a massive effort. They feltthatalargeraidonthe a massive effort. resources beforetheir military such undertaking Allies, however, neededmore timetobuildup to openasecondfront in . The waspressuring theAlliedforces a largeraidintooccupiedEurope in1942.The Many factorscontributedtothedecisionmount WHY RAIDDIEPPE? was onitswaytobecoming“Fortress Europe.” concrete pillboxes andoffshore obstacles. It truly troops, machineguns,artillery, barbedwire, continent’s west coast wasstuddedwithenemy occupied muchof Western Europe in 1940. The holdout aftertheGermans hadinvaded and shipping. The British Isles were theonlyAllied making theAtlantic adeadlyplaceforAllied advancing inNorth Africaandu-boatswere deep intotheSoviet Union, enemyforces were looked grim; hadpushedeast had beenragingforalmostthree years andthings By thesummerof1942,Second World War “FORTRESS EUROPE” lessons beinglearned. by great courageandhelpedleadtoimportant country’s butitwasalsomarked history military World War wasoneofthedarkest chaptersinour setbacks. The Raidduringthe Second marked by great triumphsbutalsoby harsh ’s experiencesintimesofwarhave been INTRODUCTION veterans.gc.ca of heavilydefendedcoastline. Four oftheattacks different pointsalonga16kilometre-long stretch saw more than6,000mencomeashore atfive The Dieppe ,code-named“Operation Jubilee,” OPERATION JUBILEE mounting theraid. factor in codebooks wasalsoanimportant secret Enigma codemachineandaccompanying has suggestedthatthedesire tocapture atop defences andradartechnology. Recent research facilities,andgatherintelligence on German port amphibious landing,damageenemyshippingand Britain. TheAllies’ planwastolaunch alarge-scale because itwaswithinrangeoffighterplanesfrom selected asthemaintargetofraidpartially coastof cliffs alongthenorthwest France andwas Dieppe isaresort town situatedatabreak inthe within thearmyitself. the Canadiansintobattle,aswell asimpatience There waspoliticalpressure athometofinallyget of Hong Kong, hadyet toseesignificantaction. outset ofthewarin1939and,except fortheBattle Canadian soldiershadbeentrainingsincethe have totakeplace. the full-scaleAlliedassaultthatwouldeventually the Soviet Union andalsohelpintheplanningfor resources moreto divert awayfrom oftheirmilitary coast ofFrance, however, couldforce theGermans

Fallen soldiers amid damaged tanks and on the beaches of Dieppe. Photo: Library and Archives Canada C-014160 Soldiers about to head to shore during the Dieppe Raid. Photo: Library and Archives Canada PA-113247 them topushtheirwayintothetown. prevented engineersfrom clearingthewayfor and seawallmadeithard fortheAlliedtanks way across thecobblestonebeachtorelative Nevertheless, manyofoursoldiersfoughttheir down manyCanadiansastheywadedinthesurf. ashore atDieppe landedasdaylightwasbreaking. Running behindschedule,themainforce going withdraw withheavylosses. German resistance, however, wouldforce themto Own Cameron Highlanders cameashore and South Saskatchewan Regiment andtheQueen’s Varengeville were destroyed. In Pourville, the achieved andtheenemygunbatteriesat losses tookplacethere. at Berneval andPuys consequentlywere metwith and50AmericanArmyRangers. 5,000 Canadians,approximately 1,000British on thetown itself would takeplacehalfanhour east andwest ofDieppe, while themainattack were totakeplacejustbefore dawnatpoints Merritt himselfwascaptured andspenttherest of allowed mostof the men to escapeback to Britain. no farther, hethenledadangerous retreat that heavy resistance. Once theregiment couldgo across theRiver ScieatPourville inthefaceof men from theSouth Saskatchewan Regiment earned themedalforcourageouslyleadinghis valour.military Lieutenant-ColonelCecilMerritt , ourcountry’s highestaward for Dieppe RaidandtwoCanadianswouldearnthe Many actsofgreat couragetookplace duringthe HEROISM in ahopelesssituation,theremaining Canadians Left early afternoonthelastboathaddeparted. oftheAlliednavalmean theprobable destruction Trying however, toevacuate everyone, would could notcontinueandtheretreat soonbegan. of Dieppe. It wasclear, however, thattheraid going tobetakenprisoner. that hecouldministertothemanymenwhowere he intentionallystayed behindtobecaptured so When hisown landingcraftwasabouttoleave, earned a Victoria Cross.For eighthours,he with theRoyal Hamilton LightInfantry, also Honourary CaptainJohn W. Foote, achaplain andtheEssexScottishRegimentInfantry were Small groups from theRoyalHamilton Light Canadian soldiers captured at Dieppe. Photo: Library and Archives Canada C014171 Western Europe tostayonD-Day, June 6,1944. the Alliesreturned totheshores ofcontinental many lives onthebeachesofNormandy when gaining thisknowledge wassteep, itlikelysaved amphibious landingtechniques. While thecostof assaults contributedtoimprovements inAllied the Dieppe beach Raidand subsequentwartime role inthe successoflateractions.For example, that thelessonslearnedthere played animportant meet mostofitsobjectives, manyhistoriansfeel While thelosseswere heavy andtheraiddidnot that theyhadnotbeenforgotten. some hopeandtheDieppe Raidletthemknow ashore inoccupied France gave theFrench people World War. But thefactthatAllieshadcome 1942 wasoneofthedarkest periodsoftheSecond marches astheGermans moved theprisonersaway of themalsohadtoendure forced wintertime a-half years. Astheendofwarneared, many would remain incaptivityformore thantwo-and- treatment inprisonerofwarcampsandmost personnel alsolosttheirlives. prisoner. Atotalof210British andAmerican approximately 1,950more whowere taken who losttheirlives asaresult oftheraidand became casualties,includingatotalof916 had beenwounded.More than3,350Canadians 2,200 returned toEngland andmanyofthose embarked onthemission,onlyapproximately paid agreat price.Of the4,963Canadianswho SACRIFICE LESSONS LEARNED

could have liberatedthem. from the advancing Alliedforces whootherwise CANADA REMEMBERSPROGRAM freedom totheworldwillnever beforgotten. of thosewhogave somuchtorestore peace and these brave CanadianshelpedtheAllieseventually inuniform whoserved women from ourcountry were amongthemore thanonemillionmenand LEGACY they triedtoprotect thelandingforce. with 119oftheirwarplanesbeingshotdown as losses foraircraft oftheentire Second World War, ,1942,sawtheAllies’ worstsingleday theassault. the shipsandaircraft thatsupported alternate formats. alternate veterans.gc.ca about Canada’s role intheSecond World War, their legacyforfuture generations. To learnmore remembrance activitiesthatwillhelppreserve well, itinvitesCanadianstobecomeinvolved in timesofwarandpeace.As to serve—during continue made by thosewhohave served—and orcall1-866-522-2122tollfree.

Revised January 2017 © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Veterans A airs, 2017. Cat. No.: V32-198/1-2017 ISBN: 978-0-660-07413-9 Printed in Canada