German leader Adolf Hitler had worked to have Europe fortified from Norway to the Spanish border, creating what was called “Fortress Europe.” In port towns, rudimentary fortifications, some dating back to the Middle Ages, were already in place and only needed to be reinforced. The biggest lesson learned, however, was that taking a port such as Calais, France-the closest one to Britain-would not be easy.

The biggest lesson learned was that taking A PORT would not be easy. Of course, the attack’s planners knew the tanks would likely be disembarking into water, so experiments were conducted on how to waterproof the tanks so that they wouldn’t be flooded. The Churchills were faster and had better armour than the tanks used in the First World War. The raid was also a chance to test new Churchill tanks, which Britain had developed a year earlier. Once close to shore, the ramp was lowered, allowing the troops or vehicles to disembark directly forward.

In the bow was a ramp that also served as a shield should the craft be under fire while approaching shore. These vessels could carry a platoon of soldiers from ship to shore. It was to be a one-day effort in which the navy would put an army division on the shores to confuse the enemy, do as much damage as possible, capture any intelligence available and take prisoners.Ĭombined Operations wanted to test new navy landing craft, built to various specifications to carry troops, vehicles and even tanks. The Dieppe Raid was the largest such undertaking up to that point. The head of the unit, Vice-Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, knew that if Germany was to be beaten, the Allies would have to bring the war to them with troops on the ground. It was to integrate elements of the army, navy and air force to test new methods and equipment for amphibious attacks. The raid was the brainchild of the Combined Operations unit of the British forces, which was tasked with trying to keep the enemy off-balance using a series of raids and sabotage. Nonetheless, like any inquiry into a disaster, natural or human-caused, lessons can be learned.

To try to justify it by calling it a learning experience for D-Day is a bit of a stretch. There is no doubt that the raid on Dieppe in August 1942 was a disaster for the Canadian troops involved. Llustration by Joel Kimmel Tom MacGregor says Yes

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