UNIT 4 WORLD WAR II



UNIT 3 WORLD WAR IIDieppe Raid Evidence Question: Was the Dieppe Raid useful and worthwhile?Criteria for Determining Useful and WorthwhileReasons for FailureCould the reasons for failure have been avoided?CasualtiesWere the casualties reasonable or unacceptably high?LessonsWere the lessons learned valuable and contributed to future success? Were the actions necessary for the lessons to be learned?Chart #1Useful and WorthwhileNot Useful and WorthwhileEvidenceEvidencelack of experience contributed to failure which will benefit Allies in the futureit provided Canadian soldiers with valuable experiencelessons learned were valuable and contributed to the success of the landings in North Africa, Italy and France (D-Day)new strategies, techniques, and equipment were testedthe Germans were forced to strengthen their defences in France at the expense of the Eastern Front against the RussiansStalin was placated that an attempt was made to establish a second front in Francepoor planning and preparation are reasons for failurethe casualties were too high (907 killed, 586 wounded) and many prisoners of wardisaster at Dieppe not necessary to learn these lessonsthe raid did not capture the port of Dieppemany lives were lost with no tangible resultsthe Germans gained confidence in their ability to withstand an attackAllied forces were demoralized and deflated from the lossChart #2Useful and WorthwhileNot Useful and WorthwhileEvidenceEvidenceThe true meaning of the sacrifices made at Dieppe was made obvious two years after this ill-fated date, when on D-Day the Allies gained a foothold in Europe to free the continent from Nazi aggression. Canadian General H.D.G. Crerar says D-Day would have been a disaster were it not for the lessons of Dieppe.Canada at WarDebate over the merit of the raid continues to the present day. Some believe that it was a useless slaughter, others maintain that is was necessary for the success of the invasion of the continent two years later on D-Day. Without question, the Raid on Dieppe was studied carefully in planning later attacks against the enemy-held coast of France. There were improvements in the technique, fire support and tactics, which reduced D-Day casualties to an unexpected minimum. The lessons learned at Dieppe were instrumental in saving countless lives on June 6, 1944.Veterans AffairsDespite its failure, the raid provided valuable lessons for the Allies. It erased the idea that surprise and tanks were enough to succeed in an amphibious assault against occupied France. Two years later, the D-Day landings would be backed up by massive naval artillery support, dominance over the skies, and heavy firepower — three essential factors missing at Dieppe.Canadian EncyclopediaThe losses at Dieppe were claimed to be a necessary evil. Lord Mountbatten later justified the raid by arguing that lessons learned at Dieppe in 1942 were put to good use later in the war. He later claimed, "I have no doubt that the Battle of Normandy was won on the beaches of Dieppe. For every man who died in Dieppe, at least 10 more must have been spared in Normandy in 1944." In direct response to the raid on Dieppe, Winston Churchill remarked that, "My Impression of 'Jubilee' is that the results fully justified the heavy cost" and that it "was a Canadian contribution of the greatest significance to final victory." WikipediaMuch has been said since about the fact that the Dieppe raid was a necessary precursor to the great amphibious operations that were to follow (ex. D-Day), in terms of the lessons learned and experience gained.The disaster did point up the need for much heavier firepower in future raids. It was recognized that this should include aerial bombardment, special arrangements to be made for land armour, and intimate fire support right up to the moment when troops crossed the waterline (the most dangerous place on the beach) and closed with their objectivesHowever, it did not need a debacle like Dieppe to learn these lessons. As judged by General Sir Leslie Hollis- secretary to the Chiefs of Staff Committee and deputy head of the Military Wing of the War Cabinet with direct access to Churchill -the operation was a complete failure, and the many lives that were sacrificed in attempting it were lost with no tangible result.BBC The key question, however, remains: Did the lessons learned from Operation Jubilee pave the way for D-Day, June 6, 1944? Yes, to some extent. After Dieppe, everyone recognized the need for better planning and a clearer chain of command. Operation Overlord — the name for the invasion of Europe that began with the D-Day landing - satisfied those requirements. There was heavy bombing, though it was not hugely successful in destroying beach defences. There was massive naval gun support, which was successful. There were better landing craft and specialized armoured vehicles, and the assault troops were far better trained. All of those things would likely have happened even without the Dieppe raid.And instead of landing at a fortified port, the D-Day invasion went in over open beaches, and the Allies brought their artificial port, Mulberry, with them. Some lessons were learned, but most of them were lessons that had been mastered before. Many of them had been taught at staff colleges for decades. Most of them were simple common sense.The Globe and Mail, a newspaper bitterly opposed to the Liberal government in Ottawa, was one of the few to openly criticize the Dieppe operation. In the spring of 1943, when ministers defended the raid in Parliament, the Globe called the raid “a fiasco of the first order; a tragedy of military blundering without parallel in this war.” The newspaper had it right: The blunders at Dieppe were and remain inexcusable.Canada’s History Some historians … argue the raid was just a poorly-planned blunder. Canadian War Museum ................
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