Dunkerque

Dunkerque, or Dunkirk (pop. 73,100), seaport in northern France, on the English Channel, 10 mi (16 km) from Belgium. It is a shipbuilding, oil-refining, and food-processing center and railway terminus. In World War II some 1,000 vessels evacuated 337,000 trapped British and Allied troops from the town (May 27-June 4, 1940).

See also: France; World War II.