Several threads have discussed the futility of OP Jubilee. Positions were for and against the premise that the mistakes learned from the raid played a significant role in the success of the Normandy landings. My question is the following.....What was the intent of Jubilee and what had the planners contemplated if indeed the raid had been a success? Would the capture of Dieppe resulted in a full scale invasion of NW Europe?
Just a combined operation on the French coast. A bigger and better raid. No because they had only planned to hold it for a short time. It is almost impossible to explain what it was all about here, a greater understanding of the events of combined operations can be found in this book published in 1943. Combined operations 1940-42: Amazon.co.uk: Combined Operations Command: Books Admittedly it was a government book. But it was written by people who could only surmise what the future would bring.
"I landed there with 36 signallers, only nine of us survived and only two out of the nine that weren’t wounded." Lost so Many Friends so Quickly - Video Gallery - Veterans Affairs Canada
Thanks for that, Canuck. That was a very good video except for one bit - the interviewer referred to it as celebrating Dieppe, which I think is inappropriate. I was reading one or two old threads here about the raid and I mean to watch the program from 1962 if it's still on youtube.
2017 marks the 75th anniversary of the Dieppe Raid, also known as Operation JUBILEE. Canada’s experiences in war have been marked by great triumphs but also by harsh setbacks. The Dieppe Raid during the Second World War was one of the darkest chapters in Canada’s military history. It did, however, help lead to important lessons being learned. The Dieppe Raid took place on August 19, 1942, with almost 5,000 Canadians coming onshore on the heavily defended French coast. With British and American Allies, the Canadian troops fought valiantly against the German forces during Operation Jubilee –the Dieppe Raid. The Canadian forces sustained heavy losses with 916 making the ultimate sacrifice and some 1,950 becoming prisoners of war. While many men were lost and the raid did not meet most of its objectives, many historians feel that the lessons learned played an important role in the success of later actions. The Dieppe Raid and later beach assaults contributed to improvements in amphibious landing techniques. While the cost of gaining this knowledge was steep, it likely saved many lives on the beaches of Normandy when the Allies returned to the shores of continental Western Europe on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Commemorative events will be held in France on August 19-20, 2017. Events to mark this milestone will be held in Canada including commemorative ceremonies in Montreal, Quebec; Calgary, Alberta; and Dieppe, New Brunswick on August 19 to 20, 2017. There will also be a series of events over the August 19 to 20 weekend in a number of other cities and communities across Canada. 75th anniversary of the Dieppe Raid
The CWGC commemorates more than 950 men who died during the Dieppe Raid at its sites in France and the UK. More than 730 who died during the raid are buried in CWGC Dieppe Canadian War Cemetery and 43 in CWGC Brookwood Military Cemetery, while the Brookwood 1939-1945 Memorial commemorates 198 who died during the raid and have no known grave. From a horseman to brothers, here are the stories of some of the men as the Commission marks the 75th anniversary of the raid today and tomorrow. Casualties of the Dieppe Raid BBC - History - World Wars: The Dieppe Raid
Articles on the Raid: Bitterness lingers 75 years after Dieppe: ‘My father always felt that they had been sacrificed’ | Toronto Star A veteran returns there for the last time: War veteran's ashes scattered in Dieppe on 75th anniversary of doomed raid 'It was a bad day': Canadian POWs recall disastrous Dieppe raid 75 years later
Hi Dave, here is a link to part 1 on YouTube. The other parts should be linked on the right side. Drat, it turned my link into a video edit: oops, well there's the first part RIGHT there. Just search for "Dieppe 1962" on youtube. I think the full title is Close Up - The Canadian Raid on Dieppe.
Prime Minister Trudeau Junior ( son of pierre trudeau, former prime minister ) today issued the words that the sacrifices of so many during OP Jubilee paved the way for the success of the Normandy landings. That debate will continue for another lifetime.
We have well covered that subject in previous threads. Pure spin! It did not need a debacle like Dieppe to learn the lessons of mounting a successful amphibious assault. That worn out justification is easily refuted and was a simply a crass attempt to defend the reputations of those behind the disaster. To argue that the success of the Normandy landings could not have happened without Dieppe is utterly preposterous.
Men in hobnailed boots running up a 20% grade in 3" cobble in a complete enfilade. absolute madness. If that happened today there would court-martials all the way to the top. There were no lessons to be learned there. At best the raid was undertaken to mollify the Russians and prove to the Americans that there was no hope of a successful landing in 1943. The Second Canadian Infantry Division was being trained for Normandy landing but was removed as it was destroyed in Dieppe. It, in fact; never fully recovered from the loss of its infantrymen and junior officers.
I think, though, it is a natural inclination of people to try to construct a narrative to make the losses seem like they were to a greater purpose, like to learn about amphibious landings, or to steal an Enigma machine, or whatever.