• In 1942, the war was not going well for the Allies• Seize and capture German-occupied port of

Dieppe• Stalin and the Allied hoped that the Dieppe Raid

would relief pressure on Russia• Meant to be a quick in-and-out raid to reassure the Soviet Union, and to act as a rehearsal for the

real invasion of Europe• Test German defences

• August 19, 1942• Approximately 5000 Canadian soldiers along with

other Allied troops invaded Dieppe on the coast of France

• Plan was to make a amphibious assault• Part of the Allied fleet of landing craft encountered

an enemy convoy and the fight began

• Hoped to surprise the Germans by quietly slipping across the

English Channel• Encountered a small

German convoy that alerted German defenses

• Was a disaster• Not intended to be "The Invasion of Europe“

• Nearly 1000 Canadians died and nearly 2000 were taken to prison and forced to surrender

• Prime Minister Mackenzie King was going through the conscription crises and needed a diversion

• It was also suggested that Canadian troops were considered by the Allied powers to be disposable

• First time the Canadians fought directly against the Nazis on ground

• The Dieppe disaster taught the Allies that heavy air and sea support would be required for any

future invasion of France