What was the code name for the evacuation of Allied soldiers from Dunkirk in 1940?

The code name for the evacuation of Allied soldiers from Dunkirk in 1940 was Operation Dynamo.

The operation ran from 26 May to 4 June 1940, after German forces rapidly advanced through France and trapped the British Expeditionary Force, along with French and Belgian troops, near the English Channel. Vice Admiral Bertram Ramsay directed the naval planning from headquarters beneath Dover Castle, where a dynamo room inspired the name.

Operation Dynamo initially aimed to rescue about 45,000 men, but the evacuation far exceeded expectations. More than 338,000 Allied soldiers were carried to safety from Dunkirk’s harbour, beaches, and surrounding waters. Royal Navy vessels were joined by hundreds of civilian boats, later remembered as the “Little Ships.”

The evacuation saved a large part of Britain’s army, but it was not a military victory: the Allies abandoned enormous quantities of vehicles, artillery, and supplies. Churchill called it a “miracle of deliverance” while warning that a retreat should not be mistaken for triumph.