The plan for the raid on dieppe; Code-named 'Operation jubilee'
The raid on Dieppe took place on August 19, 1942 and the troops of the Second Canadian Division, consisting of 5,000 Canadian men led by Major-General Roberts, were chosen to be the main force of the attack on the French port of Dieppe. They were to face battle with the Germans for the first time during the war and along with 1,005 British commandos, 50 US rangers and 15 Frenchmen, they set out on the 237 ships prepared for them eagerly, but nevertheless nervous for what the duel might bring. The raid itself was formulated to inspect enemy’s defenses, steal German code books for the Enigma code machine and furthermore, test new equipment and techniques to serve as a reconnaissance for a future invasion. Consisting of four pre-dawn attacks upon the Dieppe beach, specifically the beach of Puys and Pourville, the plan was to distract Germans from air forces going toward the main target, Hotel Moderne, to steal information on the Enigma machine. Ultimately, an attack was to be made on the town of Dieppe thirty minutes later by the advancement of the soldiers on the beach. It was very discrete, the element of surprise and perfect execution most crucial if the raid was to have any chance of succeeding. But from the very beginning things went awry, carving the plan's failure and setting it in stone.
Canada's role
"Don't worry men, it'll be a piece of cake!" Those were the words of Canadian Major General Roberts during the pre-raid debriefing to the Canadian soldiers aboard the ships destined for Dieppe. But alas, as fate would have it, that would not be the case. Before the ships were able to reach Dieppe's shores, they were discovered by a German convoy who sounded the alarm, alerting the Germans on shore of the Allies presence. The element of surprise slipped from their hands and to make matters worse, the sea battle between the German ship and the Allies caused a delay on the pre-dawn attacks. By the time the ships carrying the Canadian soldiers came ashore to the beach of Puys and Pourville, it was early morning and they were in plain sight of the Germans who were now expecting the attack and on the ready.
Twenty-seven tanks of the Calgary Regiment were released onto the beach, with only fifteen managing to advance inland, only to be terminated by the anti-tank blocks. The air force, mainly provided by British forces, also caused minimal damage due to the smoke screen from the explosions blocking their view of the beach and their main target, Hotel Moderne.
The Germans immediately started gunning the poor Canadian soldiers down and as communication was severely poor between the officers and soldiers, the officers sent in reinforcements from the Second Canadian Division, thinking that the first wave of soldiers had already advanced inland. When the second wave of Canadian soldiers reached the shore, they were shocked to see the first wave of soldiers stranded on the beach, the majority of them dead. Unable to retreat or advance, the Canadian soldiers were trapped on the beach and forced to surrender, resulting in the massive number of 907 Canadian soldiers killed and 1,946 of them taken as prisoners of war.
All these events commenced within the span of nine hours starting from 3:45 AM and ending at 1:00 PM when the official withdrawal was complete. The raid on Dieppe, the victory that could have possibly shortened the war, was instead a pitiful failure due to poor planning, underestimation of German fortification, and inadequate training. It cost the lives of many young Canadian men, and was labelled as the most devastating calamity made in the history of Canadian Military Warfare.
Twenty-seven tanks of the Calgary Regiment were released onto the beach, with only fifteen managing to advance inland, only to be terminated by the anti-tank blocks. The air force, mainly provided by British forces, also caused minimal damage due to the smoke screen from the explosions blocking their view of the beach and their main target, Hotel Moderne.
The Germans immediately started gunning the poor Canadian soldiers down and as communication was severely poor between the officers and soldiers, the officers sent in reinforcements from the Second Canadian Division, thinking that the first wave of soldiers had already advanced inland. When the second wave of Canadian soldiers reached the shore, they were shocked to see the first wave of soldiers stranded on the beach, the majority of them dead. Unable to retreat or advance, the Canadian soldiers were trapped on the beach and forced to surrender, resulting in the massive number of 907 Canadian soldiers killed and 1,946 of them taken as prisoners of war.
All these events commenced within the span of nine hours starting from 3:45 AM and ending at 1:00 PM when the official withdrawal was complete. The raid on Dieppe, the victory that could have possibly shortened the war, was instead a pitiful failure due to poor planning, underestimation of German fortification, and inadequate training. It cost the lives of many young Canadian men, and was labelled as the most devastating calamity made in the history of Canadian Military Warfare.
"They thought that speed, surprise and shock were going to carry the day. The plan never envisioned a fight on the beaches, and when the Germans stopped them on the beaches, the plan was doomed to failure." - Michael Bechthold, managing editor of the journal Canadian Military History.
THe Outcome & Lessons Learned
Did You Know? |
The beach was literally scattered with numerous bodies of Canadian and other Allied soldiers. As if mourning in the bloodshed, the tide steadily rose toward the beach, taking along with it bodies of the dead, making the sea stain red where the battle commenced. Despite it being the darkest day for Canadians during the war, the silver lining was the many valuable lessons that were learned from the defeat, including the need for better communications, armoured landing crafts and providing the inspiration for the development of Mulberry Harbours, PLUTO (pipe-line under the Ocean) which contributed to the success of the Normandy invasion! Because of the raid on Dieppe, who knows how many valiant successes were made by the Allies and how many lives were saved because of the invaluable lessons that were learned on that fateful day? The raid should not be looked down upon as a failure and defeat, but rather recognized for all the much-needed lessons that it taught the Allies which that later served in the victories that eventually led to the termination of World War II.
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"D-Day would have been a disaster were it not for the lessons of Dieppe." - Canadian General H.D.G. Crerar
The dieppe raid experience: Story of John W. foote, A canadian Veteran
Heroically, John Weir Foote saved countless lives in the raid of Dieppe on August 19, 1942 by his individual effort alongside the Regimental Aid Post. He assisted the wounded soldiers on exposed land by giving them first-aid, injecting morphine, and carrying them back to shelter, all the while exposing himself to the inferno of bullets for (approximately) eight hours while the raid commenced! When the call was made to retreat, Foote called out to all that could hear: "Every man to carry a man." Honourably, at the end of the raid when two men forcibly pulled him onto the last boat destined for England (his last chance for escape and freedom), Foote bounded back into the water and returned to the beach to share the fate as prisoner with his men.
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"It seemed to me the men ashore would need me far more in captivity than any of those going home." -John W. Foote
Taken as prisoner by the Germans, along with the men of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry, Foote was not released until April 25, 1945.
Foote's actions did not go unnoticed and he was awarded the Victoria Cross at the end of the war for his gallant efforts at Dieppe in which he personally put himself in danger to save the lives of others. Being the only member of the Canadian Chaplain Services to be awarded this coveted medal, his example stood as an inspiration to all those around him and his story still lives on today.
Foote's actions did not go unnoticed and he was awarded the Victoria Cross at the end of the war for his gallant efforts at Dieppe in which he personally put himself in danger to save the lives of others. Being the only member of the Canadian Chaplain Services to be awarded this coveted medal, his example stood as an inspiration to all those around him and his story still lives on today.
CITED Sources
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<http://thewalrus.ca/deconstructing-dieppe/>
Herd, Alex. Dieppe Raid The Canadian Encyclopedia. N.p., 17 Dec. 2013. Web. 06 Dec. 2014. <http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/dieppe-raid/>
Monroe, Susan. Dieppe Was a Disastrous WWII Test of the Invasion of Western Europe. About. N.p., 03 July 2013. Web. 07 Dec. 2014. <http://canadaonline.about.com/od/ww2battles/p/dieppe.htm>
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<http://www.archives.mcgill.ca/public/exhibits/mcgillremembers/results.asp?id=3331>
The Dieppe Raid. Veterans Affairs Canada. N.p., 23 Oct. 2014. Web. 05 Dec. 2014. <http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/historical-sheets/dieppe>
Through a Lens: Dieppe in Photographs and Film ARCHIVED. N.p., 10 July 2008. Web. 07 Dec. 2014. <http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/dieppe/045002-1040-e.html>
*Header Photo:<http://collectionscanada.gc.ca/pam_archives/index.php?fuseaction=genitem.displayItem&lang=eng&rec_nbr=3192395&rec_nbr_list=3192395,3628497>