On August 19, 1942, close to 5,000 Canadian troops landed on
the highly fortified beaches occupied and defended by the soldiers of
Nazi Germany. The Dieppe amphibious assault mission is still
controversial more than half a century after the event, not only
because of its immense casualties, but also for its minute chance of
success.
The narrative of Dieppe takes two tracks; the first
cites an inexperienced Canadian military leadership, overeager to "join
the fray" of the Second World War; while the second is a more sinister
belief Canadians were used ostensibly as a probe to test German
defenses. This second view is bolstered by the fact: Canadian leaders had
no plan of advance, beyond the storming and taking of the small fishing village.
There
was no second wave planned to shore up a beachhead and provide support
for a major allied push into France, nor were there secondary assaults
against the coast that might divide German response and hinder
reinforcement to the besieged town.
Instead of the beginning
of a determined land campaign against the Nazis on continental Europe,
for the sacrifice that dread day of more than 900 dead, 600 wounded,
and nearly 2000 forced to spend the rest of the war in POW camps, the
Dieppe raid accomplished nothing beyond providing a murderous display
of the efficacy of German defenses.
Lacking adequate intelligence
reports on the terrain, the Canadian tanks and other vehicles landed
could not negotiate the steep and stony beach, leaving the troops
exposed and at the mercy of the German machine guns.
As
Canada's armed force in Afghanistan has been, the soldiers ordered into
the doomed raid those many decades ago were launched with little
knowledge of the force they faced, the ground they would fight on, what
to do should they succeed, or possessing a fallback plan should their
mission fail. Attending a remembrance ceremony in Dieppe,
survivor Joe
Ryan of Toronto's Royal Regiment of Canada said of the attack;
"That
beach was a killing ground. Every military guy that's ever been here
[Dieppe] was just stunned at the fact we attempted to run up that
beach."
Private Simon Longtin was remembered today in Quebec.
His family asked for privacy, promising a statement at a later date.
The Van Doos regiment shipped into Afghanistan just three weeks ago,
bolstering the Canadian forces that have performed garrison duty in
that country for nearly six years. He is the 67th Canadian soldier
killed there.
While Stephen Harper praised Longtin's bravery, and vowed
"The Mission" would continue, just what that mission is meant to
accomplish, or how Canadians might recognize its ultimate success, or
acknowledge its final failure remains a mystery.
As with
Dieppe, Canadian soldiers today find themselves the spear's point in a
conflict their superiors, over-anxious to be seen as "players" in the
U.S. administered "Global War on Terror," have little understanding of,
or possess an exit strategy for.
Simon Longtin was pronounced
dead on arrival after being airlifted to the military hospital at
Kandahar Airbase. He was killed when his Light Armoured Vehicle (LAV)
struck a roadside bomb in the early hours today outside the village of
Masum Ghar.
Private Longtin was 23 years old, and hailed from Longueuil, Quebec just
outside Montreal. The attack was the third this week against the
Canadian contingent based in Kandahar.
Observances were held across Canada today, marking the anniversary of the ill-fated assault on the French coastal town of Dieppe. Prime Minister Stephen Harper interrupted remembrance ceremonies briefly to express his personal regrets and condolences to the family and friends of a 
