Casino Dieppe

The Dieppe Raid, also known as The Battle of Dieppe, Operation Rutter or later on Operation Jubilee, during the Second World War, was an Allied attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe on the northern coast of France on 19 August 1942. The assault began at 5:00 AM and by 10:50 AM the Allied commanders had been forced to call a retreat. Over 6,000 infantrymen, predominantly Canadian, were supported by large Royal Navy and Royal Air Force contingents. The objective was to seize and hold a major port for a short period, both to prove it was possible and to gather intelligence from prisoners and captured materials while assessing the German responses. The Allies also wanted to destroy coastal defenses, port structures and all strategic buildings.
No major objectives of the raid were accomplished. A total of 3,623 of the 6,086 men (almost 60%) who made it ashore were either killed, wounded, or captured. The air force failed to lure the Luftwaffe into open battle, losing 96 aircraft (at least 32 to Flak or accidents)[1] compared to 48 lost by the Luftwaffe, while the Royal Navy lost 33 landing craft and one destroyer. The events at Dieppe later influenced preparations for the North African (Operation Torch) and Normandy Landings (Operation Overlord).

Heraldry of Dieppe

Views of the casino after the war and today.

The casualties from the Dieppe raid included 3,367 Canadians killed, wounded or taken prisoner, and 275 British commandos. The Royal Navy lost one destroyer and 33 landing craft, suffering 550 dead and wounded. The RAF lost 106 aircraft to the Luftwaffe's 48. The German army casualties were 591.[4]
Three Victoria Crosses were awarded for the operation: to Captain Porteous, No. 4 Commando; the Reverend John Weir Foote, padre to Royal Hamilton Light Infantry; and Lieutenant Colonel Merritt of the South Saskatchewan Regiment. Both Foote and Merritt became prisoners of war. The 2nd Canadian Infantry Division would eventually liberate Dieppe in 1944, Major General Roberts, their commander, had by then been transferred to command reinforcement units in the United Kingdom.
General Montgomery went on to command the 21st Army Group and initially controlled all ground forces during the Normandy landings in June 1944.[18] In October 1943, Admiral Mountbatten was appointed the Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia Command.[19] Mountbatten later justified the raid by arguing that lessons learned at Dieppe in 1942 were put to good use later in the war. He later claimed, “I have no doubt that the Battle of Normandy was won on the beaches of Dieppe. For every man who died in Dieppe, at least 10 more must have been spared in Normandy in 1944."[20] This claim is disputed by military historian Major General Julian Thompson.[4] The amphibious assaults in North Africa followed three months after the Dieppe raid and the more successful Normandy Landings took place two years later.
Following the disaster at Dieppe, the British developed a whole range of specialist armored vehicles which allowed their engineers to perform many of their tasks protected by armour, most famously Hobart's Funnies.[4] The disaster also identified a need for much heavier naval fire power in future raids and it was recognised that this should include aerial bombardment.[4] The operation showed major deficiencies in RAF ground support techniques, and this led to the creation of a fully integrated Tactical Air Force to support major ground offensives.[21]

Paintings of Dieppe by Claude Monet 1880's.