On this day 70 years ago August 19th, 1942, elements of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division conducted a mass raid on the German occupied port of Dieppe France.
It was just less than a year after Pearl Harbor and the American entry into World War Two. Canadian soldiers had been training in England since the start of the war and aside from minor actions along the coast (not including the valiant yet doomed defense of Hong Kong - those of you that flew there in the 80's or '90's landed on a runway constructed in part by the slave labour of Canadian prisoners of war) the Canadians were anxious to get into action before the "Johnny come lately Yanks".
Allied command wanted to see the feasibility of capturing a port (relatively) undamaged to ferry in supplies for the eventual allied D Day landings and the liberation of Europe. After much lobbying the Canadian 2nd Infantry Division (the blue patch) was chose for the operation, to be supported by smaller forces of British Commandos.
In a fatal case of 'too many cooks spoil the broth', heavy naval gunfire support from the British Royal Navy was withdrawn for the operation - rather misnamed 'Jubilee' - due to the risk of damaging the port facilities and the risk of losing a Royal Navy capital ship was deemed unacceptable. Heavy bombers were also withheld due to the risk of damaging the objectives. Bit by bit pieces of the support structure were removed.
On the morning of August 19th, approximately 5,400 Canadian soldiers of the 2nd Infantry Division (a division is made up of several battalions/regiments) consisting of units from across Canada stormed the rocky beaches of Dieppe.
The force was truly a Canadian one, made up of units from Quebec, Toronto, Hamilton, Calgary, Saskatchewan and the East Coast, it was also one of the largest air battles of the war with hundreds of aircraft - Canadian, British, American and German battling in the skies above the carnage on the beach and the ships below. A British destroyer was sunk by German aircraft.
But it was the battle on the beach, where flesh met steel that the real outcome was being decided. Canadian soldiers assaulted German positions dug in on high cliffs allowing unobstructed fields of fire on to the attacking Canadians, some like the South Saskatchewan Regiment made it into town where Major Charles Merritt, taking his helmet off and twirling it around his hand saying to the effect of "come on boys no danger here" won the Victoria Cross leading his forces across a bridge under fire - then doing it again and again under constant German fire.
Not to be outdone the Padre of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry, stayed unarmed on the beach while German fire poured down from the cliffs and casino, helping to load wounded Canadians on to landing craft for evacuation back to England. in spite of his certain death or capture he refused to leave the soldiers on the beach even though he was offered many chances to board a landing craft back to England and safety, he too won the Victoria Cross. Both Foote and Merritt were captured and spent the rest of the war as German prisoners.
Over 900 Canadians died on those beaches and in the sky that morning, about 2,500 were wounded or captured. A horrible tragedy for the nation. At the time death notices were sent by telegram and casualty lists printed in the morning papers. Over the course of the war families learned to dread picking up their morning paper and the notice of a telegram delivery was known to cause people to collapse. Such were the times of a nation in the throes of what was likely the worst human calamity ever - the Second World War.
Armies/Militarizes are basically learning institutions (if you don't know that then you haven't served and likely don't understand.. and there's nothing wrong with that). The lessons from the raid on Dieppe were poured over, analyzed, and built upon. New vehicles were created (called 'Funnies') to specifically overcome beach obstacles, the importance of dedicated naval gunfire was reinforced.
These lessons were put into practice on D Day - June 6th, 1944 when the allies stormed the beaches of Normandy and began the liberation of Europe. On that morning the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division landed on Juno Beach, taking the lessons with them from that fateful August morning in 1942 they gained the furthest advance inland of any allied force. Capturing more ground than their British and American allies. The only forces to achieve their objectives on that historic day were Canadian, and it was because of the tragic lessons learn on the stony, horrible beaches of Dieppe.
Let us remember them.
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