Today's Itinerary and Activities
In the morning we walked the Dieppe beaches to consider the raid on Dieppe. Later in the morning we took in the Dieppe market before driving up to the cliffs overlooking the main beach and then to the Dieppe Cemetery. Heather led us in our seminar today: How should we judge the Dieppe Raid? After the cemetery we hit the highway for Bayeux, France and the Moulin Morin.
Pedagogical pause
Today we considered that if we are tight for time in our classrooms, why do we teach about the Dieppe raid?
The Canadians are only here for 6 hours. Do we have time for Dieppe in our curriculum? Why not teach about the Italian campaign, where we fought for years? Why not teach about the Netherlands?
Two main arguments arose:
Does teaching about Dieppe also allow us to think of Canadians as victims?
Why study Dieppe? Because it is controversial! Teaching controversial topics allows us to encourage divergent as opposed to convergent thinking. Posing the question "Was Dieppe a success or a failure?" is pedagogically preferable to "Explain why Dieppe was a failure," which precludes the possibility of success and limits the sources students will consult.
The Canadians are only here for 6 hours. Do we have time for Dieppe in our curriculum? Why not teach about the Italian campaign, where we fought for years? Why not teach about the Netherlands?
Two main arguments arose:
- We teach about Dieppe to show that there was an operation that was a failure
- We teach about Dieppe to show it as a lead-up to D-Day
Does teaching about Dieppe also allow us to think of Canadians as victims?
Why study Dieppe? Because it is controversial! Teaching controversial topics allows us to encourage divergent as opposed to convergent thinking. Posing the question "Was Dieppe a success or a failure?" is pedagogically preferable to "Explain why Dieppe was a failure," which precludes the possibility of success and limits the sources students will consult.
Where we are |
Contact Us |
Consider the geography of Dieppe - the beach is made of shale. The cliffs are too high to scale, so the difficulty of running and also getting vehicles up the beach dictates the reality of the raid. Our group participated in a beach activity to see just how challenging moving over shale can be, many of the participants remarking on how physically fit you would have to be to run up the very steep beach quickly, wearing military kit. |
The global situation in August 1942 |
Operation Jubilee had been planned for earlier in the summer, but the Royal Navy was not ready due to the Battle of the Atlantic. 6 months ago, Japan bombed Pearl Harbour and we are deploying to the Pacific. We have ships that are being refitted for D-Day - a plan that has been in place since early 1942.
The strategic intent behind Dieppe is to poke though German defences and prove that we can do this along the coast, forcing them to send more troops here. This is a show of force mission - a diversion and deception - to relieve pressure on the Russian front. The story about getting the enigma machine to be able read German code again - highly significant for battle of the Atlantic - is true, but is only a part rather than the whole of the mission. |
Why raid this beach when the Germans had the high ground on both sides and telephone and radio connection to their artillery?
We will not use bombers to avoid harming French citizens, and we know naval support will be minimal. Dieppe is the only place where there is a port that is close enough to our air bases in Sussex and Wessex - fighter planes can fly over, stay 20 minutes and return to refuel.
We don't have the stronger firepower, but we do have the element of surprise. This worked at Hill 70 when we arrived before dawn, and the plan is to do the same here with an infantry/armoured team. The terrain is not a surprise, we are actually prepared for this. On our arrival we bump into a German navy patrol, which tips them off to the raid. This also causes a delay, meaning the timing is off and we land in daylight instead of at dawn, losing the element of surprise.
The Canadian Military Headquarters (CMHQ) reports describe a disciplined approach to an unexpected outcome, not chaos as is typically described. There is also evidence that on August 20, there was an immediate slackening of the German offensive at Stalingrad. Does this mean that Dieppe can be considered a success?
We will not use bombers to avoid harming French citizens, and we know naval support will be minimal. Dieppe is the only place where there is a port that is close enough to our air bases in Sussex and Wessex - fighter planes can fly over, stay 20 minutes and return to refuel.
We don't have the stronger firepower, but we do have the element of surprise. This worked at Hill 70 when we arrived before dawn, and the plan is to do the same here with an infantry/armoured team. The terrain is not a surprise, we are actually prepared for this. On our arrival we bump into a German navy patrol, which tips them off to the raid. This also causes a delay, meaning the timing is off and we land in daylight instead of at dawn, losing the element of surprise.
The Canadian Military Headquarters (CMHQ) reports describe a disciplined approach to an unexpected outcome, not chaos as is typically described. There is also evidence that on August 20, there was an immediate slackening of the German offensive at Stalingrad. Does this mean that Dieppe can be considered a success?
Photo Gallery
Classroom questions
How should we evaluate Dieppe?
Why did the Germans use the narrative of Allied failure at Dieppe as propaganda?
How does the present shape our memory of the past?
Why is it important for us to recognize that the present shapes the memory of the past?
How would you differentiate history and memory? Are they separate entities? Do they overlap? Can they be the same?
Do we engage in "othering" when we are too nationalistic?
Why did the Germans use the narrative of Allied failure at Dieppe as propaganda?
How does the present shape our memory of the past?
Why is it important for us to recognize that the present shapes the memory of the past?
How would you differentiate history and memory? Are they separate entities? Do they overlap? Can they be the same?
Do we engage in "othering" when we are too nationalistic?