"This stunning new documentary reveals findings from never-before-seen and recently declassified documents that will revolutionize the way Canadians understand their role in the Battle of Dieppe, giving meaning to an event that has, until now, been viewed as a futile failure." (History Channel)
Canadian War Memorial
Day 4 - August 8 - Dieppe to Bayeux - WWII
In the morning we toured Dieppe, visited Pourville and stopped at the Dieppe Canadian War Cemetery in memorial to the fallen of this fateful battle.
Our excursion began mere metres from our hotel. At the bottom of the hill from the Chateau de Dieppe (also pictured here to the left).
Dieppe
"The Canadians and the Dieppe Raid: On August 19, 1942, in one of the darkest hours of the Second World War, 4,963 soldiers of the 2nd Canadian Division, with air and naval support, set sail for Dieppe, Puys and Pourville, and the waiting guns of the Nazi occupying forces. This was the first large-scale Allied military operation that looked forward to the liberation of France. The battle was brief and bloody: 807 Canadians perished in combat, 1,946 were made prisoners of war and only 2,210 soldiers returned to England. The sacrifice of so many in such a short time is seared forever in the memory of the Canadian people." (Canada)
Memorial 1, Memorial 2 and Memorial 3.
We walked along the beach - listened to a rather sombre lecture about the battle - then above the sea wall, strolled along the barren esplanade where we encountered many more memorials.
In the morning we toured Dieppe, visited Pourville and stopped at the Dieppe Canadian War Cemetery in memorial to the fallen of this fateful battle.
Our excursion began mere metres from our hotel. At the bottom of the hill from the Chateau de Dieppe (also pictured here to the left).
Dieppe
"The Canadians and the Dieppe Raid: On August 19, 1942, in one of the darkest hours of the Second World War, 4,963 soldiers of the 2nd Canadian Division, with air and naval support, set sail for Dieppe, Puys and Pourville, and the waiting guns of the Nazi occupying forces. This was the first large-scale Allied military operation that looked forward to the liberation of France. The battle was brief and bloody: 807 Canadians perished in combat, 1,946 were made prisoners of war and only 2,210 soldiers returned to England. The sacrifice of so many in such a short time is seared forever in the memory of the Canadian people." (Canada)
Memorial 1, Memorial 2 and Memorial 3.
We walked along the beach - listened to a rather sombre lecture about the battle - then above the sea wall, strolled along the barren esplanade where we encountered many more memorials.
MemorialsThe French
"A La Memoire Des Aviateurs De La France Libre Morts Pour La France. Le 19 Aout 1942." The Americans "On August 19, 1942, fifty commando trained soldiers of the 1st Ranger Battalion, United States Army, participated in the raid on Dieppe. Attached to Canadian infantry and British commando units, they were the first United States soldiers to engage German armed forces in World War II." To All "This plaque is dedicated to the proud memory of all who fought at Dieppe 19th August 1942 and of the citizens of the town who willingly gave succour to those who came ashore. Erected by their comrades from the naval force engaged in the Dieppe Raid which suffered over 550 killed, missing or wounded." |
Canadians Essex Scottish Memorial
Royal Hamilton Light Infantry
"To the glory of God and in proud memory of the 201 officers, N.C.Os and men of The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (W.R.) who died on this esplanade, on the beach and in the Town of Dieppe. August 19th, 1942." The Essex Scottish Regiment "To the memory of our comrades who gave their lives in World War II during the Raid on Dieppe August 19, 1942 and during the Allied Advance through France, Belgium, Holland and Germany 1944-45 on the road to victory." Semper Paratus. Translation: Always Ready |
Even More Canadian Lives Lost
Fusiliers Mont-Royal Memorial
The Fusiliers Mont-Royal
"The Fusiliers Mont-Royal joined the raid at about 7:15 a.m. This decision, taken by Major-General Roberts, commander-in-chief of the land operations - who thought he could exploit a situation that he believed still to be favourable - only increased the loss of lives and contributed to the unfolding drama. But aboard the Culpe, the ship of command, General Roberts had been receiving from the beginning of the operation only fragmentary, and therefore unreliable, information about what was really happening: the means of transmission from most of the units were destroyed or damaged. He thought the Essex Scottish Regiment had been able to break through to the centre of the town, whereas only a small group under Sergeant-Major Stapleton had been able to do so.
The 584 men faced heavy fire as they approached the coast aboard 26 launches. Led by Lt-Col Dollard-Menard, who was gravely injured in the landing, the Fusiliers Mont-Royal were immediately pinned down on the beach and suffered heavy casualties. Landing too far west of the planned spot, they were trapped at the foot of the cliffs, among the rocks before the Bas Fort Blanc, where a hundred of them were wounded or killed. Some small detachments were, however, able to make incursions into the town, notably under Sergeant Pierre Dubuc and Sergeant-Major Lucien Dumais.
Out of 552 men and 32 officers who embarked on the operation, only 125 returned to England. A total of 125 died in combat on the beach at Dieppe, and ten died from their wounds; 344 were taken prisoner and four of these died in captivity."
"The Fusiliers Mont-Royal joined the raid at about 7:15 a.m. This decision, taken by Major-General Roberts, commander-in-chief of the land operations - who thought he could exploit a situation that he believed still to be favourable - only increased the loss of lives and contributed to the unfolding drama. But aboard the Culpe, the ship of command, General Roberts had been receiving from the beginning of the operation only fragmentary, and therefore unreliable, information about what was really happening: the means of transmission from most of the units were destroyed or damaged. He thought the Essex Scottish Regiment had been able to break through to the centre of the town, whereas only a small group under Sergeant-Major Stapleton had been able to do so.
The 584 men faced heavy fire as they approached the coast aboard 26 launches. Led by Lt-Col Dollard-Menard, who was gravely injured in the landing, the Fusiliers Mont-Royal were immediately pinned down on the beach and suffered heavy casualties. Landing too far west of the planned spot, they were trapped at the foot of the cliffs, among the rocks before the Bas Fort Blanc, where a hundred of them were wounded or killed. Some small detachments were, however, able to make incursions into the town, notably under Sergeant Pierre Dubuc and Sergeant-Major Lucien Dumais.
Out of 552 men and 32 officers who embarked on the operation, only 125 returned to England. A total of 125 died in combat on the beach at Dieppe, and ten died from their wounds; 344 were taken prisoner and four of these died in captivity."
They fought valantly and some became prisoners of war. From the carnage, the beginnings of many Canadian war heroes would be born.
Lieutenant Colonel Merritt's Bridge
Pourville
"At Pourville, (Green Beach), the Canadians had the advantage of surprise. After landing, the South Saskatchewan Regiment and the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada faced only light resistance. Explosives were used to breach the wall of concrete and barbed wire along the beach, and the seaside villas were quickly secured. However, the German defence strengthened as the Canadians pursued their advance in two directions."
Lieutenant Colonel Merritt's Bridge
"The right flank Canadian battalion assigned to Green Beach was the South Saskatchewan Regiment commanded by Merritt. His objectives were Pourville, west of the port, then the cliffs above the village.
His force crossed the Channel in Royal Navy destroyers, transferred to landing craft ten miles offshore and reached Green Beach on time, in near darkness and unopposed. But the main part of the battalion was landed on the wrong side of the River Scie estuary and faced crossing a narrow bridge [pictured above] through Pourville in order to approach their objectives on the cliffs.
By then alert to the situation, the German defenders targeted the bridge with machinegun and mortar fire. Initial Canadian attempts failed to storm the bridge, leaving it covered with dead and wounded. Merritt led the next rush forward, waving his steel helmet with the rallying shout "Come on over. There's nothing to it!"
His audacity took the enemy by surprise; one group of men followed him over the bridge and others used the girders to cross. Merritt soon had most of his surviving men on the far bank, but shortage of mortar ammunition and lack of communications to the destroyers to call for supporting fire made any further advance impossible.
Meanwhile, the company landed on the west bank of the Scie had reached its objective and sent a success signal to the operation command ship. This and one from Lord Lovat's Number 4 Commando were the only two success signals sent in the entire operation.
Finding all moves towards his objectives blocked by concrete "pillboxes", Merritt led an attack on each in turn, personally killing the occupants of one by throwing grenades through the enemy's firing ports. When the last enemy strongpoint had been silenced,
Merritt had been twice wounded and his battalion reduced to fewer than 300 men.
He held on to an improvised perimeter nevertheless, and kept contact with his section positions by moving from one to another after his runners had been killed. When the time came to move back to the beach, Merritt coolly gave instructions for an orderly withdrawal and announced his intention to hold off the enemy from a rearguard position in a small bandstand near the beach to cover the reembarkation.
The South Saskatchewan battalion left 84 dead on Green Beach and 89 more, including Merritt and eight other officers, were taken prisoner. His citation for award of the Victoria Cross concluded: "To this commanding officer's personal daring the success of his
unit's operations and the safe re-embarkation of a large portion of it were chiefly due."
Merritt was sent to prison camp Oflag VIIB at Eichstätt in Bavaria. Together with 64 others, he escaped through a 120 ft tunnel during the night of June 3-4, 1943. Only a handful reached safety. Merritt was recaptured and sentenced to 14 days' solitary confinement. He remarked after being freed: "My war lasted six hours. There are plenty of Canadians who went all the way from the landings in Sicily to the very end." He was dismissive of his time as a prisoner of war with the words: "It was an enforced idleness. It cannot be translated into virtue." (The Times, July 17, 2000)
"At Pourville, (Green Beach), the Canadians had the advantage of surprise. After landing, the South Saskatchewan Regiment and the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada faced only light resistance. Explosives were used to breach the wall of concrete and barbed wire along the beach, and the seaside villas were quickly secured. However, the German defence strengthened as the Canadians pursued their advance in two directions."
Lieutenant Colonel Merritt's Bridge
"The right flank Canadian battalion assigned to Green Beach was the South Saskatchewan Regiment commanded by Merritt. His objectives were Pourville, west of the port, then the cliffs above the village.
His force crossed the Channel in Royal Navy destroyers, transferred to landing craft ten miles offshore and reached Green Beach on time, in near darkness and unopposed. But the main part of the battalion was landed on the wrong side of the River Scie estuary and faced crossing a narrow bridge [pictured above] through Pourville in order to approach their objectives on the cliffs.
By then alert to the situation, the German defenders targeted the bridge with machinegun and mortar fire. Initial Canadian attempts failed to storm the bridge, leaving it covered with dead and wounded. Merritt led the next rush forward, waving his steel helmet with the rallying shout "Come on over. There's nothing to it!"
His audacity took the enemy by surprise; one group of men followed him over the bridge and others used the girders to cross. Merritt soon had most of his surviving men on the far bank, but shortage of mortar ammunition and lack of communications to the destroyers to call for supporting fire made any further advance impossible.
Meanwhile, the company landed on the west bank of the Scie had reached its objective and sent a success signal to the operation command ship. This and one from Lord Lovat's Number 4 Commando were the only two success signals sent in the entire operation.
Finding all moves towards his objectives blocked by concrete "pillboxes", Merritt led an attack on each in turn, personally killing the occupants of one by throwing grenades through the enemy's firing ports. When the last enemy strongpoint had been silenced,
Merritt had been twice wounded and his battalion reduced to fewer than 300 men.
He held on to an improvised perimeter nevertheless, and kept contact with his section positions by moving from one to another after his runners had been killed. When the time came to move back to the beach, Merritt coolly gave instructions for an orderly withdrawal and announced his intention to hold off the enemy from a rearguard position in a small bandstand near the beach to cover the reembarkation.
The South Saskatchewan battalion left 84 dead on Green Beach and 89 more, including Merritt and eight other officers, were taken prisoner. His citation for award of the Victoria Cross concluded: "To this commanding officer's personal daring the success of his
unit's operations and the safe re-embarkation of a large portion of it were chiefly due."
Merritt was sent to prison camp Oflag VIIB at Eichstätt in Bavaria. Together with 64 others, he escaped through a 120 ft tunnel during the night of June 3-4, 1943. Only a handful reached safety. Merritt was recaptured and sentenced to 14 days' solitary confinement. He remarked after being freed: "My war lasted six hours. There are plenty of Canadians who went all the way from the landings in Sicily to the very end." He was dismissive of his time as a prisoner of war with the words: "It was an enforced idleness. It cannot be translated into virtue." (The Times, July 17, 2000)