Completely surrounded, the Royal Navy put into motion Operation Dynamo in order to rescue the soldiers who were seen as easy targets for the German Stukas dive bomber and Bf 109 fighter units.
By May 26, 1940, the Germans had forced French, British, and Belgian troops to the port of Dunkirk, isolating them on the beaches. Completely surrounded, the Royal Navy put into motion Operation Dynamo in order to rescue the soldiers who were seen as easy targets for the German Stukas dive bomber and Bf 109 fighter units. Dunkirk could have easily been a tragedy rather than a successful tale of evacuation had it not been for the RAF and, consequently, the 15 Spitfire squadrons sent into battle.