January 16
From the opening of the war to the evacuation at Dunkirk, the British Army suffered one traumatic setback after another. It became a soldier’s battle at every point as the “fog of war” descended over the vast battlefield. Coordination was difficult, reliable information scarce, and rumors were rampant. The junior officers, sergeants, and individual soldiers saved the army from disintegration by taking the initiative to keep their units together in the confusion of retreat. It was not pretty, but it worked. Instead of the greatest military disaster in British history, the army’s successful retreat and miraculous escape from Dunkirk became a source of national inspiration and hope. As one historian noted:
Dunkirk had started something. The spirit of Britain was roused, a vast flame of self-sacrifice and endeavour which swept the country and kept it going through the next dark eighteen months. In this campaign there had been no differentiation by rank. Everybody, from the commanding general downwards, had faced the same conditions, the same dangers and the same hardships. All the privileges of peacetime had disappeared and there grew from it not only inter-service co-operation but also that tremendous comradeship that carried the forces through Alamein and Normandy.26
Across the Atlantic, sensing this new spirit of defiance in the people and government of Great Britain, The
So long as the English tongue survives, the word Dunkirk will be spoken with reverence. In that harbour… at the end of a lost battle, the rags and blemishes that had hidden the soul of democracy fell away. There, beaten but unconquered, in shining splendour, she faced the enemy, this shining thing in the souls of free men which Hitler cannot command… It is the future. It is victory.27
But I call to God, and the Lord saves me. Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice. He ransoms me unharmed from the battle waged against me.
January 17
An American bishop asked an Englishman after the war, “How did you British survive that period during World War II between Dunkirk and the coming of the American personnel and supplies?” John Marsh, the principal of Mansfield College in Oxford, replied:
We had Winnie [Winston Churchill]. Those speeches of his in the House of Commons were worth a million men to us. What he said compelled us by his persuasion to believe. He said that no matter what happened, we were going to win. He said, we were on the side that was going to prevail… we were going to win. There was no doubt about that.28
It may be difficult to quantify Winston Churchill’s contribution to the war effort, but there is no doubt that his moral leadership was pivotal. There was an Old Testament leader who also had to help his nation overcome seemingly insurmountable odds. King Asa was the third king of Judah and was known as a man of great integrity. During his reign he instituted a moral revival and a renewal in purity of worship to God. When his country was invaded by a vast Ethiopian army, he was also able to inspire his troops by ensuring them that they were on the “right side.” He placed himself and his kingdom under God’s providential care and, through his faithfulness, led his nation to a great victory.
Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, “Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. O Lord, you are our God; do not let man prevail against you.”
January 18
As the British Expeditionary Force retreated toward Dunkirk, the Green Howards Regiment was part of the rear guard fighting to delay the German advance. This unit, like many others, had endured days and nights of constant action, and every man was bone tired, hungry, and anxious. On May 29 orders finally came for withdrawal to the evacuation beaches. A Green Howards rifleman described what he saw:
We looked a sorry sight, covered with dirt and grime with hunger gnawing at our bellies. The going was hard, the sand being so soft and deep. Thousands of men were forming queues leading down to the sea and were in the water up to their shoulders, doing their utmost to get onto one of the small boats, which very often capsized. Beachmasters had a very difficult task keeping some semblance of order, but by and large the lads just waited patiently for their turn to come until the planes came over. Those in the water just ignored the bombs where could they run? I saw some poor lads crying and others, on their knees, praying. In the prevailing mood of many of the men it was common to see groups of soldiers being led by a Padre, in prayer.29
Many men were reassured and comforted on the beaches of Dunkirk as they turned to God both individually and in small groups. In the midst of this chaotic and dangerous ordeal these soldiers were able to go to a quiet place inside, where God always waits. We don’t know how each prayer was answered, but we do know that each man was touched in some way and strengthened by God’s presence. This is God’s promise to each of us: if we call out to him, he will listen, and he will be there for us in every crisis.
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
January 19
Twenty-one-year-old Pilot Officer John Beard was flying his Hurricane fighter at 15,000 feet, waiting for an attacking formation of enemy bombers and fighters to appear. Suddenly, his flight leader called out that he had
