Dieppe

Had we the weak will we have now, we would have surrendered and let Hitler destroy the world:

On August 19, 1942, the Dieppe Raid or Operation Jubilee, as it was codenamed, was launched as Stalin believed that the Western allies were not carrying their fair share of the burden of the war and so demanded that a second front be opened to draw German forces away from Russia. The US, which had just recently joined the war following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbour on December 7, 1941, also thought it best to launch and expedite a direct attack on mainland Europe. The British high command, particularly Prime Minister Winston Churchill, was acutely aware of these political pressures. The Dieppe Raid occurred under the auspices of the Combined Operations Headquarters (COHQ), which was responsible for conducting British raiding operations. The COHQ’s objective was to try to capture a port during this raid, hold it for a short period of time and then withdraw quickly.

The major contingent in the raid was composed of soldiers from Canada’s 2nd Infantry Division. Originally, COHQ planners had wanted the British Marine Division to carry out the raid, but political pressure from Canadians at home and several senior Canadian officers in Britain (particularly Lieutenant General Harry Crerar) resulted in the job being offered to Canada. This pressure arose from a belief that the Canadian army stationed in Britain was not playing an active role in winning the war, despite the fact that this army was being purposefully preserved so that it could play a major role in the ultimate Allied invasion of France. Canada would eventually play a crucial part on D-Day as it was assigned one of the five landing beaches. 

Canada’s role in World War II is not generally well known in Western Europe or even by its Allies, the British and Americans. This is despite the fact that Canada declared war on Germany on September 10, 1939, just a week after Britain and far earlier than the US, as an independent nation, rather than as a member of the Commonwealth. Moreover, not only did it have the third-largest Western Allied army, with more than 150,000 soldiers as part of the First Canadian Army, it was the only army during World War II serving overseas that consisted entirely of volunteers. Only in the final days of the war were a handful of soldiers conscripted and saw combat. Canada also had the third-largest air force and navy by the end of the war. ...

The Canadian army, navy and air force played a vital role in bringing about the ultimate victory in 1945. The entire country was also economically and socially dedicated to winning the war. One of the five Normandy invasion beaches (Juno) was given to Canada. From Juno Beach, the Canadians marched up the left flank of the Allied advance—liberating such French cities as Le Havre, Dieppe (the 2nd Division was given this honour), Dunkirk, Calais, and Boulogne. They also liberated Rouen and many other small villages and towns. A good number of these communities have memorials and plaques honouring the Canadian forces who brought freedom to their citizens. From France they continued that left flank advance through Belgium, up through the Netherlands (where Canadians are fondly remembered for relieving the Dutch from starvation suffered during the 1944-1945 Hunger Winter), and were pushing into western Germany when the war ended. A large Canadian contingent also fought from July 1943 through February 1945 in Italy—advancing from Sicily through to just north of Ravenna before being transferred to Northwestern Europe to join the First Canadian Army in liberating the Netherlands.

In all, 1.086 million Canadians served in World War II and 42,042 of these died. Most are buried in Commonwealth War Grave Cemeteries spread across the battlefronts where they fought in Europe. There is such a cemetery outside Dieppe. I think the French in the area of Dieppe, and to some extent through most of Normandy where the Canadians fought up to and including their advance into Belgium on the coast, have some sense of the role Canadian troops played in winning their freedom from German tyranny. But collective memory is a fragile thing and requires each generation ensuring that the generation after them are educated about the events of World War II, and the role Canada played in that great conflict that indelibly changed our world (particularly Europe) forever.

 

Back when we were a country that mattered.