The Dieppe Raid on August 19, 1942 lasted only nine hours, but cost nearly 1000 lives. This gallery features a selection of the Canadian war memorials in and near Dieppe. I photographed these scenes in 1988 and 1989. On my first visit to Dieppe I had been aware of the raid but had no idea of exactly where it had occurred, who had participated, and why it occurred in the first place. As I walked toward the beach in the centre of Dieppe I thought that the landing could not have been there, because the natural terrain of the surrounding cliffs made an obviously strong defense possible. As I approached the centre of the sea wall I was shocked to see the memorial of the Fusiliers Mont-Royal. Eventually I found numerous Canadian memorials that showed the terrible position our troops had faced. In the Canadian War Cemetery near Dieppe I was further surprised to see the gravestones of the armoured regiment of my hometown of Calgary. In addition to the memorials I have included portraits of seven Canadian veterans involved in the raid. The story of the Dieppe Raid is better found in other places, but hopefully this gallery will serve to arouse the curiosity of Canadians to find out more about this important event in World War II.
I have just finished reading your web site on the Dieppe raid.
An excellent site on that subject as I too nearly went to Dieppe.
Although at the time I was only 5 years old, we lived in South
Road, Newhaven. South Road was an approach road to the loading
stage for the Tanks taking part in the raid. On the night in
Question I was wakened by the sounds of the heavy tanks in our
road, and looked out of my bedroom window to see the road filled
with tank's which were now stationary, but with their engines
still running.
Being at this young age, and I might add an absolute menace to
my mother and local authorities, I found the scene a kid's wonderland,
and wasted no time in in dressing and departing discreetly via
our back door, through the back yard, into the rear laneway and
made my way round to South Road and the Tank,s.
I soon attracted the attention of one of the tank commanders
who was probably quite surprised to see such a young child out
so late at night. The exact time on night I'm not sure of, just
that it was dark and probably after midnight.
The soldier in question lifted me up onto his tank, and I was
inside like a flash. Absolutely agog at what I was seeing. I
sat there and just looked about me, for how long I don't know,
but I do know that we started to move and I think I was forgotten
by all. I do know that the distance to the landing craft was
about 350 yards from my house, and with fifty yards to go I wriggled
up beside the commander and popped my head out. I was immediately
spotted by a red cap at the Sheffield Hotel who yelled out, "
Get that damned kid out of there". I knew by his tone that
he meant me, and with a little help from the commander I was dropped
at the sine of the tank with leg's already running, and I made
a rapid departure from the area.
I have always wondered since, what happened to that tank and it's
crew, and did the redcap ever remember the incident.
Perhaps I'll never know. After reading dozens of books on the
raid, and in later life serving on the cross channel ferries over
to Dieppe, and visiting the Canadian Cemetery, I have always had
that question on my mind, and always been hopeful of reading a
reference to it. Now 64 years old I doubt I'll ever know.
It goes without saying, that I sincerely hope that the crew made
it back OK.
I hope you find my little tale of adventure of interest.
Sincerely yours. JIM STILL
Veterans Affairs Canada is the source of the following:
The Allied situation in the spring of 1942 was grim. The Germans
had penetrated deep into Russia, the British Eighth Army in North
Africa had been forced back into Egypt, and in Western Europe
the Allied Forces faced the Germans across the English Channel.
Since the time was not yet ripe for mounting Operation Overlord,
the full-scale invasion of Western Europe, it was decided to mount
a major raid on the French port of Dieppe.
Designed to foster German fears of an attack in the west and compel
them to strengthen their Channel defences at the expense of other
areas of operation, the raid would also provide the opportunity
to test new techniques and equipment, and be the means to gain
the experience and knowledge necessary for planning the great
amphibious assault.
Accordingly, plans were drawn up for a large-scale raid to take place in July 1942. Canadians would provide the main assault force, and by May 20 troops of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division were on the Isle of Wight to begin intensive training in amphibious operations. When unfavourable weather in July prevented the raid from being launched, it was urged that it should be abandoned. However, over the next few weeks the operation was revived and given the code name Jubilee. The port of Dieppe on the French coast remained the objective.
The attack upon Dieppe took place on August 19, 1942. The troops involved totalled 6,000 of whom 5,000 were Canadians, the remainder being British Commandos and 50 American Rangers. The raid was supported by four destroyers of the Royal Navy and 74 Allied air squadrons (eight belonging to the RCAF). Major-General J.H. Roberts, the Commander of the 2nd Canadian Division, was appointed Military Force Commander with Captain J. Hughes-Hallett, R.N., as Naval Force Commander and Air Vice-Marshal T.L. Leigh-Mallory as Air Force Commander.
The plan called for attacks at five different points on a front of roughly ten miles. four simultaneous flank attacks were to go in at dawn, followed half an hour later by the main attack on the town of Dieppe itself. Canadians would form the force for the frontal attack on Dieppe and would also go in at gaps in the cliffs at Puys two-and-one-half miles to the west, and at Pourville to the east. British commandos were assigned to destroy the coastal batteries at Berneval on the eastern flank, and at Varengeville in the west.
As the assault force approached the coast of France in the early hours of August 19, the landing craft of the eastern sector unexpectedly encountered a small German convoy. The noise of the sharp violent sea fight which followed alerted coastal defences, particularly at Berneval and Puys, leaving little chance of success in the eastern sector. The craft carrying the No. 3 Commando were scattered and most of the unit never reached shore. Those that did were quickly overwhelmed. One small party of 20 commandos managed to get within 200 yards of the battery and by accurate sniping prevented the guns from firing on the assault ships for two-and-one-half vital hours before they were safely evacuated.
At Puys the Royal Regiment of Canada shared in this ill-fortune. the beach here was extremely narrow and was commanded by lofty cliffs where German soldiers were strategically placed. Success depended on surprise and darkness, neither of which prevailed. The naval landing was delayed, and as the Royals leapt ashore in the growing light they met violent machine-gun fire from the fully-alerted German soldiers. Only a few men were able to get over the heavily wired sea-wall at the head of the beach; those that did were unable to get back. The rest of the troops together with three platoons of reinforcements from the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada were pinned on the beach by mortar and machine-gun fire, where they were later forced to surrender. Evacuation was impossible in the face of German fire. Of those that landed 200 were killed and 20 later died of their wounds; the rest were taken prisoner - the heaviest toll suffered by a Canadian battalion in a single day throughout the entire war. Failure to clear the eastern headland enabled the Germans to enfilade the Dieppe beaches and nullify the main frontal attack.
In the western sector, meanwhile, some degree of surprise was achieved. In contrast to the misfortune encountered by No. 3 on the east flank, the No. 4 Commando operation was completely successful. According to plan, the Commando went in, successfully destroyed the guns in the battery near Varengeville, and then withdrew safely.
At Pourville, the Canadians were fortunate enough to achieve some degree of surprise and initial opposition was light as the South Saskatchewan Regiment and Cameron Highlanders of Canada assaulted the beaches. Resistance stiffened as they crossed the River Scie and pushed towards Dieppe proper. Heavy fighting then developed and the Saskatchewans, and the Camerons who supported them, were stopped well short of the town. The main force of the Camerons, meanwhile, pushed on towards their objective, an inland airfield, and advanced some two miles before they toowere forced to halt.
The Canadians lost heavily during the withdrawal. The enemy was able to bring fierce fire to bear upon the beach from dominating positions east of Pourville, and also from the high ground to the west. However, the landing craft came in through the storm of fire with self-sacrificing gallantry and, supported by a courageous rearguard, the greater part of both units successfully re-embarked though many of the men were wounded. The rearguard itself could not be brought off and, when ammunition ran out and further evacuation was impossible, surrendered.
The main attack was to be made across the shingle beach in front of Dieppe and timed to take place a half-hour later than on the flanks. German soldiers, concealed in cliff-top positions and in buildings overlooking the promenade, waited. As the men of the Essex Scottish Regiment assaulted the open eastern section, the enemy swept the beach with machine-gun fire. All attempts to breach the sea-wall were beaten back with grievous loss. When one small party managed to infiltrate the town, a misleading message was received aboard the headquarters ship which suggested that the Essex Scottish were making headway. Thus, the reserve battalion Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal were sent in. They, like their comrades who had landed earlier, found themselves pinned down on the beach and exposed to intense enemy fire.
The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry landed at the west end of the promenade opposite a large isolated casino. They were able to clear this strongly-held building and the nearby pillboxes and some men of the battalion got across the bullet-swept boulevard and into the town, where they were engaged in vicious street fighting.
Misfortune also attended the landing of the tanks of the Calgary Regiment. Timed to follow an air and naval bombardment they were put ashore ten to fifteen minutes late, thus leaving the infantry without support during the first critical minutes of the attack. Then as the tanks came ashore, they met an inferno of fire and were brought to a halt - stopped not only by enemy guns, but also immobilized by the shingle blanks and sea-wall. Those that negotiated the sea-wall found their way blocked by concrete obstacles which sealed off the narrow streets. Nevertheless, the immobilized tanks continued to fight, supporting the infantry and contributing greatly to the withdrawal of many of them; the tank crews became prisoners or died in battle.
The last troops to land were part of the Royal Marine "A" Commando, who shared the terrible fate of other Canadians. They suffered heavy losses without being able to accomplish their mission.
The raid also produced a tremendous air battle. While the Allied air forces were able to provide protection from the Luftwaffe for the ships off Dieppe, the cost was high. The Royal Air Force lost 106 aircraft - more than in any other day of the war. The RCAF loss was 13 aircraft.
Conflicting assessments of the value of the raid continue to be presented. Some claim that it was a useless slaughter; others maintain that it was necessary to the successful invasion of the continent two years later on D-Day. The Dieppe raid was closely studied by those responsible for planning future operations against the enemy-held coast of France. Out of it came improvements in technique, fire support and tactics that reduced D-Day casualties to an unexpected minimum. The men who perished at Dieppe were instrumental in saving countless lives on the 6th of June, 1944. While there can be no doubt that valuable lessons were learned, a frightful price was paid in those morning hours of August 19, 1942. Of the 4,963 Canadians who embarked for the operation, only 2,210 returned to England, and many of these were wounded. There were 3,367 casualties, including 1,946 prisoners of war; 907 Canadians lost their lives.