Can someone explain the battle of Dieppe?
The Dieppe Raid 19 August 1942. The plan was, ostensibly, to capture and hold a major port on the French coast for 24 hours, as a practice for an eventual invasion of France. A secondary objective was to lure the Luftwaffe into combat in the skies over Dieppe and significantly reduce German air strength in the region. However, Churchill’s real reason for launching the raid was to prove to Roosevelt and Stalin that any full scale cross Channel invasion in 1942 was doomed to failure with heavy casualties. (This was why Canadian rather than British troops were used). The operation was a complete disaster; the German garrison at Dieppe (302nd Static infantry division) reacted quickly and fought well. None of the 29 tanks landed were able to cross the seawall in front of the city, and all were destroyed on the beach.33 landing craft and a destroyer were also lost, and two thirds of the attacking force was killed, wounded, or captured. Further, the air combat portion of the operation was als
