HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1943-06-03, Page 7The Story of Dieppe
The first studied story of the "re-
connaissance in force" at Dieppe last
August, which claimed 3,350 Canad-
ian casualties in an eight-hour at-
tack on the German -held French
coast, was recently published in
"Combined Operations," the official
story of the Commandos.
More than, one-fifth of the 155-
page book by Hilary St, George
Saunders, currently the world's best
selling author, is devoted to a recital
of the Dieppe operation. He outlines
the military objectives of the attack
in far greater detail than ever be-
fore made public.
Like "Battle of Britain," "Bom-
ber Cournand" and the rest of the
wartime booklets which have pushed
Saunders' sales record close to the
12 -million mark, "CombinedOpera-
tions" does not bear his name.
For the first time Saunders lists
the exact objectives which each com-
ponent of the attacking force at
Dieppe sought to achieve. Unfortun-
ately,only ane of the 10 major units
engaged -seven of them 'Canadian--
was
Canadian-was able to carry out its assignment
with complete success. This was No.
4 Command,
Saunders' book is chapter after
exciting chapter of the achievements
of the Commandos - at Lofoten,
Vaagso, Bruneval, St, Nazaire, Diego
Suarez. He fills it with maps and
photographs which, with his simple,
unheroic writing, resolve stirring
news stories of the war into the
calmer perspective of history. But
Canadians will read his book chiefly
because of what he says of Dieppe.
Speaking of the results of the
Dieppe operation, the 45 -year-old
veteran of the First Great War
says:
"Two results were outstanding. In
the first place we .learnt much about
the German defenses in the west. In
the second place, and of still greater
value, was the first-hand experience
we acquired of the conditions which
may be met with in a large-scale as-
sault on a strongly held channel
port. The details of these experi-
es must not now be revealed. The
-11Pmy. will know in due course how
we have profited by them,
'While the Dieppe raid was an in-
dispensable prelude for what was to
take place later, in a sense it was
also the culminating point in the
series of reconnaissances of which
some account has now been given.
Certain of the results achieved be-
came visible later when a combined
operation on a much larger scale
was successfully launched; others
will appear in the mayor assaults to
come."
Here is the manner in which
Saunders lists the objectives of the
three -pronged Dieppe land attack,
divided . into two flanking operations
the main assault.
•MINWest Flank -outer attack -No, 4
Commando to strike at Verengeville
and the mouth of the River Saane
and destroy the coast -defense batter-
ies of 5.9 guns.
Inner attack -South Saskatche-
wan Regiment to capture Pourville
and a similar headland overlooking
Dieppe on the west, destroying on
the way" a radio location station and
a battery of light anti-aircraft guns.
Cameron Highlanders of Winnipeg
then to pass through the town into
the valley of the Scie River and cap-
ture the airfield of St. Aubin, • four
miles inland.
• East Flank inner attack -Royal
Regiment of Canada to land at Puits
and seize a coast defense battery sit-
uated some distance inland and cap-
ture headland overlooking Dieppe on
the east.
Outer attack -No. 3 Commanda to
strike at Berneval and Belleville -sur -
Mer and destroy the coast defense
batteries of 5.9 guns.
Main Assault -Royal Hamilton
Light Infantry to land on western
half of the long beach fronting the
Esplanade.
Essex Scottish Regiment to land
on eastern half of beach.
Tanks of 14th • Canadian Army
Tank Battalion -(Calgary Regiment)
to be put ashore as soon as the
beach had been cleared, to enter the
town and support the infantry in
seizing it and holding it while vari-
ous objectives were being blown up,
These objectives included harbor,
marshalling yards, gas work, power
station, petrol damps and a. pharma-
ceutical factory.
Fusiliers Mont -Royal to wait out
at sea ae a floating reserve, backed
by . the Royal Marine Commando in
small fast motorboats manned by the
Fighting French.
These forces, plus a detachment
of American Rangers, moved across
the channel to the French coast in
the early morning of August 19 in a
Retina of more than 200 vessels. It their own convoys, for the harbor
included eight destroyers, motor lights were turned on."
Day had dawned when the first
wave touched down on the beach,
300 yards wide and 250 feet deep,
with a 12 -foot seawall about 50 feet
After detailing the objectives, from the Water's edge, A. withering , At sever, o'clock Les Fusiliers elicited,
NIr. Saunders describes each phase
of the operation. For the `first time,
he puts down on paper just what was
not achieved despite the heroism of
trained Canadian troops.'
e Of the outer flank attacks, says
Mr, Saunders, the one on the west
was successful. All six of the coast
d efense guns were blown up and by
nine o'clock No, 4 Commando was on
the way back to England, having suf
dfered a loss of five officers and 41 of
other ranks.
"This hazardous assault," to. quote
the ofYieial report, was carried out
strictlaccording to plan and may
become a, model for future opera-
tions of this kind."
The outer Rank attack on the east
was married by an unlucky enroun
ter with armed German trawlers se-
ven miles off shore, meaning loss of
surprise In that sector. Most of No.
3 Commando was wiped out, but one
landing .craft put ashore thre offic-
ers and 17 men who fought their
way to vantage points from which
they sniped at the coast battery fir-
ing
ring at the British ships.
The offictl report says the attack
'was not crowned with success but
there is no doubt that the sniping
tactics greatly interfered with the
handling of the battery for upwards
of an hour and a half during the
crucial period of the main landing."
The inner flank attacks, like the
main assault, were assigned to the.
Canadians. None of the three regi-
ments on the inner flanks concerned
was able to achieve its objectives.
On the west, the South Saskatche-
wan Regiment made a successful
landing five minutes after zero and
encountered little opposition until
ashore.
A Company was to capture the
height at the left, destroy an "anti-
aircraft battery and a nearby radio -
location station. The company scal-
ed the seawall by ladder, disposed of
a couple of pillboxes and moved for-
wardunder o der a smoke screen until
they were stopped by a road block.
The job of C Company was to
seize Pourville and • hold the high
ground west of the village. While
A Company was stopped in heavy
fighting, C Company reached the vil-
lage, captured la Maison Blanche,
took a number of prisoners, and es-
tablished a platoon on the high
ground to the west.
Meanwhile B Company and D
Company were to cross the river
Scie and attack the position at Les-
Quatre-Vents farm. At the bridge
over the Scie they were held up by
heavy fire. Spurred on by the hero-
ism of Lt. -Col. C. C. I. Merritt, who
won the V.C. and now is a prisoner,
they pressed on over the bridge and
eventually captured the pillboxes
covering the- farm. When the signal
carne to withdraw, the farm was still
uncaptured.
"Throughout the seven hours dur-
ing which they were heavily engag-
ed," Mr. Saunders says, "the South
Saskatchewan Regiment accounted
for very many of the enemy."
Forty minutes after the S.S.R.S.
landed, the Cameron Highlanders
came ashorein broad ' daylight with
a piper playing "The Hundred 'Pip-
ers. Fire was not heavy, but Lt.-
Col.
t:Col. A. C. Gostling of Winnipeg, the
commanding officer, • was killed as he
jumped onto the beach. The battal-
ion pushed on towards their objec-
tive, the air field at St. Aubin.
By 8.45 o'clock they were engag-
ed in forcing passage of the River
Scie when they realized that every-
thing had not gone according to
plan because the expected Canadian
tanks were nowhere to be seen.
When the time came to withdraw,
they started back. But the German
infantry had counter -attacked and
dislodged C Company of the SSRS
from the high ground west of Pour-
ville which dominated the slopes and
the beach from which withdrawal
was necessary.
Heavy losses were incurred over
the open stretch of sand and water
to the landing craft, About 11.3,0
Col. Merritt collected some men and
attacked some machine guns to the "By half -past -six in the morning,"
west of the beach, silencing' their Mr. Saunders writes, "the force com-
fire. By noon, most of the troops menders on H;M.$. Caipe were well
had re -embarked. The remainder aware the situation was not develop -
formed a rearguard and held a peri- Ing as well as ad been hoped. No
meter until they were forced to sur- word had come from the Royal Reg -
render about three o'clock when fluent at Putts or from No, 3 Com -
their ammunition was exhausted, mando at Berneval. On the other
On the inner flank to the east, the hand the situation at Pourville • , . .
Royal Regiment was detailed to land appeared not unfavorable. .It was
at Punts and move inland to capture known too that No, 4 Commando had
a coast- defense battery, then to take landed successfully at Vasterrival.
from the rear the eastern headlands The military force commander decid
overlooking the main Dieppe beach. ed that the time had come to make
The Royals lost some precious use of his reserves."
time in forming up their landing At that time, fire slackened some -
craft, but apparently had surprise in what on the eastern half of the
their favor as they took their course Dieppe beach, It seemed to' Maj -Gen.
past the piers of Dieppe, Mr, Sawn- Roberts (who commanded the opera-
ders writes: "The enemy evidently ti6h jointly with Capt, S. Hughes
mistook it (the flotilla) for one of Hallett, for the Navy, and .Air Vice
Marshal T, Leigh Mallory for the
Air $'orce) that: if the Essex Scottish
could be reinforced they would be
able to capture the vital eastern
headland, especially with tanks to
help them.
TEF SEAFORTIE . N WS
fire opened, cutting• down most of
the pincers as the troops raced for
the shelter of the seawall, .But It af-
forded no protection as it was swept
by enfilade fire from the left flank,
Meantime, the Royals'. G -Com
pany and D -Company, with Lt, -Col.
D, E. Catto of Toronto, had landed
to the west of the seawall under the
cliffs. After considerable delay due
to heavy fire, they scaled the cliff
and cleared the enemy out of the
houses at the top, But they were cut
off --six officers and 15 other ranks
-for the Germans covoered with
machine-gun •fire the gap up which
they, carne. They did not surrender
until 4.20 o'clock,
The main assault on Dieppe, en-
trusted to the Essex Scottish and he
R.H.L.I., was made on a sea front
where the beach stretches from the
west breakwater for 1,700 yards
and ends at the cliffs in the shadow
of the Casino, It was the. task of the
two regiments to seize the beaches,
enable the tanks to land, and then
to push on andhold the town while
extensive demolitions were carried
out, ,
The Essex Scottish went in on the
left, the R,H.L-I, on the right,. their'
landing covered by a short intense
bombardment from the destroyers at
sea, followed by some 60 cannon-
firing Spitfires and Hurricanes,
shooting up the fortified houses on
the beach. At the same time, three
squadrons of Bostons and Blenheims
dropped smoke to smother the east-
ern headland.
The two regiments rushed for-
ward but -like the Royal Regiment
at Puits-came under fierce frontal
and enfilade fire. The defenses in the
houses beyond the promenade were
subdued but not silenced. .As the
smoke drifted away, many guns -
some of considerable calibre -open-
ed fire from caves in the face of
the headland to the east,
Nearer the headland, the Essex
Scottishwere w, e held up by wire at the
seawall separating the beach from
the promenade, "though a small
party subsequently penetrated into
the town," Mr. Saunders writes.
To their right, some of the RHLI
stormed the Cacino. Pillboxes were
blown up. The demolition charges of
Sergt. G. A. Hickson, sapper from
Kitchener, quelled all resistance in
the Casino.. and destroyed among
other defenses, a four -inch gun.
Sergt. Hickson was awarded the
D.C.M. 1,,
Three small parties pressed on
into the town, including one led by
Sergt. Hickson. They eventually
reached the Church of St. Remy, but,
being unsupported, could go no fur-
ther,
Meanwhile the first wave of the
Calgary Regiment's tanks had arriv-
ed at the beach, carried in six tank -
landing craft with sappers and beach
parties. The sappers were to demol-
ish the tank obstacles in Dieppe's.
narrow streets. because the defenses
had not been mastered, the craft
were fired on. All were hit. One sank.
One remained aground on fire.
But all but two of the tanks were
successfully landed. One did not suc-
ceed in beaching until the fourth at-
tnipt, losing three helnfsmen in its
efforts.
Half-an-ohur later the second wave
of tanks came In under even heavier
fire. One landing craft was sunk
just off the beach. Altogether 28
tanks were landed. A number got
over the seawall to the Esplande.
Some turned west to attack the' de-
fenses on the western headland,
Others made for the town itself.
But the casualties among the eng-
ineers were so heavy that none was
available to demolish the tank blocks
at the foot of the streets leading into
the town. One tank smashed through
a house and got into the town follow-
ed by probably two more. Other
tanks moved up and down the Es-
plande tiring until their ammunition
was exhausted, Because the anti-tank
defenses had riot been overcome,
they were unable to give adequate
support.
gunboats and motor launches escort-
ing the cari•,ying and landing craft,
H.M.S. Caipe was headquarters ship
and H.M.S. Fernie reserve HiQ.
Mont -Royal were sent la, But the fire
on the beaches, as soon as they land•
ed, proved to be as fierce as ever
More than half of them were carried
by the strong tide t0 a stretch of
shingle and rock facing high, cliffs
west of the main beach, Met with
machine-gaa and mortar fire from
the elifftop, they surrendered about
noon after more than 100 had been
wounded.
Two other parties of the F,M.R.S.
landed almost opposite the Casino
and pushed on, One party under
Capt, G. Vandelac of Montreal at-
tacked spate of the houses on the
Boulevard cle Verdun, with 11. men,
Sergi, Pierre Dubue of Montreal
turned east and reached the Bassin
du Canada, part of Dieppe's inner
harbor, His party destroyed a Ger-
man machine -gnu post, killed or
wounded ell, the Germans on craft in
the dock basin, and pressed on until
they encountered superior German
forces, Out of ammunition, they were
forced to surrender,
By a ruse, Sergt. Dubuc effected an
escape for his men and reached the
beach by 11 o'clock to find the evactt.
ation had begun. He helped his
wounded commanding officer, Lt,.Col,
Dollard Menard to a landing craft
and carried a badly-womtded corp-
oral to another. He was awarded the
military medal. •
Despite the efforts of the F.M.R.S.,
the eastern headland remained un -
taken and Maj. -Gen. Roberts about
8,30 aim, sent in the Royal Marine
Commando. Quoting the official re-
port: "With a courage terrible to
see, the Marines went in to land,
determined, if fortune so willed, to
'repeat at Dieppe what their fathers
had accomplished at Zeebrugge,"
Few who reached the beach survived
unhurt.
"By now," Mr. Saunders says„ "it
was obvious that the headlands to
the east and west of Dieppe would
not be captured in time to permit an
entry into the town; the doors were
in fact still closed. It was decided to
withdraw 'those who had been as-
saulting them and the town so in-
trepidly,"
Mr. Saunders devOtes.a chapter to
the triumph in the air, saying: "The
enemy were not prepared, and at the
beginning ,brought no more than 25,
to 30 fighters on the scene. These
presently increased to between 50
and 100, including fighter-bombers.
But it was not until 10 o'clock in the
morning that the first German bomb-
ers appeared. By that time our air-
craft had been flying in great
strength over a part of the enemy's
occupied territory for five hours.
They were to continue to do so until
nightfall."
He says the only major success
the German air force could claim was
the sinking of the Berkely, which
happened 'to patch a pack of bombs
jettisoned from a Junkers 88 attack-
ed by a Spitfire. There was evidence
to show that German loss in aircraft
destroyed known to' be 93 - may
have been as high as 170. British
losses were 98 aircraft,
The withdrawal from the main
beaches was timed to begin at 11
a.m, under a curtain of Bostain-laid
smoke. It was carried out with great
difficulty in the face of the heaviest
fire. By 12,20 most of the men who
had fought their way back to the
beaches had been taken away.
Shortly before 1 o'clock, H.M,S.
Caipe had closed to within nine
cables of the beach and was under
machine-gun fire. No sign of troops
or landing craft, save derelicts, could
be seen. The headquarters ship re-
turned to the cover of smoke just as
a last signal came from shore at 1.08
p.m. It was the headquarters of Bri
gadier W. W. Southam saying he
was compelled to. surrender,
The expedition returned to the
ports front which it had sailed, some
of the ships not berthing until past
midnight,
Corporal (to cavalry recruit on
stable guard for the first time) -
"No you've got to patrol these 'ere
lines, and 'ammer any tent pegs that
Comes loose, and look after the
'orses,"
Recruit (whose knowledge of horses
is of the slightest): "And what time
do I wake the horses in the morn-
ing"
Gangster (rushing into a restaur-
ant shooting right and left); "All you
dirty skunks get out of here."
The customers Pied in a hail of bul-
+rets-all except an Englishman, who
calmly went on eating.
"Well," snapped the gangster, wav-
ing the smoking gun,
"Well," remarked the Englishman,
"there eertainly were a not of them,
weren't there
Experiments made with young
monkeys indicated 'that they had no
fear of snakes until they were placed
with other monkeys which became
i
Plant Chrysanthemums
For Autumn Color
Here are a few of the 87 choice varieties of "Mums" listed
McConnell's 1943 Catalogue
Double Indicum "Mums"
3 for 60o.; doz., $2.00
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early,
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Ruth Hatton, White, Midseason,
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Beautiful Midseason Varieties
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in
Double Korean "Mums"
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Very showy autumn flowering
plants 3 to 4 feet high
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Hardy Perennials
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Three Doz.
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