battle, landmark, interwar and Second World War
Battle of Dunkirk
Battle of Dunkirk was a battle fought on 26 May 1940 at Dunkirk, in what is now France; it lasted 9 days. It was part of World War II, which ran from 1939 to 1945. The recorded result: See aftermath.
See it on the globe Read the article
Where it sits in World War II
Record
| Date | 26 May 1940 to 4 June 1940 | |
|---|---|---|
| Place | Dunkirk, France 51.048N, 2.381E | |
| Kind | Battle, interwar and Second World War | |
The ground today


The recorded site stands at about 0 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from -12 to 24 m, 36 m of relief, flat country and today it is 48% water, 37% built-up, 6% tree cover.
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.Nearest engagements
- Battle of the Dunes 1658, 1.1 km S
- Siege of Dunkirk 1646, 1.1 km S
- Siege of Dunkirk 1944, 1.2 km S
- Siege of Dunkirk 1793, 1.2 km S
- Siege of Dunkirk 1658, 1.2 km S
Contested ground: this site was fought over 9 times between 1639 and 1944.
In the same war
- Before: Battle of Stonne 25 May 1940
- After: Battle of the Ypres-Comines Canal 1940
- All 1155 engagements of World War II
Elsewhere in 1940
- the Blitz United Kingdom
- Bombing of Tokyo Japan
- Japanese invasion of French Indochina Vietnam
- Coventry Blitz United Kingdom
- Hundred Regiments Offensive China
Battle of Dunkirk is one of 4,429 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 1,495 in present-day France.
Sources
Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q208529, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Dunkirk, revision 1385545408, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.