disaster at dieppe
The graves of the Canadian men who died in Dieppe
In the summer of 1942, the Soviets were pressuring the other Allies to attack France from the west. The Allied leaders commanded the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division to spearhead a raid on a French seaport, Dieppe, and the name given to the invasion was “Operation Jubilee”. This attack was supposed to be a quick in and out raid, but soon turned into one of the greatest sacrifice of Canadian lives in history (Colyer, Cecillon, Draper & Hoogeveen, 2010).
On a clear summer night, the Allies were hoping to surprise the German forces by flanking from Dieppe. The surprise element was soon lost when a German convoy spotted the troops from a distance. When the soldiers were still ten minutes away from shore, German troops were already firing at them. The Allied tanks were also unable to help because the Germans barricaded the beaches (Colyer, Cecillon, Draper & Hoogeveen, 2010).
The Allied soldiers tried to retreat, but few succeeded. In this poorly executed plan, about 900 Canadians were killed, 600 were wounded and 2000 were captured. The other Allied forces had casualties as well, but the Canadians made the largest proportion and had to suffer the most. This disaster of a raid was later given the name Disaster at Dieppe (Colyer, Cecillon, Draper & Hoogeveen, 2010).
On a clear summer night, the Allies were hoping to surprise the German forces by flanking from Dieppe. The surprise element was soon lost when a German convoy spotted the troops from a distance. When the soldiers were still ten minutes away from shore, German troops were already firing at them. The Allied tanks were also unable to help because the Germans barricaded the beaches (Colyer, Cecillon, Draper & Hoogeveen, 2010).
The Allied soldiers tried to retreat, but few succeeded. In this poorly executed plan, about 900 Canadians were killed, 600 were wounded and 2000 were captured. The other Allied forces had casualties as well, but the Canadians made the largest proportion and had to suffer the most. This disaster of a raid was later given the name Disaster at Dieppe (Colyer, Cecillon, Draper & Hoogeveen, 2010).
Images from:
http://www.canadaatwar.ca/content-53/world-war-ii/the-dieppe-raid/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dieppe_Canadian_War_Cemetery
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s9Pc2kF6_0I/UEOE48YmXDI/AAAAAAAAAZM/QvohQY53oN8/s1600/mapDetail2%5B1%5D.jpg
http://diepperental.co.uk/
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2012/08/19/dieppe_vets_marking_70th_anniversary_of_failed_second_world_war_raid_in_france_given_heroes_welcome.html
http://www.canadaatwar.ca/content-53/world-war-ii/the-dieppe-raid/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dieppe_Canadian_War_Cemetery
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s9Pc2kF6_0I/UEOE48YmXDI/AAAAAAAAAZM/QvohQY53oN8/s1600/mapDetail2%5B1%5D.jpg
http://diepperental.co.uk/
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2012/08/19/dieppe_vets_marking_70th_anniversary_of_failed_second_world_war_raid_in_france_given_heroes_welcome.html