What is Dunkirk primarily associated with?

Dunkirk evokes images of a desperate situation and a remarkable rescue during World War II. In May 1940, the German army had pushed Allied forces, including the British Expeditionary Force, back to the French coastal town of Dunkirk. Facing imminent capture or death, hundreds of thousands of soldiers were trapped. The British government launched Operation Dynamo, a daring plan to evacuate these troops. What makes Dunkirk so memorable is not just the military operation itself, but the incredible involvement of civilian boats. Alongside naval vessels, hundreds of privately owned boats – fishing boats, pleasure crafts, even lifeboats – sailed across the English Channel to rescue the stranded soldiers. This "little ships of Dunkirk" effort saved over 300,000 men, a feat widely seen as a morale-boosting miracle for Britain early in the war. While D-Day was a crucial invasion, it was a later event. The fall of Singapore was a separate, devastating defeat for the Allies in the Far East. Dunkirk is specifically remembered for this mass evacuation and the civilian contribution to it.