Day 5 - Dieppe to Honfleur

After the morning routine of breakfast, briefing and loading the luggage onto the coach, the remainder of the day was dedicated to events of the disastrous Dieppe Raid of August 19th 1942. Some historians even go so far to call Dieppe the worst military disaster in Canadian history.

The port town of Dieppe with its casino was considered the poor man’s Monte Carlo. A seaside resort on the Channel coast, Dieppe is the closest beach to Paris. It is also located only about 100 km from the English coast. With its deep water harbour, the town was strategically very important for the Germans. Holding the port allowed access to the Channel for supplies and submarines.

The “why Dieppe” is still a contested questions among historians. After the Germans had launched Operation Barbarossa in June 1942 on their eastern front, the Russians were hoping for a second front in the west, as the Allies had no foothold since the Evacuation at Dunkirk.
Other historians point to the fact that Canada had seen little battle action and that men were getting anxious to see action. There is also the suggestion that Operation Jubilee was required as the test case for an invasion down the road.

Which ever aspect it may have been ( or maybe a bit of each), Dieppe turned into an “anything that can go wrong, did go wrong” event. Intelligence about the German defences and the geography of the area had been insufficient, the planned element of surprise was lost as a German patrol ship ran into some Allied ships. Communication among the different participating regiments was also faulty as for example the Fussiliers Mont-Real who had been held in reserve, were mistakenly sent into battle making the difficult retreat even more difficult.
In the end, the casualty rate was mind blowing as from the slightly over 6 000 men Over 60% were
either dead, injured or taken prisoner of war.

Below are a variety of images taken in the area of Dieppe.

A German bunker located on the cliffs at the edge of town.

View of Red and White Beach

This bridge is located in the small village of Pourville, just west of Dieppe where the South Saskatchewan Regiment landed on Green Beach. The Bridge itself is where Lt Col Charles Cecil Merrit’s bravery won him the Victoria Cross.

War cemetery created by the Germans after the raid. In addition, there a several aircrew buried here from the time after D-Day.