WW2 Dieppe Raid, 19 Aug 1942 (Newhaven Fort) Traditional Cache
WW2 Dieppe Raid, 19 Aug 1942 (Newhaven Fort)
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This cache is a 35mm film pot placed at ground level and is accessible from outside of the Fort. Sorry, wheelchair cachers will not be able to access this cache.
This cache commemorates the ill-fated WW2 Dieppe Raid.
The cache is laid with the very kind permission of Newhaven Fort.
The Dieppe Raid, also known as the Battle of Dieppe, Operation Rutter and, later, Operation Jubilee, was a Second World War Allied attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe. The raid took place on the northern coast of France on 19 August 1942. The assault began at 5:00 a.m. and by 10:50 a.m. the Allied commanders were forced to call a retreat. Over 6,000 infantrymen, predominantly Canadian, were supported by a Canadian Armoured regiment and a strong force of Royal Navy and smaller Royal Air Force landing contingents.
The objective of the raid was discussed by Winston Churchill in his war memoirs:
“I thought it most important that a large-scale operation should take place this summer, and military opinion seemed unanimous that until an operation on that scale was undertaken, no responsible general would take the responsibility of planning the main invasion...
In discussion with Admiral Mountbatten it became clear that time did not permit a new large-scale operation to be mounted during the summer (after Rutter had been cancelled), but that Dieppe could be remounted (with the new code-name "Jubilee") within a month, provided extraordinary steps were taken to ensure secrecy. For this reason no records were kept but, after the Canadian authorities and the Chiefs of Staff had given their approval, I personally went through the plans with the C.I.G.S., Admiral Mountbatten, and the Naval Force Commander, Captain J. Hughes-Hallett.”
Objectives included seizing and holding a major port for a short period, both to prove it was possible and to gather intelligence from prisoners and captured materials, including naval intelligence in a hotel [Hotel MODERNE] in town and a radar installation on the cliffs above it. Although the primary objective was not met and secondary successes were relatively few, some knowledge was gained while assessing the German responses. The Allies also wanted to destroy coastal defences, port structures and all strategic buildings. Due to the failure to secure Dieppe this objective was not met in any systematic sense. The raid had the added objective of providing a morale boost to the troops, Resistance, and general public, while assuring the Soviet Union of the commitment of the United Kingdom and the United States.
A total of 3,623 of the 6,086 men (almost 60%) who made it ashore were either killed, wounded, or captured. The Royal Air Force failed to lure the Luftwaffe into open battle, and lost 96 aircraft (at least 32 to flak or accidents), compared to 48 lost by the Luftwaffe. 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).
The above information was extracted from here: (visit link)
If one of the new 4-wheeled enigma machines had been captured at Dieppe then this raid would have been considered highly successful.
Unfortunately, it would be for a while longer before HMS Bulldog disabled a U-Boat, boarded it, and captured a new enigma machine.
Unfortunately, the two crew who went back to gather the code books were drowned when the U-Boat sank suddenly.
LEST WE FORGET
Additional information:
I have recently been informed, by a previous tenant (Peter Leonard Marine) of the nearby buildings, that there is a slipway made of concrete blocks near N 50° 47.205 E 000° 03.125 that was used to load the tanks, etc, on to the ships prior to embarkation to Dieppe.
I hope to check this out soon.
More additional information:
The WAR Dieppe Summary issued fortnightly by the ARMY BUREAU OF CURRENT AFFAIRS (dated: October 3rd, 1942) gave a good account of this raid.
This included what happened, what went right, what went wrong, and what was learned.
It reported that this raid was needed to test the feasibility of undertaking a much bigger raid at a later date (to become known as D-Day, 6th June 1944).
It also gave the personal feedback from several people who took part in the raid.
(There is no mention of the raid intending to capture enemy enigma equipment. But doing so would have alerted the enemy that we knew about it.)
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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