Secret files shed new light on Dieppe

The Vancouver Sun ^ | 18th August 2012 | Doug Schmidt

[Squawk 8888]

Canada Ping!

[Berlin_Freeper]

The attack was supposed to be a top secret invasion, but the Germans had noticed increased British radio signals around the time of the raid and French double agents had warned them of a likely invasion.

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

Hoser’s done good.

[BluH2o]

Certainly a new take on the Dieppe raid. Bottom line German e-boats, patrolling the English Channel, detected the attack flotilla and alerted the German coastal defenses. To make matters worse the attack was delayed by an hour giving the Germans even more time to prepare. The initial troops didn't start their assault until 8AM, by then they were assaulting a beach that was totally covered by interlocking fire. This was the WWII version of the ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’.

[BenLurkin]

Nobody can organize military disasters as well as do the Brits.

[the scotsman]

Yawn.

[blueunicorn6]

Yes, 300 ships and 6000 Soldiers is the best way to sneak in and grab a code machine.

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

This was posted a few days ago...with a YouTube link. When I followed the YT link, it also led to a ret’d general’s discussion & slideshow of the Russian-German portion of WW2.

Frankly, the casualties and expenditure of war effort of all but the very largest US-Cana-UK allies were almost nothing compared to the tribulations of the Russian-German conflict. I only bring this up as a point of reference, not to denigrate any country’s contribution.

The Russians lost the entire casualty count of the US in a good number of 1-2-3-10 day battles-—about 35-40 times.

[GreyFriar]

Dieppe - I’m not convenced that the raid was solely to acquire the German codes based upon this article; but having it as one of several reasons for the mission does make sense. I think the need to draw German forces from the Eastern Front is the major reason.

[Labour-Watch]

Nobody can organize military disasters as well as do the Brits.

Err... Jimmy Carter?

[BluH2o]

The initial troops didn't start their assault until 8AM,

I stand corrected, after referencing a book on Dieppe written by a Canadian infantry captain who was on the main beach at Dieppe during the attack. Although delayed the initial attack was earlier, by 8AM most of the fighting was over.

[zot]

I don’t know what the real purpose was, but in order to draw German forces from their Eastern Front, the Dieppe raid would have had to establish a perimeter and hold it for some considerable time.

[oh8eleven]

by then they were assaulting a beach that was totally covered by interlocking fire.
How is that any different than Omaha Beach, Iwo Jima, Tarawa, etc?

[jmacusa]

In the battle of Smolensk in early July, 1941 the German Army captured some 600,000 Russians in a three-day period.

[AppyPappy]

That happens when soldiers are considered expendable. Half the Russian machine guns were pointed at their own soldiers.

[BenLurkin]

[B212]

From what I have read....The Nazi war machine, was all over Europe, and no one was capable of opposing, the media continued to report the advances of the Nazi hoard....and so Churchill and others, needed to redirect the media....hence the attacking force, was thrown together; with a logical result....I haven’t read: did they secure the code machine?

[GreyFriar]

In keeping alive or creating the threat of an invasion/future invasion as a possibility would have caused the diversion of some troops. The key thing was showing Stalin that the western allies were doing something...whether or not Stalin would have thought it as ‘enough’ is hard to know for sure.

[Caulkhead]

“Nobody can organize military disasters as well as do the Brits.”

Don’t be so modest. The Dieppe raid doesn’t even compare to the magnitude of Pearl Harbour or Vietnam.