Spring 1942 was a very bleak time for the Allies. They had been pushed out of Western Europe after having evacuated from Dunkirk in 1940, the Germans had begun Operation Barbarossa and were advancing in the Soviet Union. In North Africa the British 8th Army was forced back into Egypt by Rommel and his Africa Corps. The enemy was now entrenched as almost all of Europe was under Nazi occupation. The Allies were not yet strong enough to conduct an amphibious landing on the scale of D-Day yet, so they chose to mount a large raid on the occupied French port of Dieppe. The idea being that it would be a good way to gain experience and test the equipment need for an amphibious assault like the D-Day Landings. That and after having spent years in the U.K. training, Canadian politicians and generals wanted to get the Canadian Forces into the fray. Allied command had planned a large raid for July of 1942 under the codename of Operation Rutter. Under the plan, the Canadians would be the main assaulting force. By May the men of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division were on the Isle of Wright busy conducting intense training for amphibious landings. Poor weather forced the postponement of Operation Rutter. It was just as well as many of those involved in the planning of the operation wished to abandon the plan. Despite some debate the operation was revived and given the new codename of Operation Jubilee. Again, the Canadians would provide the main assault force and Dieppe was still the main objective. The forces that would take part in the raid were for the majority, Canadian as 5000 of the 6100 personnel involved were Canadians. Others involved were approximately 1000 British Commandos and fifty U.S. Rangers. The landing force would be supported by eight Allied Destroyers and 74 Air Squadrons, eight of whom were from the Royal Canadian Air Force. The raid would be conducted in the early morning hours of the 19th of August 1942, with offensive actions to take place at five different points along a sixteen-kilometer front. The plan called for four simultaneous assaults on the flanks that would begin just before the break of dawn and thirty minutes later the main landing force (Canadians) would conduct a frontal assault on the town/ port of Dieppe itself. Canadians would also assault gaps in the cliffs at Pourville and Puys to the west and east of Dieppe. The British Commandos objectives were the enemy costal batteries on the eastern and western flanks (Berneval and Varengeville). The Allies unfortunately lost the element of surprise when the assault force encountered a German convoy off the coast of France. This engagement with the enemy alerted the enemy forces manning the coastal defenses, especially those at Berneval and Puys. Things did not get better for the Allied Forces as the landing crafts transporting 3 Commando were scattered and most did not make it to shore. The few that did, were quickly overwhelmed by the enemy. Despite being overwhelmed, a small force of about twenty or so commandos managed to advance within 180 meters of the costal battery. Their effective sniper fire would prevent the artillery from shelling the landing ships for about two and half hours before being evacuated. On the eastern flank of Dieppe at Puys the Royal Regiment of Canada encountered difficulties as the beach was very narrow and lofty cliffs commanded the landing area. On the cliffs were the strategically placed German defensive works. In order for this raid to have succeeded the landing force required darkness and the element of surprise, neither would happen. The landing was delayed and by the time the Royal Regiment of Canada was landing it was daylight and they were in full view of the enemy who immediately subjected them to heavy machine gun and small arms fire. Few of the men managed to advance past the heavily defended seawall located at the head of the beach. Those who did would not be able to return to the beach. Even with reinforcements from the Black Watch of Canada, the rest of the force was pinned down on the beach by German mortar and machine gun fire. It would be impossible to evacuate them due to the heavy fire and they would ultimately have to surrender and be taken Prisoner of War. The failure to clear the eastern flank defenses allowed the Germans to defend Dieppe from two sides and would ultimately lead to the failure of the main frontal push. The forces on the western flank had far more success than their comrades on the eastern flank. 4 Commando managed to land as planned and successfully completed their objectives of destroying the costal artillery at Varengeville. 4 Commando also managed to withdraw successfully. At Pourville the Canadians managed to land with the element of surprise in tact as there was little resistance at first. The South Saskatchewan Regiment and the Queens Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada landed on the beaches and it was only after having crossed the River Scie that the enemy resistance increased and became fierce. After heavy combat the Allied advance on Dieppe ground to a halt well short of their objective (town). The main force of the Cameron’s continued to advance on their slated objective of an inland airfield but only managed to advance three kilometers before stalling out. It was then at this time both units began to withdraw. Both would suffer heavy casualties during the withdrawal as the Germans fired on the beach from their positions on the high ground to the west and to the east of Pourville. Despite this heavy fire, the landing craft braving a hail of enemy fire came in to evacuate the men. It was also due to the valiant actions of a rearguard element that both units managed to evacuate the beach. The men of the rearguard would continue to fight until they had exhausted their ammunition, after which they surrendered to the enemy. The main assault was to take place thirty minutes after the attacks on the flanks and was conducted across the pebbled beach directly in front of the town of Dieppe. The enemy had a commanding view of the beach and were ready for the Canadians. The Germans positioned themselves on the surrounding cliff tops and in buildings overlooking the promenade. The Essex Scottish Regiment landed on the eastern sector of the beach and were immediately subjected to heavy enemy fire. All attempts to breach the seawall resulted in failure and sustained heavy casualties. Despite this one platoon of Essex Scots did however manage to advance into town. A message they sent back to headquarters located off shore misled the operation Commander General Roberts into sending the Les Fusiliers du Mont-Royal as reinforcements. As the Fulfillers landed, they too became bogged down on the beach and sustained heavy casualties. There was more success on the western sector of the beach, as the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry landed opposite an isolated casino and succeeded in capturing the stronghold. They also managed to clear the nearby pillboxes. Some even managed to cross the bullet riddled boulevard and move into the town, where they engaged the Germans in vicious urban combat. The tanks of the Kings Own Calgary Regiment were to land after a heavy naval and air bombardment but came ashore fifteen minutes late which deprived the infantry of critical tank support during the early stages of the raid. The tanks also encountered difficulties of their own upon landing, they too were subjected to heavy enemy fire and the pebbly beach and the seawall complicated maters as well. The tanks who did manage to advance past the seawall and into the town found their forward progress impeded by concrete obstacles and tank traps (dragons’ teeth and Czech Hedgehogs). Despite being immobilized the valiant tankers fought on providing the infantry with support and contributed to the successful withdrawal of the landing forces when time came. The tankers however were either killed in action or were forced to surrender and be taken prisoner. The last element to land at Dieppe was that of the Royal Marine “A” Commando. They too would share the same fate as their Canadian brothers in arms, suffering heavy casualties and a failed mission. The raid also resulted in a fierce air battle as well. The Allied air forces did manage to protect the ships at Dieppe but only at great cost to themselves. The Royal Air Force lost 106 aircraft, the highest single day loss of the entire war. As for the Royal Canadian Air Force they lost thirteen aircraft and by the afternoon of the 19th the raid was over and had ended in defeat. To this day Operation Jubilee is heavily debated some think it was an unnecessary waste of lives, others however maintain the thought that it was necessary to learn the required lessons to have the D-Day Landings result in victory. No matter how the raid is perceived, it is true that the Allies learned valuable lessons and would use the experience to plan accordingly for the invasion of Normandy two years later. It also gave rise to better coordination of combined arms, tactics that would save many soldiers lives on D-Day and transform modern combat tactics. The Dieppe Raid, Government of Canada. Online < https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/wars-and-conflicts/second-world-war/battle-of-dieppe >. Date modified 2023-05-19, accessed 2023-08-16.
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