Operation Dynamo

You may be looking for the wider battle at Dunkirk.

Operation Dynamo was an effort to evacuate Allied forces during the Battle of Dunkirk from the beach at Dunkirk during World War II. It was headquartered in Dover. The Nemonites' interference nearly prevented it, but the Tenth Doctor and Donna Noble were able to stop them. (AUDIO: The Nemonite Invasion)

Evacuation

Starting 27 May, (AUDIO: Neverland) 338,000 British Army soldiers were evacuated on boats from the area, 100,000 straight from the beach, (TV: Co-Owner of a Lonely Heart) in Operation Dynamo, after they had been cut off from the rest of the army by the Wehrmacht. (PROSE: Timewyrm: Exodus, TV: Co-Owner of a Lonely Heart) The operation was authorised by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and coordinated by Vice-Admiral Bertram Home Ramsay, with the help of HMS Brazen. (AUDIO: The Nemonite Invasion) On 29 May, HMS Grenade was sunk by German forces with the Eighth Doctor and Molly O'Sullivan on board. (AUDIO: Fugitives)

Aftermath

The Dunkirk evacuations left Prime Minister Churchill dispirited. The Doctor spoke to him afterwards and was able to lift his mood, convincing him to keep Britain in the war in defiance of Nazi Germany. (AUDIO: The Ultimate Adventure)

In 2009, the Torchwood Three team found the body of a sailor from the Dunkirk evacuation washed up on a beach. (AUDIO: The Sin Eaters)

In November 2016, Corakinus, king of the Shadow Kin and leader of the War of the Underneath, spoke through April MacLean, saying that the soldiers who evacuated were cowards, and should have stayed to fight and die. (TV: Co-Owner of a Lonely Heart)

Legacy

The events at Dunkirk left a legacy in British history in the form of the "Dunkirk spirit" of never giving up. The Tenth Doctor quoted this belief to the crew of the SS Pentallian when they lost hope in escaping the nearby sun's pull. (TV: 42)