Battle of Dieppe
On August 19, 1942 Over 6,000 soldiers were sent out to Dieppe, France. There were 5,000 Canadians and 1,000 British troops with a few Americans as well. The battle of Dieppe was one of the worse losses to the Allied fighters in the Second Wold War. The United Kingdom wanted to attack Dieppe to show power and test the enemy as Dieppe was aheld on a coastal area in France that the Germans had captured. They were sent to basically run in, establish a hold around the city, attack and destroy the harbour, set men there to hold it as an Allied captured territory and then leave by sea. This plan seemed simple enough but it resulted in the highest loss of Allied fighters in the whole war! The troops came in by sea and landed on the beach; when they landed it was an open plan for the allies as they had to run to the very end of the beach with practically no cover at all. As the allied troops would run on the beach the Germans who were on a mountain could just shoot down to the men running on the beach. One machine gun killed many soldiers and the beach was more secured then the Allied troops thought it was. It was a horrible blood bath and a victory for the Germans.
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In this attack of Dieppe there were four main groups that attacked; the two main groups (Red Beach and White Beach in the photo) were the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry and the Royal Maine. These two groups had tanks being unloaded off the ships. The idea was for the tanks to be a good cover for the men and then push towards the city and meet the two other groups there. This idea didn’t work as the beach was covered with traps that held the tanks up so the tanks couldn’t push forward. The tanks however were still used as cover during the retreat and they helped hugely with getting the men back on the ships. The second party, which was the Royal Regiment of Canada (Blue Beach) came in and attacked on the Eastern side of Dieppe. They were suppose to come in as a surprise attack but they were behind schedule and went to approach the Germans who already knew they were coming. The Royal Regiment of Canada was defeated under huge amounts of German gun power. Many were captured and only few were able to get back to the ship safely and survive. The third party, the South Saskatchewan Regiment (Green Beach) attacked on the Western part of Dieppe. They did the best of the four groups; they successfully surprised the Germans a little and went to cross the Scie River and pushed towards the city under heavy firepower. The Saskatchewan Regiment was stopped very close to the city and was forced to retreat; they lost more men trying to get back to the ships in the retreat then when they pushed towards the city.
The allied troops went in by ships and also had aircraft above them. The Germans however had aircraft as well and theirs was better. The allied troop had around 106 aircraft in total but they were defeated and the Germans only lost 48 aircraft fighters against the totally Allied aircraft. The Battle of Dieppe was awful and it was a blood shed for the Allied fighters, the beach was covered in our own blood and we were unable to make it to victory that horrible day on the beach.
Veteran
Charles Cecil Ingersoll Merritt
Charles Cecil Ingersoll Merritt or Charles for short was born in Vancouver, British Columbia on November 10th, 1908. He enrolled in the military for the Second World War and was a commanding officer for the South Saskatchewan Regiment (SSR). Charles regiment was one of many of the regiments that fought on the beach of Dieppe. Charles and his men came to the western part of the beach on Dieppe, he and his men were to run in from the side of the city and were to suprise the Germans so they wouldnt be ready. As they were traveling to get to the city a heavily guarded bridge was there so it made it very hard for them to pass. What Charles did, he got his men to make an upward attack against the machine guns that were firing down on them as they cross the bridge. His plan succeeded and they managed to kill the Germans guarding the bridge. They moved towards the city but had to retreat; Charles managed to help his men get back taking 2 bad wounds. Charles didn’t end up making it back to the ships and he was taken captured. Charles was awarded the Victoria Cross for his great leadership and valour in the Battle of Dieppe.
Works cited
"Common Menu Bar Links." DHH - Victoria Cross Bios - Charles Cecil Ingersoll Merritt. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.
Herd, Alex. "Dieppe Raid." The Canadian Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2016
"History | From Vimy to Juno." History | From Vimy to Juno. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.
([email protected]), Erik Hillis. "WWII: The Dieppe Raid - Canada at War." Canada at War RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2016
"Common Menu Bar Links." DHH - Victoria Cross Bios - Charles Cecil Ingersoll Merritt. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.
Herd, Alex. "Dieppe Raid." The Canadian Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2016
"History | From Vimy to Juno." History | From Vimy to Juno. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.
([email protected]), Erik Hillis. "WWII: The Dieppe Raid - Canada at War." Canada at War RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2016