| There are a number of problems with this short paragraph.
Dieppe is NOT a port, it is a seaside beach town.
The operation was cancelled and then it was on again, with obvious security breaches, and the landings were not done in the dark, but in full daylight.
The beach was comprised of small rocks that made it nearly impossible for the tanks of the Three Rivers Tank Regiment to get off the beach. The seawall also was higher than the planners thought it was. The approach of the naval force was discovered at night, and the planned massive bombing raid was called off by the RAF, as they didn't want to risk aircraft on a " small show ". The naval gunfire was reduced and again it was by the British who only had a small number of troops involved, who made these decisions. The vast majority of the actual fighters were Canadians.
The death toll at Dieppe, was the highest one day loss for the Canadian Army in all of it's WW2 actions, over 900 men dead for little gain. Entire units were either killed or captured, due to a ill conceived plan that was doomed to fail.
Jim B. Toronto. |