A Mysterious Fog Saved the Allies Cause

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164 years after Washington crossed the East River, another miraculous escape allowed more than 300,000 British forces to cross an even wider body of water and live to fight another day. Outnumbered by German forces two-to-one, British and French troops were pinned down on the French Coast at Dunkirk. On May 27, 1940 with German panzer forces less than 20 miles away and the Luftwaffe pounding the beaches, British Admiral Bertram Ramsey ordered Operation Dynamo forward. That night, suddenly, a heavy and dense fog rolled across and covered the entire channel. It was not the season for fog and no instance of it had been recorded before happening in May. Under the cover of this heavy fog, British ships crossed the French channel and the German subs and war ships did not detect them. As a result, more than 300,000 soldiers were rescued and brought safely back to England. 
 As soon as the last of the British ships returned home, the fog lifted. Churchill commented, "A guiding hand interfered to make sure the allied forces were not annihilated at Dunkirk."

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