Images

1 La Bouée, Plage de la Garoupe, Cap d’Antibes, before the war. Geoffrey Keating / Imperial War Museum.

3 Chamberlain, Daladier, Hitler, Mussolini and Ciano, Munich Conference, September 1938. Ann Ronan Pictures / Print Collector / Getty Images.

4 “Very Well, Alone.” David Low, “Very Well, Alone,” June18, 1940, Evening Standard, Solo Syndication, British Cartoon Archive, University of Kent.

6 Winston Churchill and Brendan Bracken. Central Press / Getty Images.

8 Chamberlain, French foreign minister Georges Bonnet, and Daladier. Keystone-France / Gamma-Rapho / Getty Images.

9 “Neville Chamberlain.” The National Archives / SSPL / Getty Images.

13 Admiral Horthy enters Budapest, 1919. Gircke / ullstein bild / Getty Images.

14 Jews being forced to scrub the pavement, Vienna, 1938. Jewish Chronicle / Heritage Images / Getty Images.

17 August 27, 1939, the signing of the nonaggression pact between Germany and the USSR (far left, Ribbentrop; center, Stalin; right, Molotov). Popperfoto / Getty Images.

18 “Rendezvous.” David Low, “Rendezvous,” Septermber 20, 1939, Evening Standard, Solo Syndication, British Cartoon Archive, University of Kent.

19 Maginot Line map.

20 An underground electric train delivers the soup, Maginot Line, 1939. Photo12 / UIG / Getty Images.

21 Cross-section of a Maginot Line fort. ullstein bild / Getty Images.

22 First-class dining car, 1939. SSPL / Getty Images.

24 Anti-British posters, France, 1939. “Dead for Whom? For England!” Nigel Dobinson / Getty Images.

25 “Don’t Mind Hitler, Take Your Holiday.” Haynes Archive / Popperfoto / Getty Images.

27 Neville Chamberlain, with the famous umbrella. Hudson / Topical Press Agency / Getty Images.

28 Gasmask baby. Keystone / Getty Images.

29 One of Vincent Korda’s sets for Things to Come. Fox Photos / Getty Images.

32 Hitler and Polish Foreign Minister Józef Beck. The Print Collector / Getty Images.

35 Ciano and Ribbentrop. Topical Press Agency / Getty Images.

37 Hitler greets HRH the Duke of Windsor and the Duchess, October 1937. Heinrich Hoffmann / ullstein bild / Getty Images.

38 Sir Nevile Henderson and Göring. Bettmann Archive / Getty Images.

40 Göring and the Führer. Heinrich Hoffmann / ullstein bild / Getty Images.

41 Lord Halifax and Göring. Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-1970-060-04 / Georg Pahl / CC-BY-SA 3.0.

46 Winston Churchill arrives for his first full day back as first lord of the Admiralty. Bettmann Archive / Getty Images.

48 Clement Attlee and Arthur Greenwood. William Vandivert / The LIFE Picture Collection / Getty Images.

48 Attlee. Central Press / Getty Images.

49 Robert Boothby. Hulton Archive / Getty Images.

55 General Gamelin and General Lord Gort. Heinrich Hoffmann / ullstein bild / Getty Images.

60 Sir Howard Kingsley Wood. Popperfoto / Getty Images.

74 Highland troops on their way to France, 1939. Fox Photos / Getty Images.

75 Children being evacuated, 1939 (note gas masks). Central Press / Getty Images.

76 Sir Alexander Korda and his wife Merle Oberon, after receiving his knighthood at Buckingham Palace. Topical Press Agency / Getty Images.

79 Operation Pied Piper in action, 1939. Popperfoto / Getty Images.

79 Harold Nicolson and Vita Sackville-West. Bettmann Archive / Getty Images.

83 General von Manstein and the Führer. Heinrich Hoffmann /Mondadori Portfolio / Getty Images.

84 Leslie Hore-Belisha visits the troops, 1939. Bettmann Archive / Getty Images.

86 General Gamelin contemplates the map of Europe—and apparently, the English Channel. Margaret Bourke-White / The LIFE Picture Collection / Getty Images.

87 Lieutenant-General Pownall. Bettmann Archive / Getty Images.

89 Churchill and General Georges. Topical Press Agency / Getty Images.

90 General de Gaulle and the king. © Collection Gregoire / Bridgeman Images.

91 King Leopold III of Belgium. Universal History Archive / UIG / Getty Images.

92 The assassination of King Alexander of Yugoslavia, in which General Georges was badly wounded. Topical Press Agency / Getty Images.

94 King Albert I of Belgium. Hulton Archive / Getty Images.

96 General Franz Halder. Paul Popper / Popperfoto / Getty Images.

103 Gracie Fields visits the troops, 1939. © Tallandier / Bridgeman Images.

107 Oliver Stanley. Topical Press Agency / Hulton Archive / Getty Images.

108 “Gad, gentlemen, here’s to our greatest victory of the war.” David Low, “Gad, gentlemen, here’s to our greatest victory of the war,” January10, 1940, Evening Standard, Solo Syndication, British Cartoon Archive, University of Kent.

110 Troops clearing snow in the brutal winter of 1939–1940. Past Pix / SSPL / Getty Images.

112 Major-General Bernard Montgomery on the left, Lieutenant-General Alan Brooke, center, 1940. War Archive / Alamy Stock Photo.

112 General Alan Brooke. Time Life Pictures / The LIFE Picture Collection / Getty Images.

114 Dartboards for the troops, 1939. Popperfoto / Getty Images.

116 German troops cross a fjord, Norway, 1940. ullstein bild / Getty Images.

119 German Ju 52 transport aircraft over Copenhagen, April 1940. ullstein bild / Getty Images.

120 General Von Falkenhorst (left) commander of the invasion of Norway. Heinrich Hoffmann / ullstein bild / Getty Images.

121 Paul Reynaud. Stedman Jones / The LIFE Picture Collection / Getty Images.

122 Hitler with Vidkun Guisling. Heinrich Hoffmann / ullstein bild / Getty Images.

124 David Lloyd George and Leo Amery. Hulton Archive / Getty Images.

128 Sir Horace Wilson and Chamberlain. Popperfoto / Getty Images.

129 Admiral Roger Keyes, center. ullstein bild / Getty Images.

131 The king and queen; on the right, Herbert Morrison. Popperfoto / Getty Images.

132 Captain David Margesson. Planet News Archive / SSPL / Getty Images.

137 Duff Cooper. Popperfoto / Getty Images.

144 Churchill with his bodyguard, Inspector W. H. Thompson of Scotland Yard. Topical Press Agency / Hulton Archive / Getty Images.

147 “The Thin Red Line”—4th Battalion, Border Regiment holding the line. Geoffrey Keating / Imperial War Museum.

149 Churchill. © Yousuf Karsh.

150 “All behind you, Winston.” David Low, “All behind you, Winston,” May14, 1940, Evening Standard, Solo Syndication, British Cartoon Archive, University of Kent.

153 Merle Oberon and Ralph Richardson in The Lion Has Wings. Keystone / Hulton Archive / Getty Images.

155 British and French advance map.

156 German sappers building a bridge across the Meuse, May 1940. Ullstein bild / Getty Images.

157 Fort Eben-Emael and the Albert Canal. ullstein bild / Getty Images.

159 German assault on Holland, Belgium, and Luxemburg map.

164 Major General Erwin Rommel, center, with his staff, after crossing the Meuse. Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-1972-045-08-2 / o.Ang.

165 Rommel. Hackett / Archive Photos / Getty Images.

165 Baldur von Schirach, center, Leader of the Hitler Youth, with the Führer. ullstein bild / Getty Images.

167 A German military policeman guides traffic toward Sedan, May 1940. ullstein bild / Getty Image.

170 First Belgian Defence Line map.

173 General Ewald von Kleist. ullstein bild / Getty Images.

175 Belgian refugees and retreating soldiers block the roads, May 1940. Keystone-France / Gamma-Keystone / Getty Images.

176 General Lord Gort. Bettmann Archive / Getty Images.

177 Battle of the Meuse map.

179 Clare Boothe Luce. Horst P. Horst / Condé Nast / Getty Images.

182 Sir Robert Vansittart. Keystone / Hulton Archive / Getty Images.

187 A German Ju 87 Stuka dive-bombing. Roger Viollet / Getty Images.

188 Churchill, General Sir John Dill, Attlee, and Reynaud at a meeting of the Supreme War Council, Paris. Popperfoto / Getty Images.

189 German breakthrough from the Meuse map.

190 The king and Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, commander in chief of Fighter Command. Popperfoto / Getty Images.

197 General Weygand. Margaret Bourke-White / Life magazine, Copyright Time Inc. / The LIFE Premium Collection / Getty Images.

204 General Ironside. H. F. Davis / Topical Press Agency / Getty Images.

205 German thrust begins to turn north-west map.

205 Marshal Philippe Pétain. Albert Harlingue / Roger Viollet / Getty Images.

206 Admiral Darlan. Bettmann Archive / Getty Images.

207 Joan of Arc. Photo12 / UIG / Getty Images.

209 General de Gaulle. Bettmann Archive / Getty Images.

218 Cliffs of Dover. Jeff Overs / BBC News & Current Affairs / Getty Images.

219 Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier in That Hamilton Woman. United Artists / FPG / Archive Photos / Getty Images.

221 Randolph Churchill, Coco Chanel, and Winston Churchill at a boar hunt on the Duke of Westminster’s estate in France. Hulton Archive / Getty Images.

223 Ambassador Joseph P. Kennedy, with his sons Joseph Jr. and John (the future president). Bridgeman Images.

227 German mechanized columns push between Arras and Somme map.

228 Gloria Swanson and her husband Henry de la Falaise, marquis de La Coudraye. General Photographic Agency / Getty Images.

230 Morris armored car. No. 1 Army Film & Photographic Unit / IWM / Getty Images.

231 Belgian civilians fleeing. Weltbild / ullstein bild / Getty Images.

237 Refugees in Louvain. Keystone / Getty Images.

245 Churchill, Lord Gort, and Pownall. Fox Photos / Hulton Archive / Getty Images.

254 Hitler helps himself to soup in the field. ullstein bild / Getty Images.

255 Heinrich Himmler, with his daughter Gudrun. ullstein bild / Getty Images.

258 General Gerd von Rundstedt. Bettmann Archive / Getty Images.

259 British Bren Gun Carriers advancing as Belgian civilians flee. Lt. L. A. Puttnam / IWM / Getty Images.

260 German troops entering Ypres. ullstein bild / Getty Images.

262 French Counterthrust at “The Gap” map.

265 Barges on a Belgian canal. CAP / Roger Viollet / Getty Images.

272 Men of the Royal Irish Fusiliers preparing to defend a house—note the bricks knocked out as firing points, or “loopholes.” Sgt. Oldham / IWM / Getty Images.

274 Hitler arrives at the front. ullstein bild / Getty Images.

275 Dunkirk. Charles Ernest Cundall / IWM / Getty Images.

277 General Heinz Guderian. AP Photo.

278 Duff Cooper, as minister of information. Picture Post / Hulton Archive / Getty Images.

280 The White Cliffs of Dover. SSPL / Getty Images.

281 The Burghers of Calais by Auguste Rodin. Philippe Huguen / AFP / Getty Images.

284 British and French Northern Armies map.

290 Hitler at the map table; on the right, a visibly skeptical General Halder. ullstein bild / Getty Images.

296 Area opened by King Leopold’s surrender map.

298 General von Brauchitsch. Bettmann Archive / Getty Images.

301 Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay surveys the channel from his headquarters in the White Cliffs of Dover. Topical Press Agency / Getty Images.

302 “Britain Delivers the Goods.” Michael Nicholson / Corbis / Getty Images.

307 Vincent, Alexander, and Zoltan Korda. Courtesy Michael Korda.

311 Dutch schuyt, of which many were used at Dunkirk. Planet News Archive / SSPL / Getty Images.

318 General Udet, in flying clothes. ullstein bild / Getty Images.

318 Marlene Dietrich. Bettmann Archive / Getty Images.

318 Leni Riefenstahl. Library of Congress / Corbis / VCG / Getty Images.

319 Otto Preminger arrives in Los Angeles. Bettmann Archive / Getty Images.

320 French director René Clair. Mondadori Portfolio / Getty Images.

322 British troops prepare to defend a position. Geoffrey Keating / Imperial War Museum.

323 Remains of a British convoy after being attacked by Stuka dive-bombers. Weltbild / ullstein bild / Getty Images.

325 German troops restring electric wires near Dunkirk using a captured British vehicle. ullstein bild / Getty Images.

333 John Collville. Evening Standard / Hulton Archive / Getty Images.

338 Obergruppenführer Sepp Dietrich and Himmler. ullstein bild / Getty Images.

343 Captain W. G. Tennant. Popperfoto / Getty Images.

348 “Waffen-SS.” Roger Viollet / Getty Images.

351 British machine gunners in the streets of Dunkirk. LA Puttnam / Imperial War Museum.

354 Dr. Joseph Goebbels, Reich minister of propaganda, having just been told that the person taking his photograph is Alfred Eisenstaedt, of Life magazine, a German Jew who had emigrated to the United States. Alfred Eisenstaedt / Pix Inc. / Time Life Pictures / Getty Images.

365 Sir Oswald Mosley, Bt. Popperfoto / Getty Images.

368 The beach at Dunkirk. Universal History Archive / Getty Images.

370 “LMS Isle of Man for holidays.” SSPL / Getty Images.

370 Dunkirk operations map.

371 The Isle of Man steamer S.S. Mona’s Queen goes down after hitting a mine at Dunkirk, and opposite, in her peacetime role. Imperial War Museum.

372 The beach at La Panne. Hugo Jaeger / Timepix / The LIFE Picture Collection / Getty Images.

379 Wounded soldier on a boat. March of Time / The LIFE Picture Collection / Getty Images.

383 Guernica by Pablo Picasso. © 2017 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Photograph: John Bigelow Taylor / Art Resource, NY.

386 Ramsay at Dover. C. J. Ware / BIPPA / Hulton Archive / Getty Images.

395 Sir Alexander Cadogan. ullstein bild / Getty Images.

397 Home again! Fox Photos / Getty Images.

401 Thames pleasure steamer heading for Dunkirk. English Heritage / Heritage Images / Getty Images.

410 Waiting at home for the troops to return—the “NAAFI girls” with tea. Planet News Archive / SSPL / Getty Images.

412 Ships at sea. Norman Wilkinson (CBE) / IWM / Getty Images.

418 Nurses returning to Dover. Keystone / Hulton Archive / Getty Images.

422 General Alexander. Hulton Archive / Getty Images.

425 Back to Blighty! (Note gas masks.). Fox Photos / Hulton Archive / Getty Images.

427 Kenneth Clark surveys the masterpieces of the National Gallery removed for safekeeping. Fred Ramage / Getty Images.

439 Some of the “little ships” of Dunkirk being towed home. Keystone / Getty Images.

440 British soldier firing his rile at German dive-bomber on the beach. Grierson / Stringer /Getty Images.

445 Destroyed French heavy tank. Galerie Bilderwelt / Getty Images.

447 Three of the armada of “little ships.” © Imperial War Museums (HU 41241).

453 The “little ships.” Popperfoto / Getty Images.

454 Well Walk, Hampstead. Rischgitz / Getty Images.

458 Ministry of Health evacuation poster. The National Archives / SSPL / Getty Images.