The Dieppe Raid (Operation Jubilee) August 19th 1942

The Scene is Set Hitler and the Nazi’s are extremely successful by 1942 and control most of Europe. WWII rages in Russia, as Stalin and his armies attempt to resist Nazi control. Russia is losing however as the German army pushes towards Russia’s Caucus oil fields. France has been taken by the Nazi’s and it is heavily reinforced to avoid capture by the Allies. The Canadian soldiers were in Britain completing training and waiting to be utilized for 2 years before the Dieppe raid began. The Allies wanted to test out their equipment, the Canadian soldiers, and an amphibious assault on a German held beach.

German Occoupied Europe 1941/1942

Why Dieppe? With war waging in Russia between the Nazis and the Red Army, Stalin asked the United States and Britain to create a second front in Europe to detract men and resources from the Nazis on his front. The Allies wanted to see if it was possible to capture a enemy seaport that was fortified. The Allies wanted to use the port of Dieppe to see if an attack using land, air, and sea battalions could successfully conquer a port. New tanks and artillery had been invented and needed to be tested. The Allies wanted to test their new equipment, communication lines, and chains of command. Dieppe was to be an in-and-out raid that only lasted 1 day. The raid was to be a surprise to see if they could establish a foothold in France on the beaches and in the town of Dieppe.

Waters, Beaches, and Cliff formations of Dieppe

The Participants The raid of Dieppe was conducted by about 50 American Rangers, 1000 British troops, and 5000 Canadian soldiers. These troops included soldiers from the Royal Regiment of Canada, the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry, the Essex Scottish Regiment, Les Fusiliers Mont Royal, the A Commando Royal Marines, the 14th Army Tank Regiment (Calgary), the South Saskatchewan Regiment, and the Queens own Cameron Highlanders of Canada. The troops would be a 3 pronged attack by sea by the Royal Navy, by air by the Royal Airforce, and by land, with soldiers on foot and in tanks. 1500 German soldiers defended Dieppe’s heavily armed shores from above.

The Plan The Plan consisted of attacks on 6 different areas of beach. There would be 4 attacks on a beach directly in front of the city of Dieppe, and 2 on the eastern and western flanks of the city. The 4 central beaches were code named by color and specifics of the regiment attacking that area. Code names for the central beaches were Beach Blue, Red, White, and Green, while the two flanking attacks would occur on Beach Orange and Beach Yellow. The 4 central beach attacks were to occur before dawn to create an element of surprise. The attacks were to be backed up by air, naval, and tank support and would lead to one final attack on the town of Dieppe itself.

The Massacre On August 19th, 1942 the battle for Dieppe began One of the ships carrying Canadian soldiers to the shores unexpectedly ran into a small German convoy. A sea battle began and the element of surprise was shattered. The noise had alerted the Germans on land. Pre-dawn warfare was key as darkness would hide the troops, however, because of the battle the troops were delayed. They arrived on shore around daybreak and the Germans were on the ready.. The men were mowed down with bullets. The second wave of soldiers arrived beleiving that the first wave were off the beaches and in the town. They too were mowed down with nowhere to turn back to and nowhere to advance.

The Massacre Continued… Allied tanks could not get enough traction on the pebbly beaches and were left immobile and unusable. Communication between ships, planes, and troops on the land was extremely poor. Wave after wave of Canadian soldiers landed on the beaches of Dieppe and were killed almost instantly before they could even shoot. IN ALL 907 CANADIANS WERE KILLED IN 9 HOURS, IN ONE SINGLE MORNING. THIS IS MORE THAN ANY OTHER DAY IN ALL OF WORLD WAR TWO ANOTHER 2000 SOLDIERS WERE TAKEN PRISONER. THIS IS 90% OF THE TOTAL LEFT ALIVE. THESE MEN WOULD BE IN POW CAMPS FOR 2 YEARS.

The Unanswered Question: Was the Raid Justified? NOT JUSTIFIED Many people including veterans and historians recount Dieppe as a senseless slaughter, a massacre. The raid is also criticized for giving Germans an insight into the Allied tactics of an amphibious attack. Critics say that the unseasoned Canadians were used as lab rats, test subjects for the eventual attack on Normandy.

Was the Raid Justified Continued…. Others stress that without a trial run of communications, equipment, and the use of men and a three pronged aerial, sea, and land attack, the Allies would have never been able to fix the problems with their approach. Some say that Dieppe taught the Allies valuable lessons on how to conduct an amphibious attack and lead to the successful Normandy D-Day invasions in 1944.

Could There Have Been Another Reason for the Raid? Recent research suggests that it is possible that the attacks on Dieppe had a top secret purpose involving the German ENIGMA machine, or its machine that produced secret codes that the Nazis used to communicate back in forth without the allies understanding.

Ticket Out the Door: Its Your Turn to Weigh In… Was the raid of Dieppe Justified? In your opinion was what was gained through raiding Dieppe worth the cost? Why or why not? Give your answer on a piece of loose-leaf paper in 5-10 sentences. Hand in to Ms. Lewis when you are finished.