Corporal "Tubby" Binns (John Mills), Lieutenant Lumpkin and their platoon return to their camp after blowing up a bridge, only to discover that their company has left during the night, leaving them alone in France. One man and a truck have been left to wait for them, but he and Lumpkin are killed in a bomber attack, leaving Tubby in charge with no idea what the situation is. It is up to Tubby to keep his increasingly demoralised men on the move. Unsure of where to go, they dodge the advancing Germans and reach a Royal Artillery battery camp. They receive some food, before being ordered to go to Dunkirk, where the rest of the British Expeditionary Force and tens of thousands of French soldiers are gathering, hoping to be evacuated. Eventually, they get a lift in an RAF lorry and reach the beaches. Parallel to this action is the story of Charles Foreman (Bernard Lee), a pessimistic journalist who tries unsuccessfully to rouse his complacent readers before it is too late. With the Germans rapidly winning the Battle of France and threatening to destroy the Allied forces bottled up around Dunkirk, the British Admiralty commandeers all available civilian boats to aid the evacuation. Foreman insists on taking his motorboat Vanity himself, despite warnings of the danger. Others follow his example. An acquaintance, Holden (Richard Attenborough), a motor engineer and businessman, self-satisfied with the profits he has made from the Phony War, does the same with some reluctance. However, as time goes by, his lack of commitment melts away. The men on the beaches are subjected to regular aerial bombing and strafing. Tubby and his men get aboard a ship, only to have it blown up and sunk before it can depart. After ferrying soldiers to the larger vessels, Foreman's boat is destroyed by a bomber. He survives and is picked up by Holden in the Heron. When Heron's engine malfunctions, one of Tubby's men effects repairs, while Foreman and teenage crewman Frankie go ashore to survey the scene. Foreman and Tubby discuss who is responsible for the debacle. During a Sunday morning church parade, Foreman is fatally wounded in an attack by German aeroplanes. However, Holden, Tubby and his men arrive safely back in Britain.

• published: 03 Dec 2013
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