Many wonder why the Germans allowed the allies to escape at Dunkirk it might have been a matter of Logistics , what would the Germans do with 350,000 prisoners ? , just a thought .

I am not convinced the Germans allowed the Allies to escape at all I think that is more an excuse for failing to stop them escaping than anything else.

As for what they would do with 350,000 prisoners I would point out that they captured far more than that in Russia and when France surrendered they effectively received 1,900,000 prisoners, add to that the soldiers of Belgium, Holland, Poland and you will discover 350,000 is a drop in the bucket.

Originally Posted by MontyB

I am not convinced the Germans allowed the Allies to escape at all I think that is more an excuse for failing to stop them escaping than anything else.

As for what they would do with 350,000 prisoners I would point out that they captured far more than that in Russia and when France surrendered they effectively received 1,900,000 prisoners, add to that the soldiers of Belgium, Holland, Poland and you will discover 350,000 is a drop in the bucket.

Germany likely handled more POW's (and did a shame full job of it) than any country in the history of warfare. German took > 5 million Soviet POW's of which (3.3 to 3.9) didn't survive Nazi captivity. The Germans took > than 2 million allied POW's who generally "but not always" received better treatment. As Monty mentioned Germany took POW's from most small and medium sized countries in Europe.
Don't forget that the troops at Dunkirk were severely harassed by the Luftwaffe as were the rescue ships.

As T said it was just a thought it was early in the war Germany I think were surprised that they were able to move so fast I had heard that Hitler was something of and anglophile .

Yes Hitler was slightly anglophilic early on (this was indicated in Mein Kampf), but he changed his opinion as the struggle continued. He grew quite hateful towards England in time. This is why he started bombing London's civilians rather than continue to bomb military objectives. Later he developed the V-weapons initially for the sole purpose of killing English civilians.
I don't beleive that Hitler was that surprised by the early success's, but the skeptical German general staff was which is how Hitler gained their confidence.

Originally Posted by JOC

Yes Hitler was slightly anglophilic early on (this was indicated in Mein Kampf), but he changed his opinion as the struggle continued. He grew quite hateful towards England in time. This is why he started bombing London's civilians rather than continue to bomb military objectives. Later he developed the V-weapons initially for the sole purpose of killing English civilians.
I don't beleive that Hitler was that surprised by the early success's, but the skeptical German general staff was which is how Hitler gained their confidence.

Hitler mentioned more then once that the British were not Germany's natural enemy. However, Neville Chamberlain quite understandably didn't want another war as almost a whole generation of men were wiped out during WW1. In many towns and villages in Britain in 1918 the only males were the very young or the elderly.

But Chamberlains appesement policy did not work as history shows, I suspect Hitler regarded him as an easy push over. Hitler only began bombing London after the RAF bombed Berlin, which was in retaliation to a German bomber got lost and dumped his bomb load on London by mistake.

Everything changed when Churchill came to power. For years Churchill had been warning that Germany was on the rise and was branded a war monger. RJ Mitchell the designer of the Spitfire was in Germany recovering from an illness overheard various comments from military men and realised that war was imminent. He rushed back to Supermarine to carry on work on his Spitfire design.

Originally Posted by BritinAfrica

Hitler mentioned more then once that the British were not Germany's natural enemy. However, Neville Chamberlain quite understandably didn't want another war as almost a whole generation of men were wiped out during WW1. In many towns and villages in Britain in 1918 the only males were the very young or the elderly.

But Chamberlains appesement policy did not work as history shows, I suspect Hitler regarded him as an easy push over. Hitler only began bombing London after the RAF bombed Berlin, which was in retaliation to a German bomber got lost and dumped his bomb load on London by mistake.

Everything changed when Churchill came to power. For years Churchill had been warning that Germany was on the rise and was branded a war monger. RJ Mitchell the designer of the Spitfire was in Germany recovering from an illness overheard various comments from military men and realised that war was imminent. He rushed back to Supermarine to carry on work on his Spitfire design.

You will agree that the V-weapons were designed as a method to get back at England. V for vengeance "at Britain"

Originally Posted by JOC

You will agree that the V-weapons were designed as a method to get back at England. V for vengeance "at Britain"

Yes it was JOC, even more so when the V2 was put into service. The V1 could be shot down either by triple A or fighter aircraft, the V2 once in flight was unstoppable.

British TV presenter Raymond Baxter a RAF fighter pilot during WW2 with his wingman came across a V2 site as a V2 was being launched, his wingman opened fire, Baxter said "Thank God he missed otherwise both of us would have been blown to pieces."

The V2 was also directed against Antwerp later on in the war.

V2 only carried a one ton explosive war head hardly enough to do very much damage .

Originally Posted by tetvet

V2 only carried a one ton explosive war head hardly enough to do very much damage .

If you're flying a prop driven aircraft and shooting at a V2 at less than 500 meters, a 2000LB explosive war head certainly is enough to do damage...Think of an air burst daisy cutter...that's the equivalent.