Remembering the Difficulties in Operation Rutter

Many soldiers died on Dieppe because the lack of leadership in the Commander's role. Operation Rutter was suppose to be a raid with the element of surprise, Commanders didn't put in mind that Germany might have some intel on this raid, and of course...they did.



The Germans knew all about this and even turned the tables around by taking out 250 strong Allied Navy Ships while they were sailing for Dieppe. My ship had to fill in gas before it could take off. We were one of the last boats to set sail, and boy... Me and a handful of soldiers were blessed with a second chance. As the bombers took out half of our ships that were in front of our own, our driver, and many others, had time to sail off course, and eventually reached the beaches.

Hope the leaders in the future know how hard it is to maintain the element of surprise.

And why was Operation Rutter put to plan ? It was said to give Canadians a 'taste of battle'... That's right, we were sent in with literally nothing, because the Commanders wanted Canadians to taste blood... Outrageous! They plan us to learn what it's like to battle? What is there to learn when half of us would be dead?! Hmm, sorry about that - but just the thought of Commanders sitting in there humble home sending us faithful Canadians into battle with no intel whatsoever on the enemy is just so frustrating...



The plan for this operation was 'simple' on paper; Big guns of ships of the Royal Navy were to be used to soften up the Nazi positions overlooking the beaches, Paratroopers were to be sent down used to neutralize German artillery guns, Ships containing troops and tanks were to be sent out to the beaches where they would proceed to the beaches. Sounded like the perfect plan right? But no - it was a failure. The Commanders underestimated the power of German's defensive fire, The Royal Navy refused to risk a capital ship to be sent out in the open - which was correct because everyone on the beach were inexperienced Second Canada Division soldiers. Because of the same reason, Bomber Command refused to send out heavy bombers in daylight.



No one co-operated and that was the reason for the deaths of many soldiers, Operation Rutter was cancelled on July 7, 1942, we were sent back to the English Coast, achieving nothing...I lost at least 4 good friends in there...and I really hope I don't lose anymore...

Tell me guys...Any loved ones you lost during war? Did you find it was unfair a life had to be lost because of the bad leadership of some people? Well that's exactly what happened during Operation Rutter...Bad leadership.

R.I.P. French pilot Emile Fayolle, former friend of mine.

Remembering the Battle of Dieppe

It was a disaster, they treated us like lab rats back there in Dieppe. How could they treat us Canadian soldiers as animals ? That's completely not humane nor reasonable. The Allies sent us to test techniques and equipment for landing troops from the sea, the battle was not well planned and it was a disaster for me and my buddies. Nearly 1000 of us died out there and at least 2000 got taken in.



Fortunately, I did not belong in either of these two groups, but that's because I got lucky...real lucky.



What the commanders originally planned were to have four surprise flank attacks in the main entrance of Dieppe. But how could the commanders have been so stubborn - of course German troops would've been scouting, landing ships and escorts on the east was spotted and that totally purged the element of surprise.



The invasion was so poorly planned that over 500 men were killed or taken prisoner before the battle even started, German men were already prepared for this attack and countered the attack successfully. August 19 of 1942 was a sad defeat for Canadians all around the world.

What were the Generals thinking?