Canmoore

I was reading in the paper today, about the Dieppe Raids..and how according to a retired officer of the day. Was actually meant to test German Radar. A Radar specialist was brought along, who was to be shot if it looked like he would be captured..

This is very interesting, Id like to hear what OOE has to say about this. hear is the article

clackers

Dieppe had lots of objectives, Canmoore, not one.

You can read about the radar one in this extract from Louis Brown's A Radar History of World War II here:

A Radar History of World War II ... - Google Book Search

Brown does name the specialist as Jack Nissenthal, but doesn't think a great deal of his mission's importance ...

Canmoore

What were the other objectives?

clackers

It was one of several operations that year ... one genuinely targetted a radar station at Bruneval, another the only big French drydock, at St Nazaire ...

This review of the Osprey book about the Dieppe raid speculates about its strategic objectives, and doesn't even mention radar:

Amazon.ca: Dieppe 1942: Prelude to D-Day: Books: Ken Ford,Howard Gerrard

A conspiracy theory on a TV docco I once saw maintained that Churchill almost wanted something to go wrong, to put off the United States trying to make Overlord happen in 1942 ("Sledgehammer") ... if true, that was terrible for the Canadians who none the wiser fought bravely (two Victoria Crosses given afterwards) ...

Big K

[quote=clackers;427032]A conspiracy theory on a TV docco I once saw maintained that Churchill almost wanted something to go wrong, to put off the United States trying to make Overlord happen in 1942 ("Sledgehammer") ... QUOTE]

hmmmm......why not?....

__________________
When i say, there will be no effect but i am not willing to remain silent.
-Fuzuli

Officer of Engineers

A simple look at the attack plan would've told you the main OPOBJs - to destroy the gun emplacements.

__________________
Chimo

clackers

[quote=Big K;427035]Just seems a bit ruthless if it's true, Big K ... that you'd need to sacrifice a unit of Canadian volunteers rather than sort it out in a Joint Chief of Staffs meeting ...

I notice that Wikipedia (for all that's worth!!!) quotes a book about this too:

There have been various attempts to re-evaluate the raid against larger objectives. Picknet, Prince & Prior ("Friendly Fire" 2005) describe the raid's origins arising from fundamental disagreements between the Allies over strategy. Russia was demanding a second front be opened immediately, to relieve the pressure on them of German attack. They suspected the West of being quite happy to see the Communists and Nazis destroy each other. Roosevelt in reality was eager to accommodate Stalin, and also motivated by domestic politics. Left-wingers were following the Soviet line, former anti-war Isolationists were asking pointedly why Japan was not to be dealt with first, and the Press were impatient for action either way. Without consulting his other ally he therefore promised to Molotov during meetings in Washington May/June 1942, that he was prepared to hazard up to 120,000 men that year to help relieve pressure on the Russian front (knowing well that they could not and would not be American forces, still organizing and building up).

Churchill was aghast. While he fully appreciated the need to keep Russia in the war and America focused on the European theatre, and therefore saw the political logic for a show of force, understandably he balked at a full-scale strategic commitment uncertain of success. One Gallipoli in a lifetime was quite enough (a First World War debacle in which Churchill had himself played a role). Playing for time, he agreed to countersign their Washington Communique promising a second front in 1942, on the understanding it was to be "misinformation". The raid became the British response to this American and Russian fait accompli, a counterpart, unasked for "compromise". No evidence has ever come to light to support the dark rumours the operation was deliberately sabotaged. Nevertheless its failure had a desirable effect for the British on American overconfidence.

Canmoore

Without air or naval support? seams more like a suicide mission to me.

Officer of Engineers

You're looking at this from hindsight. Look at it from their lack of knowledge about air and naval superiority. While they did not have superiority, they at least had parity and they thought it enough.

Canmoore

So do you think that Dieppe influenced the world on how to go about planning an assault of the same scale?

Officer of Engineers

I don't know about the world (the USMC was doing very well in the Pacific) but it certainly affected how JUNO, GOLD, and SWORD were performed.