The Battle of Dieppe
What was designed to be a small raid on a beach soon became one of the most tragic disasters for the Canadians in World War Two. Canada’s army faced brutal attacks and such terrible losses, it is very surprising that they were still able to hold together until the end of the war. It all began when the element of surprise was lost, which lead to the troops not being ready for the artillery fire that greeted them.
At this time, the Allies were under a lot of stress, because by now they had been pushed out of fighting areas, and Germany was already deep into Russia. They also were not a strong enough force to begin Operation Overlord, which was an invasion of Western Europe. So, because of this they decided instead to mount a huge raid on the French port of Dieppe. This attack was called Operation Rutter, and the troops trained very intensively for their amphibious attack. The initial plan was to attack on July 1942, but because of horrible weather conditions, they had to move it to August, with a new name of Jubilee.
Over a 16 kilometer stretch on five different spots they attacked on August 19, 1942. On the Eastern flank of attack, the troops were intercepted by German forces, and the noise of this short battle made the rest of the Germans aware of the attack. The British had now lost the element of surprise, and this is what was devastating, because they needed this in order to win this battle. The ships carrying No. 3 commando were scattered and hardly any of them reached the shore; even the ones who reached it were overwhelmed by the Germans. There were many factors that led to this failure, and one was definitely the shape of the beach. It was very difficult for the British to navigate the beach over the course of the battle, and it may have been more successful if they'd had the cover of night. What’s more, the Germans were hiding in the cliffs and had the advantage of ambushing the troops down below.
At this time, the Allies were under a lot of stress, because by now they had been pushed out of fighting areas, and Germany was already deep into Russia. They also were not a strong enough force to begin Operation Overlord, which was an invasion of Western Europe. So, because of this they decided instead to mount a huge raid on the French port of Dieppe. This attack was called Operation Rutter, and the troops trained very intensively for their amphibious attack. The initial plan was to attack on July 1942, but because of horrible weather conditions, they had to move it to August, with a new name of Jubilee.
Over a 16 kilometer stretch on five different spots they attacked on August 19, 1942. On the Eastern flank of attack, the troops were intercepted by German forces, and the noise of this short battle made the rest of the Germans aware of the attack. The British had now lost the element of surprise, and this is what was devastating, because they needed this in order to win this battle. The ships carrying No. 3 commando were scattered and hardly any of them reached the shore; even the ones who reached it were overwhelmed by the Germans. There were many factors that led to this failure, and one was definitely the shape of the beach. It was very difficult for the British to navigate the beach over the course of the battle, and it may have been more successful if they'd had the cover of night. What’s more, the Germans were hiding in the cliffs and had the advantage of ambushing the troops down below.
Out of the entire war, this was the heaviest toll that the Canadians had ever suffered in just one day. Because of the failure to clear the eastern area, the Germans were able to defend the Dieppe beaches with firepower from both sides, and so there was no possibility of escape for the British ranks. Despite the failure, on the Western side they were able to attack with some surprise, and the attack was completely successful. But this success wasn’t enough to save the entire battle. They did try to withdraw on the beaches, but were followed by enemy fire. When the main attack was executed, the largest amount of lives were lost because of the bloody and relentless battle that raged between the forces. When the troops came to support, they were fought back with the same heavy machine gun fire as the rest.
In the end, an air raid was also involved, and by the early afternoon of the same day, the fighting was over. There were 4,963 Canadian soldiers that went to fight, and only 2,210 of them returned to England. The amount of casualties and prisoners of war were staggering as well, making a huge dent in the Canadian regiment. But even though there were so many negative and devastating factors to this battle, it did help the regiment in their amphibious assaults in Italy, Africa and Normandy. Without this failure, there wouldn’t have been the success of D-Day.
In the end, an air raid was also involved, and by the early afternoon of the same day, the fighting was over. There were 4,963 Canadian soldiers that went to fight, and only 2,210 of them returned to England. The amount of casualties and prisoners of war were staggering as well, making a huge dent in the Canadian regiment. But even though there were so many negative and devastating factors to this battle, it did help the regiment in their amphibious assaults in Italy, Africa and Normandy. Without this failure, there wouldn’t have been the success of D-Day.
In Remembrance of One Who Fought - Bob Abbott
Germans were looking at us |
Bob Abbott was raised in a well sustained family with a good area of land and were stable financially. Bob’s choice to serve his country wasn’t because he had to, but he chose to fight because he felt like it was his duty to serve in this war. He showed a lot of courage and strength and towards this war and fighting at Dieppe.
When he began training for the attacks on Dieppe, he had to withstand a lot of heavy rainfall and foul weather. To him, the sound of guns being shot was a real fear, and the idea of witnessing the death of men had very big affect on him. During his training and when he left for the battle, the bad weather conditions had caused him to be in bad health. When they went to battle, they were jumping from each boat, as there were six in total and forty men occupied each one. It was so quiet as they pulled into the port, Abbott described it as like a tomb. The men didn’t know where they were going or what they were supposed to be doing, and the awful silence seeped into all of their ears. But this didn’t last long enough, for they were attacked on both sides early that morning. They were on the front lines the next day on the Breskens Pocket, which was a few miles away from the fighting. They did experience a lot of exciting moments during their time here, and had many heavy guns fired in their direction which really exposed Bob to the excitement and terror of the war. |
He moved back just behind the front and was exposed to lots of shelling. He wanted to move back to the front, but he was never put there again. Instead he went to Holland with 2nd Canadian Corps troops, and worked different jobs all the time. One thing he did was throw a Christmas party for the children in Grave, Holland, which was very much appreciated at this time. He also spent a lot of time in Scotland, where he met his wife.
Works Cited:
The Canadian Encyclopedia, Article Title: Dieppe Raid, Date Accessed: December 09, 2015
http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/second-world-war/1942-dieppe-raid
Veterans Affairs Canada, Article Title: The 1942 Dieppe Raid, Date Accessed: December 09, 2015
http://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/exhibitions/newspapers/operations/dieppe_e.shtml
WarMuseum.ca, Article Title: Dieppe Raid, 19 August 1942, Date Accessed: December 09, 2015
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/dieppe-raid/
The Canadian Encyclopedia, Article Title: Dieppe Raid, Date Accessed: December 09, 2015
http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/second-world-war/1942-dieppe-raid
Veterans Affairs Canada, Article Title: The 1942 Dieppe Raid, Date Accessed: December 09, 2015
http://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/exhibitions/newspapers/operations/dieppe_e.shtml
WarMuseum.ca, Article Title: Dieppe Raid, 19 August 1942, Date Accessed: December 09, 2015
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/dieppe-raid/