Wwii - Battle of Diepe

The Battle of Dieppe was a poorly planned attack that amounted to nothing more than suicide. Worse, it was unnecessary. It was planned as a dress rehearsal for the Normandy invasion; however, the lessons learned at Dieppe and later applied at Normandy were already well known but had simply been forgotten. The troops should not have attacked by sea. Due to this the troops suffered many casualties. Instead of being under control by the British, the Canadian troops should have been put under control by a Canadian general. The attack was executed with valor and heroism but should never have been attempted.

The Canadian troops should not have attacked by sea. When they attacked by sea, the Germans were waiting on top of the cliff. Due to this, as soon as the troops stepped a foot onto the beach, it was like they had entered hell. Bullets were flying everywhere. The Germans were hammering them with shells and their machine guns. They couldn't get a shot off because they had the high ground. If they so much as lifted their head up an inch, they'd be gone. It had been a massacre that day of August 19th 1942. The Canadians had scrambled from their ungainly landing craft directly into a storm of fire from the German positions who were dominating the beaches of Dieppe. There had been almost no preliminary naval bombardment to support neither the attackers nor much preliminary bombing to soften the Dieppe defenses.

The Canadian troops should have planned out their attack and should have chosen a different route to attack the Germans. Approximately 5000 of 6100 troops were involved at Dieppe. The Canadian soldiers consisted of the following troops: the Royal Regiment of Canada, the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment), the South Saskatchewan Regiment, the Queens Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada, the Essex Scottish Regiment, the Les Fusiliers Mont Royal, the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry, and the Calgary Regiment. With so many troops, they couldn't organize a successful attack except one that led into a suicide mission. On August 19, 1942, 4963 Canadian soldiers made their way for the attack on Dieppe (a.k.a. Operation Jubilee). Our initial plan was to send four flank attacks just before dawn, with the main frontal assault on the town of Dieppe a half hour later. Surprise was the key to the plan. Landing ships and escorts on the east met a small German convoy. The resulting battle alerted the Germans, eliminating the element of surprise. The Royal Regiment of Canada landed late on Puy's beach on the east, and the Germans were ready. Over 500 men were killed or taken prisoner and the Canadians were forced to surrender. On the west at Pour Ville, the South Saskatchewan Regiment and the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders initially met only light resistance, but heavy fighting developed as they pushed toward the town of Dieppe. The Canadians could not reach their target. Most of the South Saskatchewan's and Cameron Highlanders were successfully evacuated, but the rearguard did not make it out. Following this, The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry and the Essex Scottish Regiment landed on the main Dieppe beach and were met with German machine-gun fire. Shingles on the beach broke tank treads. All entrances to Dieppe were blocked by concrete barriers, trapping any tanks that made it that far. An inaccurate message led the headquarters ship to assume the Essex Scottish Regiment was making headway, and the reserve battalion Les Fusiliers Mont Royal was sent in. They too were pinned down on the beach. A withdrawal order was given to the General at 1100. This raid was to last 9 hours, and what a 9 hours it was. The casualties of Dieppe included: The RCAF which lost 13 aircraft and 10 pilots; the RAF lost 106 planes and 81 airmen, which was the highest single day total of World War II, and 3,367 casualties, including 1,946 taken