British historian Ghee Bowman’s book to be released in India on September 1, ‘The Indian Contingent: The Forgotten Muslim Soldiers of Dunkirk’, published by Pan Macmillan, puts the spotlight on the Indian soldiers at the World War II evacuation site in May 1940.

Fighting for the British, there were around 600 Indians at Dunkirk in two companies — 25th Animal Transport Company and 32nd Animal Transport Company. They were part of a wider group known as Force K6, which was initially 1,723 strong, and eventually included over 4,000 men.

They were the first Indians to be taken prisoner by the Germans, and spent up to five years in POW camps. Around 10 escaped from the camps, 20 joined the German Army after Subhas Chandra Bose set up an Indian Legion from Indian POWs, but the majority waited in POW camps until the end of the war. However, the country’s contribution to WW II has remained unknown. Over 2.5 million Indian men and 11,500 Indian women had served in the war; 28 Victoria Crosses were awarded to Indians and Nepalis