Operation Ariel aka Operation Aerial
17 June 1940 – Operation Ariel begins: Allied troops start to evacuate France, following Germany’s takeover of Paris and most of the nation.
Smaller-scale counterpart to Operation Dynamo and designed to remove by sea all British troops in north-west France, largely from the ports of Cherbourg, St Malo, Brest, St Nazaire and La Pallice (16/24 June 1940). Admiral Sir William James, the Commander-in-Chief Portsmouth, was controller of the evacuations from Cherbourg and St Malo, while the others came under the command of Admiral Sir M. Dunbar-Nasmith, Commander-in-Chief Western Approaches. At Cherbourg some 30,630 men of the 52nd Div and Norman Force were lifted between 16 and 18 June; at St Malo 21,474 men of the 1st Canadian Div and other units were picked up between 16 and 18 June; at Brest some 32,584 soldiers and airmen were rescued between 17 and 18 June; at St Nazaire the total was 57,235 troops (including a number from Nantes) evacuated between 16 and 20 June; and at La Pallice 2,303 British and a large number of Polish troops were brought out between 17 and 20 June. Another 19,000 or so troops, most of them Polish, were lifted from ports in the southern half of the French Atlantic coast. At the same time it was decided to evacuate as many as possible from the Channel Islands, and between 19 and 24 June some 22,656 British citizens were removed from these islands, which must inevitably fall to the Germans after the capture of France.
The only major loss during the evacuation from western France was off St Nazaire. Liner Lancastria was bombed and sunk with the death of nearly 3,000 men.
Photo Gallery of the Lancastria
Hundreds of men can be seen clinging to the upturned hull. For most there was no means of escape. Upturned lifeboats can be seen to the left of the picture again with men clinging on and around them hundreds of heads are floating in the water. One survivor can be seen swimming towards the HMS Highlander from where this picture was taken by Frank Clements. To the right of the sinking Lancastria a becalmed area of sea marks the oil slick from the ship’s ruptured tanks. The Germans were continuing their attack when this image was taken, strafing men in the water. The time is approximately 4.05pm, Monday 17th June 1940.
Lancastria survivors – Tired, weary and covered in oil from Lancastria’s tanks. This shot shows survivors aboard the destroyer HMS Highlander, taken by Frank Clements. The survivor standing with the white blanket round his shoulders, behind the man with the cigarette in his mouth, has been identified as Donald Charles Bruce of the RASC. He later took part in the D-Day landings.
Related Reading:
The print journalist with the most extensive access and contacts, Franklin reported, recorded, and filmed from the front row of the operation as it unfolded and, as a result, was afforded unprecedented and unique access to the miners and the rescuers. Now, for the first time ever, he tells their full story in 33 Men: Inside the Miraculous Survival and Dramatic Rescue of the Chilean Miners
Franklin's status as a "local"--he has lived in Chile for 16 years, speaks fluent Spanish, and has six daughters with his Chilean wife--and his 25 years' experience as an investigative reporter provided him access other journalists could only dream of. For almost six weeks he lived on the hillside that served as the rescue operation's nerve center. He sat in on planning meetings, pored over government documents, and recorded sessions between the miners and the psychologists charged with looking after their mental health. He conducted interviews with miners' families, rescue workers, engineers, drill operators, and many others, including President Piñera of Chile. Even before the miners were rescued, while they were still underground, Franklin interviewed them via a makeshift phone that connected them to the surface. "I sat in this container where you could pick up a phone, dial eleven, and the phone would ring down below," says Franklin, who developed such a bond of trust with the miners that they described in great detail the dramatic first 17 days of their confinement. Cut off from the outside world and unsure if they would ever be found, let alone rescued, they were forced to create their own unique society while struggling to come to grips with the likelihood of a slow, lingering death.
Once the miners were rescued, Franklin interviewed virtually all of them--at their homes, at his house, on horseback, and at the beach. "All of this allowed me to develop a very special relationship with the miners," says Franklin. "They showed me the videos they made while they were trapped, which have never been shared with anyone. Two of them lent me the private diaries they kept while underground. And rather than having to rely on hearsay or rumor, if I had a question, I could go directly to them and ask. Above all, they allowed me to get inside their heads as they described the experience and detailed what happened day by day."
The result is 33 Men, the most authoritative book on the Chilean mine disaster. This timely book is an uplifting story of survival, endurance, and unprecedented human conquest. Written with the author's renowned eye for detail, it captures the remarkable story of the miners who grasped the essence of the human spirit in order to survive their entrapment, and the men and women who literally moved a mountain to set them free.
