Dieppe - 75th Anniversary

August 19, 1942

 

RIP - this cross is for James Mitchell RN from the RN Commandos in the Beach Master's party

 

Still a source of immense passion some 75 years later.
Lest We Forget.

 

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10155976752455663

 

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.

 

August 18th
75th Anniversary of the Slaughter

 

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

 

utter madness

 

Do you have the name of the program? I'd like to watch it.

Thanks

 

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.

 

Canuck
I am in total agreement. Pure and utter BS.

 

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.

 

Matt
100 percent correct.

 

I think John Mellor's book The Dieppe Raid is a very good refresher on Jubilee with an account which is at the heart of the action.....an action which John Mellor fought in as a British Commando.

A very informative book giving the background to the raid which at the planning stage earlier in the summer of 1942 was coded Operation Rutter......then cancelled with what is suggested as a lack of secrecy imposed on those who were to taken part.

John Mellor died in 2007........John Mellor - Friday, January 12th, 2007

As regards Jubilee, the British authorities published a note on the successful Operation Cauldron,The Destruction of a German Battery by No 4 Commando during the Dieppe Raid.

OPERATION CAULDRON

A classic example of the use of :-
WELL TRAINED INFANTRY.
FIRE AND MOVEMENT
The killing power of INFANTRY WEAPONS in the attack.
THOROUGHNESS IN TRAINING,PLANNING,
and EXECUTION.

VARENGEVILLE
18TH AUGUST 1942

At daybreak No 4 Commando,consisting of 252 all ranks including several Allied personnel,assaulted the 6 gun battery at Varengeville. The position was defended by an approximately equal number of Germans,with all the advantages of concrete,wire and mines,concealed MGs,mortars,dual purpose flak guns and knowledge of the ground.they had had to years to perfect these defences and when the time came they fought with the greatest determination.Yet,within 100 minutes of the landings,the position was overrun.The basttery and all its works were destroyed,and at least 150 Germans left dead on the ground.Prisoners were also taken.British casualties were 45,of whom 12 were back at duty within 2 months.

The document then continues in detail, the aspects of Cauldron

Extract from the book The Commando Pocket Manual 1940-1945 compiled from authentic documents.

Overall......If Jubilee demanded too much, a look at Rutter as outlined by John Mellor without doubt was asking much more.

 

Operation Jubilee | Commando Veterans Archive