Dieppe Raid Documentary

[draken55]

For anyone who missed this, it's repeated again to-day at 4.00 pm on UKTV.

It's really worth setting aside the time to watch this well researched programme!

[just another jocky]

Yesterday Channel, Sky channel 537. :ok:

[SASless]

Did it explain why the Canadians provided the bulk of the Troops?

[Pontius Navigator]

2-3 hrs yet. From Wiki it would seem to be yet another example of willy waving:

Under pressure from the Canadian government to ensure that Canadian troops saw some action, the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division, commanded by Major General John Hamilton Roberts, was selected for the main force

[SASless]

Most write-ups state Dieppe was a "Test" of equipment, tactics, and to obtain intelligence.

As the Americans proved at Slapton Sands....you can kill off about the same number of Troops landing on an English Beach as you could a French Beach.:(

I do wonder how Senior Leaders can make decisions as they did in the Dieppe Raid.....what value do they place on Men's lives when they think up these kinds of things?

[Lyneham Lad]

Thanks for the heads-up. It is on the 'Yesterday' channel (No. 19 on Freeview). Recorder set!

[Biggus]

The deaths at Slapton Sands were mainly due to enemy action, i.e. an attack by German E-boats, it wasn't a direct consequence of "landing on an English beach".

As for "placing value on men's lives when they think up these sorts of things", what about the value of the men who landed in France on 6th June 1944. Without the lessons learned from Dieppe how much higher would the death toll have been on 6th June?

Dieppe was undoubtedly considered a risk, but a necessary one.

[Pontius Navigator]

Like don't land on a shingle beach.

Don't do a frontal assault on a hard target.

[SASless]

Biggus,

How many other "Raids" had Combined Ops done prior to Dieppe?

Could this "Testing" not been done on British Beaches?

Why add in German Artillery, Mortars, Machine Guns, and Tanks for realism?

The decision for the Dieppe attack seems far more "political" than military.

My impression when the word "Raid" is used for land operations is small unit warfare.....not a Division sized operation.

Did the Planners not learn from Dunkirk.....getting troops off a beach under close direct fire from numerous well equipped, well armed, well trained experienced forces is a very costly affair.

No....sorry.....I shall have to hold to my opinion it was one monstrous cock up!

As usual....good brave Men pay the price for stupid commanders idiot decisions.

Certainly the intelligence gathering and recce of beach defenses could have been done with much less loss of life.


List of Commando raids on the Atlantic Wall - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Commando_raids_on_the_Atlantic_Wall)

[pzu]

Just watched the program

An interesting attempt to define the purpose of the 'Raid', still would appear to be overkill to get German codes!!!

However having been a not infrequent visitor to Dieppe in recent years, I still do not understand Why a frontal assault was planned across the Dieppe beach - even to my 'untrained' eye it was always going to be a killing field

PZU - Out of Africa (Retired)

[chinook240]

Although not the programme Watch Dieppe Uncovered TV Online | Free Full Episodes | Yesterday Channel (http://yesterday.uktv.co.uk/shows/dieppe-uncovered/watch-online/) from the Yesterday channel this link covers the theory that the landing was a cover for a pinch raid by 30 AU Commando to get 4 rotor enigma machines.
Battle of Dieppe uncovered; James Bond creator involved - YouTube (http://youtu.be/wGR9qN8oxcQ)

[Hangarshuffle]

Everything is going wrong for the allies in August 1942, worldwide. PQ17, North Africa, Southern Sector Russia, OP Pedestal (debateable but massive loss of ships anyway, Malta hanging by a thread) Atlantic Convoys, bombing campaign of Germany (Cologne another bloody high loss operation-I risk getting another bollocking here I know).


Done anyway to prove Britain (and allies based within UK) was still in the war.
Blood sacrifice demanded by Stalin? To prove to Stalin.....?
Tied in with first US B17 raids of the war on NAzi occupied Germany.


If the latter and Dieppe had gone correctly, something to shout about?


You are right anyway SAS, when you look at the beach, and Dieppes relative location you cant but wonder what the military planners were on.


Wasn't the name of the port in the Telegra[h crossword?


The Germans also seemed unusually well prepared......spies/informers.

[SASless]

The investigation into the Code Word appearing in the Crossword determined it was by pure chance.....as was the Overlord Code Word in another Crossword written by the same fellow.

[wiggy]

For the benefit of those wondering about the Slapton Sands comments in some previous posts:

Exercise Tiger - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exercise_Tiger)

Exercise Tiger Remembered | Evacuation (http://www.exercisetigerslapton.org/evacuation/)

[Hangarshuffle]

I saw a film that said the author of the cross words was a teacher, he used to ask his students for words they had heard. They came in and told him they'd heard the words Utah and Omaha a lot. All these kids used to hang around the American Army Camps for free food and sweets and treats - they must have picked up on it.
He used the words in the famous crosswords.
Well it was the same chap who put Dieppe in as a clue 2 years earlier.
Coincidence?
I think this is in Wikipedia.

[SASless]

It was a "Small" Tribute.....but very much appreciated. A very nice gesture of Respect by a a few folks that doesn't get enough mention.:D

[wiggy]

It was indeed SASless,.

I lived in that neck of the woods for a while, Slapton was one of our local beaches and you'd often find Ken Small parked out by the recovered tank, selling copies of his book to raise funds.

BTW you could, and possibly still can see signs of the American WWII presence in the shape of names/comments carved by GIs on wooden doors/window sills on one or two of the houses in the village next to the beach....I've got some piccies somewhere but darned if I can find them at the moment.

[SASless]

Two of my Mom's Brothers were in the UK during the War....one got drafted into the Army...went to Basic and Advanced Training in England. A few months later it was off to a place called Anzio where a German 88 shell threw a truck on him.

The other was in a National Guard Unit that got activated and he wound up in England.....crossed the Beach at Normandy on Day 2.....went MIA for two weeks during the Battle of the Bulge.

Both spoke well of the warm reception of the English they got to meet. One met them in Church....the other in the Pubs......Uncle Joe was a bit of a Rounder from what I heard about him.

[Graham Wallace]

Jack Nissen'thal' wrote a book,'Winning the Radar War' printed in 1987. He was very young at beginning of war and involved with amateur radio and eventually radar,. Eventually setting up secret radar staions in NE UK and Cornwall. A fascinating book!

However he was in the Dieppe raid, his objective was to find out how advanced the local German radar site was. This information was necessary for planning Overlord. He was protected by 5 Americans, if under threat of capture he was to be killed

He actually did get back with one of his protectors by swimming out to an offshore landing craft.
Graham