Dunkirk — France
The wide tidal beaches east of Dunkirk where Allied soldiers waited for rescue -- often under Luftwaffe attack, with nowhere to take cover on the open sand.
Bray-Dunes, just east of Dunkirk near the Belgian border, formed part of the defensive perimeter held by French rearguard forces. French troops were among the last to leave, and thousands were captured when the perimeter collapsed on June 4, 1940.