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Image credit: Old War Office, London. Photo by Oliver Mallich / Flickr.
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Works by War Office
German Order of Battle, 1944: The Directory, Prepared by Allied Intelligence, of Regiments, Formations and Units of the… (1975) 36 copies
The Dieppe Raid: The Combined Operations Assault on Hitler's European Fortress, August 1942 (2019) 8 copies
The Army List 5 copies
NOTES ON MAP READING 4 copies
Consolidation of Trenches, Localities and Craters after Assault and Capture, with a Note on Rapid Wiring (2009) 4 copies
LIST of BRITISH OFFICERS TAKEN PRISONER in the VARIOUS THEATRES of WARAug 1914 to Nov 1918. (2000) 3 copies
Handbook of Enemy Ammunition : German Mines, Grenades, Gun Ammunition and Mortar Ammunition (2003) 3 copies
Handbook of Enemy Ammunition : German Ammo for Guns, etc., Italian Grenade, etc., Hungarian Mine:War Office Pamplet No.… (2012) 2 copies
The Army List for December 1862 2 copies
Handbook of Enemy Ammunition : German Telermines, etc., Italian Fuze, Primers and Shell:War Office Pamplet No. 9 (2012) 2 copies
Royal army medical corps training 2 copies
Handbook of Enemy Ammunition : Italian Fuzes, Gaines, Shell, etc., Shell Markings, German Primers, Small Arm and Gun… (2012) 2 copies
Handbook of Enemy Ammunition : German Small Arms Ammunition, Grenades and Demolition Charges:War Office Pamplet No. 5 (2012) 2 copies
Field Engineering and Mine Warfare, Pamphlet No 1, Basic Field Engineering, Part 1 All Arms 1962 2 copies
Course in Cryptanalysis: Explanatory Text and Short Exercises/Si Course (Cryptographic Series , Vol 1, No 33) (1981) 2 copies
Drill for Foot Guards and Infantry of the Line (Military Training Pamphlet No 18) 1939 (1939) 2 copies
The Army List for January 1842 2 copies
Course in Cryptanalysis: Figures and Cipher Test/Si Course (Cryptographic Series , Vol 2, No 34) (1981) 2 copies
The Army List for January 1846 2 copies
Instructions for Serjeant-Instructors of Militia, Yeomanry, and Volunteers In Regard to The Care, Inspection &c of… (2009) 2 copies
Infantry Training 2 copies
Infantry Training Vol 1 Infantry Platoon Weapons Pamphlet No 6 Light Machine Gun And Section Handling 1955 (1955) 1 copy
The Principles and Practice of Good Instruction Part 1 For Officers and NCO Instructors Part 2 For Officers Concerned… (1947) 1 copy
Manual of physical training 1 copy
The Eighth Army 1 copy
The Army List for July 1911 1 copy
Protection Against Gas and Air Raids Pamphlet No. 1 Protection Against Gas in the Field 1939 (1939) 1 copy
Animal Management 1908, prepared in the Veterinary Department for the General Staff, War Office 1 copy
Gas Training 1951 1 copy
Bethune 1 copy
Wadi Halfa 1 copy
Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-19: The Prince of Wales' Volunteers (South Lancashire Regiment) Pt. 44 (1989) 1 copy
The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan 1 copy
The Army List for June 1849 1 copy
Military Training Pamphlet No. 40 Mines and Booby Traps Part I [All Arms] How to Deal with Individual Mechanisms 1943 (1943) 1 copy
The Army list for July 1875 1 copy
Town Plan of Tangier 1 copy
Town Plan of Casablanca 1 copy
Bayonet Manual 1907 1 copy
Royal Army Service Corps Training Pamphlet No 19 Protection of Army Food Supplies Against Gas 1941 1 copy
ARMY 1 copy
Soldiers That Died in the Great War, 1914-1919, Part 61 The York and Lancaster Regiment (1989) 1 copy
Monmouthshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Herefordshire Regiments; Army Cyclist Corps, etc (Pt. 77) (Soldiers Died… (1988) 1 copy
CLOTHING REGULATIONS 1951 1 copy
Treatise on Ammunition 1 copy
Training regulations 1 copy
Gas training 1 copy
Infantry section leading 1 copy
Manual of military law 1 copy
SPECIAL WEAPONS AND TYPES OF WARFARE: GAS WARFARE: Official History Of The Second World War Army (2018) 1 copy
Training Regulations 1934 1 copy
Conduct of War 1950 1 copy
Mechanical Engineering 1 copy
Electrical Engineering 1 copy
The Army List for May 1851 1 copy
The Army List for June 1851 1 copy
The Army List for March 1854 1 copy
The Army List for April 1854 1 copy
The Army List for May 1854 1 copy
The Army List for June 1854 1 copy
The Army List for March 1851 1 copy
The Army List for July 1845 1 copy
The Army List for May 1845 1 copy
The Army List for April 1845 1 copy
The Army List for March 1845 1 copy
The Army List for April 1851 1 copy
The Army List for March 1853 1 copy
The Army List for April 1853 1 copy
The Army List for May 1853 1 copy
The Army List for June 1853 1 copy
The Army List for July 1849 1 copy
The Army List for March 1850 1 copy
The Army List for April 1850 1 copy
The Army List for May 1850 1 copy
The Army List for June 1850 1 copy
The Army List October 1853 1 copy
The Army List for May 1856 1 copy
The Army List for July 1848 1 copy
The Army List for June 1848 1 copy
The Army List for May 1848 1 copy
The Army List for March 1848 1 copy
The Army List for July 1856 1 copy
The Army List for April 1856 1 copy
The Army List for March 1856 1 copy
The Army List for July 1847 1 copy
The Army List for April 1846 1 copy
The Army List for April 1849 1 copy
The Army List for March 1849 1 copy
The Army List for June 1847 1 copy
The Army List for May 1847 1 copy
The Army List for April 1847 1 copy
The Army List for March 1847 1 copy
The Army List for May 1830 1 copy
The Army List for June 1830 1 copy
The Army List for April 1830 1 copy
The Army List for March 1830 1 copy
The Army List July 1861 1 copy
Army Catering Corps 1 copy
The Army List December 1861 1 copy
The Army List November 1861 1 copy
The Army List September 1861 1 copy
The Army List August 1861 1 copy
The Army List June 1861 1 copy
The Army List for June 1824 1 copy
The Army List May 1861 1 copy
The Army List April 1861 1 copy
The Army List March 1861 1 copy
The Army List February 1861 1 copy
The Army List for April 1862 1 copy
The Army List for July 1842 1 copy
The Army List for April 1842 1 copy
The Army List for July 1850 1 copy
The Army List for May 1831 1 copy
The Army List for May 1849 1 copy
The Army List for July 1862 1 copy
The Army List for June 1859 1 copy
The Army List for March 1859 1 copy
The Army List for April 1859 1 copy
The Army List for March 1858 1 copy
The Army List for May 1859 1 copy
The Army List for July 1859 1 copy
The Army List for July 1854 1 copy
The Army List for July 1853 1 copy
The Army List for June 1862 1 copy
The Army List for May 1862 1 copy
The Army List for March 1861 1 copy
The Army List for July 1855 1 copy
The Army List for March 1855 1 copy
The Army List for April 1855 1 copy
The Army List for May 1855 1 copy
The Army List for June 1855 1 copy
The Army List October 1861 1 copy
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The Dieppe Raid was conceived as practice for an eventual full scale invasion and as a way to indicate to the Soviet Union that the West was trying to do something. It had mixed results; successful as a “learning experience”, not successful anyway else. The plan was to land troops in the French seaport of Dieppe, destroy several coast defense batteries defending the area, occupy the town, drive inland and seize a German divisional headquarters and an airfield, and “cut out” a number of light craft in the inner harbor. Then everybody would retreat to the landing craft and sail back to England.
As it happened, very little went as planned. Reconnaissance failed to locate all the defensive gun positions and thus the landing beach was subject to enfilade fire. German troops were more numerous and of higher quality than expected. Only one of the artillery batteries was destroyed. The troops barely made it a few streets into the town, much less occupied it, and none of the craft in the harbor were “cut out”. All the tanks that landed broke down, often because the shingle beach jammed their tracks. Naval gunfire support was inadequate.
As mentioned, the actual accounts of the battle are pretty dry. Landing craft approach, are engaged by gunfire, make it to the beach, or are sunk. Troops on shore are mostly pinned down by fire; some are able to make small advances and one German gun battery is destroyed. There’s a lot of fighting in the air. Eventually the force commander gives up, but many troops are unable to withdraw and are captured. One thing I noticed is the only people mentioned by name are officers; “other ranks” are all anonymous.
The bulk of the book – maybe two-thirds – is appendices. These include full lists of every ground, naval, and air force unit taking part in the raid; most of the ground troops involved were Canadian (there were some British commandos and Royal Marines, and a small contingent of American Rangers); the naval forces were almost all Royal Navy, with one Polish destroyer and some Free French light craft; the air force units were a polyglot mix, with British, Polish, Czech, Belgian, Norwegian, Canadian, Free French, Eagle, and American units. More than half of the Canadian units involved ended up casualties, leading to some tension between Ottawa and London with whispered accusations that Canadians had been sacrificed needlessly.
An interesting appendix is the German reaction to the raid; apparently a German report was captured from the Italians. At first, the Germans thought the raid might be a full-scale invasion. They were surprised that no parachutists were involved, noting that their use at some critical points might have resulted in more success. The Germans noted that the Canadian troops were “young, fresh and intelligent” and “fought well” and attributed their failure to lack of artillery support and to strong counterattacks.
Although all the commentary from the Allied sides puts a brave face on things, it’s pretty clear the operation was a disaster. Only one of the objectives was gained, and a single German coastal battery destroyed didn’t even remotely make up for more than 3000 troops and a destroyer lost. To be fair, there were some lessons learned; it was going to be impossible to capture a major port – or even a minor port – by direct invasion; this led to the development of the “Mulberry” floating harbors. The failure of the tanks led to the development of various special armored vehicles that could deal with antitank obstacles and difficult terrain. Naval units assigned to an invasion should train together well in advance, rather than being pulled together ad hoc just before the attack. The best that could be said for Dieppe was failure there contributed to later success in Normandy.
Good maps and a good photograph section. For another raid that didn’t end well, see Storming St. Nazaire.… (more)