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Day Three: Dieppe Canadian War Cemetery
On 19 August 1942 at 5:00am 5,000 Canadian soldiers attempted the impossible and stormed the shores of Dieppe, France to try and break Hitler’s stranglehold on Europe. They were told in advance that they faced nearly impossible odds, and they all likely knew as they boarded the boats that they would never return. Although the Dieppe raid did not establish the foothold that the allies were hoping for, it did provide valuable lessons that were instrumental for D-Day two years later. This lesson was paid for with 907 Canadian lives lost, 586 wounded and 1,946 captured. Many argue that if it wasn’t for the failed raid at Dieppe, the allies would have never succeeded on D-Day. It is very likely that these brave Canadians saved the war effort in their ultimate sacrifice.
The Dieppe Canadian War Cemetery is a cemetery in France containing Canadian and British soldiers who were killed during the Dieppe Raid in 1942.
944 members of the Allied Armed Forces are interred at Dieppe, of which 707 are Canadian. Other dead from the raid are buried in Rouen, where the Germans took captured raiders, some of whom died of their wounds, or at the Brookwood Cemetery in Surrey, where wounded were taken by the Allies. Also in the cemetery are the remains of one woman, Mary Janet Climpson, a British Salvation Army Officer who had been killed in 1940.
The cemetery is unique in that it was created by the occupying Germans, as the Allied raid was a disaster and many dead were forced to be left behind in enemy territory. The headstones have been placed back to back in long double rows, typical of German burials but unlike any other Commonwealth war cemetery. When Dieppe was retaken in 1944, the Allies elected not to disturb the graves, so this unusual arrangement still stands. Today, the cemetery is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Overview of the Battle of Dieppe
Excerpts from Wikipedia =>The Dieppe Raid, also known as the Battle of Dieppe, Operation Rutter and, later, Operation Jubilee, was a Second World WarAllied attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe. The raid took place on the northern coast of France on 19 August 1942. The assault began at 5:00 a.m. and by 10:50 a.m. the Allied commanders were forced to call a retreat. Over 6,000 infantrymen, predominantly Canadian, were supported by a Canadian Armoured regiment and a strong force of Royal Navy and smaller Royal Air Force landing contingents. It involved 5,000 Canadians, 1,000 British troops, and 50 United States Rangers.
Objectives included seizing and holding a major port for a short period, both to prove that it was possible and to gather intelligence. Upon retreat, the Allies also wanted to destroy coastal defences, port structures and all strategic buildings. The raid had the added objectives of boosting morale and demonstrating the firm commitment of the United Kingdom to open a Western front in Europe.
Virtually none of these objectives were met. Allied fire support was grossly inadequate and the raiding force was largely trapped on the beach by obstacles and German fire. After less than 10 hours since the first landings, the last Allied troops had all been either killed, evacuated, or left behind to be captured by the Germans. Instead of a demonstration of resolve, the bloody fiasco showed the world that the Allies could not hope to invade France for a long time. Some intelligence successes were achieved, including electronic intelligence.
A total of 3,623 of the 6,086 men (almost 60%) who made it ashore were either killed, wounded, or captured.[4] The Royal Air Force failed to lure the Luftwaffe into open battle, and lost 96 aircraft (at least 32 to flak or accidents), compared to 48 lost by the Luftwaffe.[5] The Royal Navy lost 33 landing craft and one destroyer. The events at Dieppe later influenced preparations for the North African (OperationTorch) and Normandy landings (Operation Overlord).
Read the full story at Wikipedia
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Our visit to the Dieppe Canadian War Cemetery has been sponsored thanks to a $500 donation from Hickman Nissan!
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