Background Information• The Dieppe Raid took place on August 19th, 1942.

• 61, 000 Allied troops including 5, 000 Canadians were shipped by a 200 vessel convoy to the beaches of the port town of Dieppe, France.

• 913 Canadians would die and 1950 were taken as POW’s. In addition equipment was lost and vessels were destroyed.

• The Dieppe Raid is one of the most bitter and controversial episodes in Canadian history.

Dieppe, France

Soviet Pressure• In June, 1941 the Nazis launched an attack against the

Soviet Union and created a two front war.

• The Nazi Soviet war on the Eastern front was very vicious and ruthless. Thousands of Soviets were dying daily.

• The Russians were losing hope and urged the British and the Allies to open up a second front in Western Europe to draw away a lot of the Nazi army and relieve pressure on the Soviet army.

• The Second Canadian Division would be selected for the challenge of taking the beaches and port of Dieppe.

Operation “Rutter”• The British and Americans decided and planned the

attack calling it “Operation Rutter”. It was lead by Admiral Louis Mountbatten of the UK.

• The troops were to capture and secure the port.

• On July 7th, 1942 “Operation Rutter” was called off because of continuous bad weather. It was later renamed “Operation Jubilee” and was rescheduled for August 19, 1943.

Stages Of Operation Rutter• The first stage was heavy naval bombardment to destroy

a lot of the coastal defenses in Dieppe. In addition, heavy aerial support would also be provided for the troops.

• The troops were to attack the German coastal defenses under the cover of darkness to surprise them.

• Troops were to storm the beach and take out key strategic positions (pill boxes) supported by tanks and artillery fire. They were to hold the beach.

The Disaster Of Operation “Jubilee”• Operation “Rutter” was renamed Operation “Jubilee”

and many changes were made.

• Canadian were only told on the day of raid and the officers were only given ten days notice to prepare.

• “Jubilee” was different from “Rutter” because there would be very limited close aerial support and Royal Navy support.

• Most of the burden was on the troops.

4 Flank Attacks1. Puys 3. Varengeville2. Pourville 4.Berneval

Puys• East of Dieppe.

• The Royal Regiment of Canada landed 30 minutes later than expected because the attack was delayed because they were spotted by a German convoy.

• • Germans were on high alert, heavily armed and ready for the attack.

• Germans were heavily armed and above the Canadians on a 10 foot wall.

• Not easy to get across the wall without being shot.

• Only 65 returned back home from the estimated amount of 1, 500 that went.

Canadian dead on Blue beach at Puys. Trapped between the beach and high sea wall (fortified with barbed wire), they made easy enfilade targets for MG34 machineguns in a German bunker. The bunker firing slit is visible in the distance, just above the German soldier's head

Pourville• West of Dieppe

• South Saskatchewan Regiment landed at 04:52 and surprised the Germans.

• The South Saskatchewan Regiment had no resistance when going inland but were eventually overwhelmed and pushed back.

• Lieutenant Colonel Merritt continually tried to cross the guarded bridge in an attempt to break through the German defences. His bravery earned him the Victoria Cross.

The Commandos• Commandos were the specially trained British troops.

• Two British Commando groups were to attack opposite ends of Dieppe.

• No.3 Commandos attacked east of Dieppe in a town called Berneval and the No.4 Commandos attacked west of Dieppe in a city called Varengeville.

• Before the attack on Berneval the ships carrying the No.3 met a German convoy and skirmish ensued.

• When the No.3 finally reached Berneval, the Germans were ready and most of them were captured because they were outnumbered.

• About 20 people managed to reach the guns but did not destroy them.

Varengeville- No.4 Commandos• Landed on schedule and split into two groups.

• The first group fired at Germans defending their artillery guns.

• The second group surrounded the area and attacked from behind managing to destroy a couple heavy guns.

• Only 45 were killed and wounded.

• Berneval was unsuccessful at completing their objects but the No.4 accomplished their tasks.

The Main Attack On Dieppe• The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry, the Essex Scottish and

the Calgary Regiments were to launch the main attack.

• The RHLI was to attack the “Red Beach” and the Essex Scottish was to attack the “White Beach”.

• The Calgary Regiment would support both sides.

• The Fusiliers Mont-Royal and the Royal Marine Commandos were to capture prisoners and collect intelligence.

• The Air Force had left and did not provide adequate coverage.

• The Calgary Tanks either sank or lost their treads on the beach and thus were useless.

• Without the necessary air or naval coverage the Canadians were an open target on the flat, slippery and wet beach.

• Many Canadians had been shot, the few who survived did so by hiding behind the large beach wall for protection.

• German pillboxes on the beach were very effective.

• The tanks arrived late to “Red Beach” and many had been damaged.

• On the beach of Dieppe there were many concrete walls and it was very difficult to get through.

• The remaining soldiers eventually went back to the beach looking for an evacuation.

• It was now after 8:00 A.M. and it was clear the raid had failed.

The Results

The Withdrawal• 4 hours after arriving at Dieppe, at 9:00 A.M. it was clear that the main

objective of Dieppe was to save the people caught by the Germans and evacuating the beaches and heading back to England.

• At 11:00 A.M. with the help of the remaining airplanes the first boats arrived to help evacuate.

• Germans were waiting for the departure and bombed the ships that were arriving.

• The Royal Navy tried their best and when a boat arrived the survivors made a ran for it.

• At 1:00 P.M. boats could no longer reach the beaches.

• By 2:00 P.M. German guns silent and the Dieppe Raid was over.

Canadian POW’s Being Marched Down The Streets Of Dieppe

What Went Wrong?• Not enough artillery support.

• The Germans had the high ground, were highly fortified and had a strong army there.

• Tank assist plan failed.

• Missing adequate planning, resources and weapons.

• Canadian troops were not experienced enough or prepared.

The Aftermath

• Of the nearly 5,000-strong Canadian contingent, 3,367 were killed, wounded or taken prisoner, an exceptional casualty rate of 68%.

• While the Canadian contingent fought bravely in the face of a determined enemy, it was ultimately circumstances outside their control which sealed their fate.

• Winston Churchill remarked that, “My Impression of 'Jubilee' is that the results fully justified the heavy cost” and that it “was a Canadian contribution of the greatest significance to final victory.”

The Aftermath(Continued)

• Many Canadians felt that the Germans were “tipped off” in advance of the raid because of how prepared and accurate they were in their counter attacks.

• Evidence taken from German POW’s after the raid help support this theory.

• Even the Germans felt that the raid was a horrible idea and that the Canadian troops were sent to slaughter.

Admiral Of The Fleet Louis Mountbatten

Mountbatten justified the raid by arguing that lessons learned at Dieppe in 1942 were put to good use later in the war.

“I have no doubt that the Battle of Normandy was won on the beaches of Dieppe. For every man who died in Dieppe, at least 10 more must have been spared in Normandy in 1944."

Lessons Learned• The lessons learned at Dieppe essentially became the textbook of

“what not to do” in future amphibious operations and laid the framework for the Normandy landings two years later.

Most notably, Dieppe highlighted: 1.) The need for preliminary artillery support, including aerial bombardment.

2.) The need for a sustained element of surprise.

3.) The need for proper intelligence concerning enemy fortifications.

4.) The avoidance of a direct frontal attack on a defended port city.

5.) The need for proper re-embarkation craft.

Canadian Victoria Cross Recipients Captain John Foote

Captain Foote coolly and calmly during the eight hours of the battle walked about collecting the wounded. His gallant actions saved many lives and inspired those around him by his example. At the end of this gruelling time he climbed from the landing craft that was to have taken him to safety and deliberately walked into the German position in order to be taken prisoner so that he could be of help to those men who would be in captivity until May 5, 1945.

Lieutenant Colonel Charles Merritt

Charles Merritt led an attack on a pill box killing both Germans even though he had been wounded twice already. He helped some of his men withdraw to safety but was eventually captured and sent to a German POW camp for the rest of the war.

Dieppe War Cemetery

Located at Vertus Wood outside of Dieppe.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCLJhxfj608 saving private ryan into

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQhPjKet4II Global, cdns in dieppe 14 min