Dieppe Raid
On August 19, 1942, the Dieppe Raid was launched by the Canadian Armed Forces on the shores of France. There were multiple reasons as to why the raid, called Operation Jubilee, was launched. Regardless, the raid on Dieppe was an utter failure and resulted in thousands of casualties.
One of the reasons for the Dieppe Raid was that it could serve as a test for a larger invasion later. Nazi Germany occupied most of mainland Europe at this point and was driving deeper into the Soviet Union. With France occupied all the way to the English Channel, there was only one open front on the continent. The Soviet Union was pressuring the other Allied forces to open another front in Western Europe and divert some of the German army away from the USSR. The Allies were not quite ready to launch such an attack, but could begin smaller raids to alleviate some pressure off the Soviet Union and start to wear down Hitler’s “Fortress Europe.” These small raids could also help the Allies understand the conditions and practice coordinated amphibious landings prior to firmly establishing a western front. Furthermore, a more recent, but largely accepted theory, as to why Operation Jubilee went ahead was a secret objective to capture an Enigma machine.
Canadians were chosen to make up the majority of Operation Jubilee. There were just over 6000 men involved in the raid; about 5000 were Canadians, 1000 Britons, and 50 Americans that participated. Canada had by this point been at war with Germany for almost 3 years but had seen little action. Canadians had only previously been involved in the failed defence of Hong Kong. As a result, Canadian troops overseas, and the Canadian public, were anxious to see the Canadian Armed Forces in action.
TROOPS APPROACH THE SHORE AT DIEPPE DURING THE AERIAL BOMBARDMENT. IMAGE FROM WIKIMEDIA COMMONS.
The raid was planned by Louis Mountbatten, a senior British naval officer (and Prince Philip’s uncle!). The goal was to land on the beach, encircle the town of Dieppe and destroy the harbour, and then retreat via sea. However, the raid ultimately failed as each of the landing groups faced difficulties and obstacles that kept them from completing their objectives. The troops landed along a strip of coastline that was heavily defended and between high cliffs. German troops were situated on the cliffs, safe in their concrete bunkers, and were able to fire down on the Canadians on the beach. The Canadians were to land at four distinct locations, codenamed Blue, White, Red, and Green Beach. The eastern flank, Blue Beach, was thwarted from the outset of their approach. Just off the beach the craft carrying the troops met a German convoy and engaged in a small naval battle. This both alerted the Germans on the mainland that the Canadians were approaching, but also resulted in the Canadians being late, which meant their smoke screen had already disappeared. Those at Blue Beach were vulnerable to overwhelming and heavy German fire. The arrival on Green Beach was successful and enemy gun batteries at Varengeville were taken out. However, the next objective was on the other side of a heavily defended bridge that Canadians were not able to cross; the troops were pushed back to the beach. Those set to land at White and Red Beach were late and landed as day was breaking. With the Germans already alerted to their arrival, and the approaching daylight, Canadian troops were met with heavy fire; the men were also forced to push ahead without artillery support as the tanks did not arrive on time. A small number of troops did make it across the beach and into the town of Dieppe, but it quickly became clear that their objectives would not be met, and the men began to retreat.
Major-General Roberts, watching from a ship offshore, thought more troops made it across the beach and sent in the reserve unit, many of whom also perished. The tanks finally arrived, but far less than expected and most did not make it off the beach; the few that did reach town were unable to break through the German blockades. Most tanks that made it to the beach got stuck in the pebbled beach and were unable to move any further. The sitting tanks were able to provide cover for those evacuating, but no tanks made it back to Britain and all the crews were either killed or taken prisoner.
All in all, the Dieppe Raid lasted less than 10 hours. In that time more than 3 350 Canadians became casualties: just under 2000 were taken prisoner and about 900 died. Less than half of the Canadians who left Britain on August 19 did not return in the retreat. This day was also the heaviest single day loss for Allied aircraft; 119 planes were shot down during Operation Jubilee. Those in charge knew there were significant risks associated with the raid in Dieppe, but did not expect the scale of loss that took place. Many argue that the lessons learned helped contribute to the Allied preparedness and success when they landed in Normandy in 1944.
Our exhibit is focused on the Home Front, where the majority of Canadians, especially women and children, would have experienced the war. However, there were just over a million Canadians who left home and served in the conflict. This blog series will look at 5 major battles or campaigns that involved Canadians during WWII: Dunkirk, Dieppe, Sicily, Normandy, and the Netherlands.