A seaborne rescue of British and French troops in World War II (26 May–4 June 1940). German forces advancing into northern France cut off large numbers of British and French troops. General Gort, commanding the British Expeditionary Force, organized a withdrawal to the port and beaches of Dunkirk, where warships, aided by small private boats, carried off some 330,000 men—most, but not all, of the troops.