Introduction
Just months into the Second World War, the bulk of the British army was holed up in Dunkirk in May 1940 with nowhere to run. In one of the great what-ifs of history, Adolf Hitler hesitated, handing the Royal Navy a week in which to mount a famous rescue mission.
AFTER Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, the British Expeditionary Force, a thorn in the German side during the Great War, was again deployed to France. This time, however, the speed of the enemy’s advance through Holland and Belgium, bursting into France by the Ardennes, caught everyone by surprise.
On May 28th, 1940, the BEF and its commanding officers — in Winston Churchill’s words, ‘the whole root and core and brain of the British Army’ — found themselves crammed into Dunkirk on the French coast, facing annihilation. But ‘Operation Dynamo’ scrambled hundreds of civilian motorboats, fishing-boats and pleasure-craft across the Channel, to help the overstretched Navy bring nearly 340,000 British and French troops home by June 4th.
With the Luftwaffe patrolling overhead, almost 70,000 men and over 200 ships were lost; the Germans picked up most of the British army’s precious equipment and vehicles. It was, as Churchill said, both a ‘miracle of deliverance’ and a catastrophic defeat. Ten days later, the Germans marched triumphantly into Paris.
Précis
In May 1940, the Germans had the cream of the British army pinned down on the French coast. Their only hope was an evacuation across the Channel, which began on May 28th with ‘Operation Dynamo’. Despite heavy losses under aerial bombardement, a flotilla of ships including small civilian vessels managed to carry over 330,000 soldiers to safety. (57 / 60 words)
In May 1940, the Germans had the cream of the British army pinned down on the French coast. Their only hope was an evacuation across the Channel, which began on May 28th with ‘Operation Dynamo’. Despite heavy losses under aerial bombardement, a flotilla of ships including small civilian vessels managed to carry over 330,000 soldiers to safety.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 60 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 50 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: although, besides, may, not, ought, since, until, whereas.
Archive
Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Advance. Command. Home.
2 Force. Invade. Overhead.
3 Defeat. Over. Ship.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Opposites Find in Think and Speak
Suggest words or phrases that seem opposite in meaning to each of the words below. We have suggested some possible answers; see if you can find any others.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
Variations: 1.instead of opposites, suggest words of similar meaning (synonyms). 2.use a word and its opposite in the same sentence. 3.suggest any 5 opposites formed by adding -less.
Add Vowels Find in Think and Speak
Make words by adding vowels to each group of consonants below. You may add as many vowels as you like before, between or after the consonants, but you may not add any consonants or change the order of those you have been given. See if you can beat our target of common words.
wt (5)
await. wait. wet. wit. wot.
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