Which real 1940 evacuation does Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk dramatize?

Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk dramatizes the Dunkirk evacuation of Allied troops in 1940.

The historical operation, known as Operation Dynamo, took place from May 26 to June 4, 1940, during the Second World War. British and Allied forces were trapped around Dunkirk in northern France as German armies advanced, and ships and civilian boats helped carry soldiers across the English Channel.

Nolan’s 2017 film focuses on the experience of evacuation rather than presenting a conventional account of the entire campaign. It follows soldiers on land, civilians and sailors at sea, and pilots in the air, using separate time spans that converge during the rescue.

The evacuation saved more than 300,000 Allied soldiers, but it was not a military victory: much equipment was abandoned, and France fell soon afterward. The film’s title refers to the location, while Operation Dynamo is the historical name of the rescue effort.