In 1942, a full two years before D-Day, thousands of men, mostly Canadian troops eager for their first taste of battle, were sent across the Channel in a raid on the French port town of Dieppe. Air supremacy was not secured; the topography of the town and its surroundings - hemmed in by tall cliffs and steep beaches - meant any invasion was improbably difficult; the result was carnage, the beaches turned into killing grounds even as the men came ashore, and whole regiments literally decimated. Why was the Raid ever mounted? Was the whole thing even, as has been darkly alleged, expected and even intended to fail, a cynical conspiracy to prove to the Americans, at the expense of so many Canadian lives, the impracticability of staging the Normandy landings for another two years? Robin Neillands goes behind the myths to tell what really happened, and why.

'A lively and readable account' Spectator 'A fine book ... well-written and well-researched' Washington Times In less than six hours in August 1942, nearly 1,000 British, Canadian and American commandos died in the French port of Dieppe in an operation that for decades seemed to have no real purpose. Was it a dry-run for D-Day, or perhaps a gesture by the Allies to placate Stalin's impatience for a second front in the west? Historian David O'Keefe uses hitherto classified intelligence archives to prove that this catastrophic and apparently futile raid was in fact a mission, set up by Ian Fleming of British Naval Intelligence as part of a 'pinch' policy designed to capture material relating to the four-rotor Enigma Machine that would permit codebreakers like Alan Turing at Bletchley Park to turn the tide of the Second World War. 'A fast-paced and convincing book ... that clears up decades of misinformation about the ignoble raid' Toronto Star

On 19 August 1942 a mainly Canadian force left England in an attempt to seize the German-occupied French port of Dieppe, on a mission that has been described as the largest raid in history. The result was a complete disaster. That some 4,000 Canadian soliders and marines should wait over 21/2 years for combat and then be killed, maimed, or captured in a single morning is one of the great tragedies of the Second World War, and represents for Canadians a problem of acceptance. Many books, and accounts by participants, have failed to explain certain mysteries, such as: "Why was itexecuted when it was known to court failure?" and, "Who was responsible?" Brian Villa has devoted nearly eight years to examining documents in search of answers to these and other questions about a major event of the war that has been subjected to much obfuscation. The result is a book thatunravels all the complexities that led to it, having the British Chiefs of Staff, and especially the vagaries of Lord Louis Mountbatten, who was ultimately responsible as Chief of Combined Operations. As the first thorough examination of the disaster--one that will fascinate the general reader for its detective-like treatment of facts and evidence leading to clarification--this book is a primary contribution to the literature of the Second World War. Students of political science will value anAppendix that examines the evidence in an attempt to answer the question: Why do governments do what they know they should not do? Combined Operations.

With its trademark "you are there" style, Mark Zuehlke's tenth Canadian Battle Series volume tells the story of the 1942 Dieppe raid. Nicknamed "The Poor Man's Monte Carlo," Dieppe had no strategic importance, but with the Soviet Union thrown on the ropes by German invasion and America having just entered the war, Britain was under intense pressure to launch a major cross-Channel attack against France. Since 1939, Canadian troops had massed in Britain and trained for the inevitable day of the mass invasion of Europe that would finally occur in 1944. But the Canadian public and many politicians were impatient to see Canadian soldiers fight sooner. The first major rehearsal proved such a shambles the raid was pushed back to the end of July only to be cancelled by poor weather. Later, in a decision still shrouded in controversy, the operation was reborn. Dieppe however did not go smoothly. Drawing on rare archival documents and personal interviews, Mark Zuehlke examines how the raid came to be and why it went so tragically wrong. Ultimately, Tragedy at Dieppe honors the bravery and sacrifice of those who fought and died that fateful day on the beaches of Dieppe.

On the warm night of 18 August 1942, a flotilla pushed out into the flat water of the Channel. They were to seize the German-held port of Dieppe, destroy key installations, seize intelligence material and then sail for home. This was the greatest amphibious operation since Gallipoli, with the biggest accumulation of fighter power ever assembled. But by the morning of the attack, one of its architects already feared that the operation would "go down as one of the great failures in history". Its key players claimed it was essential to D-Day, with the media telling listeners that it was a success -- but the tragedy was all too predictable. Using first-hand testimony from combatants and civilians, and colourful analysis of the roles of Mountbatten and Montgomery, bestselling author Patrick Bishop's gripping account brings Operation Jubilee powerfully and vividly to life, in an epic demonstration of how ambition, folly and courage came together in one of the most tragic episodes of the war.

Magnificent and engrossing, One Day in August reveals in full for the first time the "Ultra Secret" story behind one of WW2's most controversial mysteries--and one of Canada's most sorrowful moments. In a narrative as powerful and moving as it is authoritative, David O'Keefe rewrites history, connecting Canada's tragedy at Dieppe with an extraordinary and colourful cast of characters--from the young Commander Ian Fleming, later to become the creator of the James Bond novels, and his team of crack commandos to the code-breaking scientists of Bletchley Park (the closely guarded heart of Britain's wartime Intelligence and code-breaking work) to those responsible for the planning and conduct of the Dieppe Raid--Admiral John Godfrey, Lord Louis Mountbatten, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and others. The astonishing story critically changes what we thought we knew. For seven decades, the objective for the raid has been one of the most perplexing mysteries of WWII. In less than six hours on August 19, 1942, nearly one thousand Canadians--as well as British and Americans--lay dead or dying on the beaches around the French seaside town, with over two thousand other Canadians wounded or captured. These awful losses have left a legacy of bitterness, recrimination and controversy. In the absence of concrete reasons for the raid, myriad theories ranging from incompetence to conspiracy developed. Over almost two decades of research, sifting through countless recently declassified Intelligence documents, David O'Keefe skillfully pieces together the story like a jigsaw puzzle to reveal the prime reason behind the raid: a highly secret mission designed, in one of Britain's darkest times, to redress the balance of the war. One Day in August provides a thrilling, multi-layered story that fundamentally changes our understanding of this most tragic and pivotal chapter in Canada's history.

On the night of August 19, 1942, a force of five thousand Canadians launched an attack on the Nazi-held French port of Dieppe. When the disastrous raid was done, and the Allies were forced to retreat, nearly a thousand Canadian troops lay dead. Almost two thousand were taken prisoner. Some called it "the bloodiest nine hours in Canadian military history." For years, defenders of the raid claimed that the Allies learned valuable lessons from Dieppe that were put to use later in the war. Others, including prominent leaders of the time, believed that the Canadian soldiers had been used as cannon fodder. Through meticulous research and interviews with veterans both in Canada and at Dieppe, Hugh Brewster has created a fascinating and haunting historical tour of the planning and execution of this tragic raid and its aftermath. Included aresections about the evacuation and the POW experiences.

WALL STREET JOURNAL BOOK OF THE MONTH "This is the incredible World War II saga of the German-Jewish commandos who fought in Britain’s most secretive special-forces unit—but whose story has gone untold until now." —Wall Street Journal “Brilliantly researched, utterly gripping history: the first full account of a remarkable group of Jewish refugees—a top-secret band of brothers—who waged war on Hitler.”—Alex Kershaw, New York Times best-selling author of The Longest Winter and The Liberator The incredible World War II saga of the German-Jewish commandos who fought in Britain’s most secretive special-forces unit—but whose story has gone untold until now June 1942. The shadow of the Third Reich has fallen across the European continent. In desperation, Winston Churchill and his chief of staff form an unusual plan: a new commando unit made up of Jewish refugees who have escaped to Britain. The resulting volunteers are a motley group of intellectuals, artists, and athletes, most from Germany and Austria. Many have been interned as enemy aliens, and have lost their families, their homes—their whole worlds. They will stop at nothing to defeat the Nazis. Trained in counterintelligence and advanced combat, this top secret unit becomes known as X Troop. Some simply call them a suicide squad. Drawing on extensive original research, including interviews with the last surviving members, Leah Garrett follows this unique band of brothers from Germany to England and back again, with stops at British internment camps, the beaches of Normandy, the battlefields of Italy and Holland, and the hellscape of Terezin concentration camp—the scene of one of the most dramatic, untold rescues of the war. For the first time, X Troop tells the astonishing story of these secret shock troops and their devastating blows against the Nazis. “Garrett’s detective work is stunning, and her storytelling is masterful. This is an original account of Jewish rescue, resistance, and revenge.”—Wendy Lower, author of The Ravine and National Book Award finalist Hitler’s Furies

This collection points out the very real and substantial evolution of tactics that went on in response to new warfare and how this had a real effect on the positive performance of the British Army from 1916 onwards.