Description

Immediate dispatch from Somerset. Nice book in great condition. Pages in excellent condition. No notes or highlighting. See images. Fantastic book.

About the book >.>.> By the late afternoon of the 19th of August 1942 the beach at Dieppe was a picture of devastation. German photographs show the twisted debris of war- abandoned Allied tanks burning landing craft the grim dejection of men being taken prisoner by the victorious Germans-and a shocking number of Canadian dead. They were scattered across the stones and rolling in the Channel surf. The Allies had launched a massive assault on Dieppe-a German-held port on the Channel coast of France. The outcome was disaster-and a legacy of bitter controversy and scarred memories. The Allies lost more planes on August 19 than in any other single day’s battle in the War. An entire Canadian division was decimated: for three thousand young Canadians the War ended right then either in the grave or in German prison camps. How did such a disaster come about after such a massive assault? What was the matter with the plan of battle one in which inexperienced troops were plunged into this maelstrom? Who was to blame? By early 1942 with the entry of the United States into the war and the German siege of Russia Roosevelt and Stalin were demanding the opening of a second European front. At the same time British Chiefs of Staff were arguing that unless they made some attempt to try out invasion techniques just across the Channel a full-scale invasion when it did become possible and necessary would never work. Churchill was told: no raid no invasion. The decision was made to mount a massive “reconnaissance in force” on Dieppe. It was proposed to land six thousand troops and fifty tanks on beaches in the Dieppe area under the protective cover of both naval and air force bombardment. The aim was to capture Dieppe and hold it for a matter of hours- and then to withdraw with German prisoners with invaluable information about German defense and battle techniques. (SP)