dunkirk

Noun

• an amphibious evacuation in World War II (1940) when 330,000 Allied troops had to be evacuated from the beaches in northern France in a desperate retreat under enemy fire

• a seaport in northern France on the North Sea; scene of the evacuation of British forces in 1940 during World War II

• a crisis in which a desperate effort is the only alternative to defeat
  • the Russians had to pull off a Dunkirk to get out of there
    

Related words

• Synonyms: 
  Dunkirk , Dunkerque