The Dieppe Raid August 19 th 1942 Some

The Dieppe Raid August 19 th, 1942

Some Key Questions • 1. Who was responsible for the failure of the Dieppe Raid? • 2. Was Dieppe the natural burgeoning of Canadian nationalism or was it the sad result of misplaced nationalism? • 3. Was Dieppe a dress rehearsal for D-Day?

Operation Jubilee • Dieppe was a small port on the French Coast • The mission was “reconnaissance” – a survey of a region and military examination to locate an enemy or ascertain strategic failures. • Specifically, this mission was an attempt to test the defenses of Hitler’s continental fortress and to test the capability of the Western Allies to launch a large scale assault against “Fortress Europe”. (See Diagram

The Atlantic Wall – Fortress Europe

Results • 1. The Raid lasted 9 hours • 2. It involved 5000 Canadian soldiers • 3. Close to 900 killed • 4. 1874 were taken prisoner • 5. Over 500 wounded • 6. 2210 returned safely to Britain.

Why They Let This Happen? WHERE HISTORIANS DISAGREE • THEORY #1: POLITICAL • Churchill (Britain) wanted to prove to Stalin (USSR) that a war on two fronts was impossible. Ie: England was not ready to land in France and take pressure off the Soviets on the Eastern Front. • Sent in the Canadians to demonstrate this…

THEORY #2: NATIONALISM / HOME PRESSURE • General H. D. G. Crerar, commander of the 1 st Canadian Corps came to England convinced that the army had to see action (it was already 1942…) for its own moral and to appease the Canadian Public at home. • The Canadians were a logical choice for this first mission on the Atlantic Wall, since it had a special significance for a country with French-Canadians and France as one of its founding fathers. • It would appeal to Canadian Nationalism / Identity

THEORY #3: A DRESS REHEARSAL FOR D-DAY • The allies had to test the new equipment and see how it would behave in this situation. • They needed to test new manoeuvres in largescale invasion to see if they really worked.

PROS AND CONS • • CONS A complete failure Was no complex training for a raid Inadequate training Insufficient air support Did not assess terrain first (tanks sunk) The high command failed the Canadians and left them exposed like “wheat in an open field”.

PROS: LESSONS IN HISTORY? • PROS • A valuable lesson for subsequent amphibious (land water) assaults. • They would take the lessons here and apply them in 1943 (Italy) and 1944 (France). • Better Communication necessary • Actual planning was necessary by generals • Use of prior air bombing would be necessary in the future to destroy enemy defenses as much as possible before landing. • Assault troops needed support with artillery fire • Improved equipment and techniques necessary to land tanks.

FLASH FORWARD… JUNE 6 th, 1944 D-Day • 15 Minutes after midnight the allies launched a full scale assault. • It included British (Gold and Sword); Canadians (Juno); and Americans (Utah and Omaha) • It included over 100, 000 personel landing (27, 000 were Canadian) • Immense amount of Air Support Used. • Immense amount of PLANNING (art of deception. . Element of surprise… thought they were attacking Calais) • Successful landing … a war on two fronts.

ACTIVITIES • 1. Read: “Where Historians Disagree” – discuss historiography and “the academic debate”. • 2. German Propaganda and Point of View. • www. youtube. com/watch? v=g. QEQDt 7 d. IQI • 3. Canadian Propaganda and Point of View (Comic Book. . ) • 4. Textbook Questions