Nova Scotia/Nunavut Command of The Royal Canadian Legion www.ns.legion.ca 97 continued ... Beach reconnaissance became an integral part of the planning process for the invasion of North Africa in early November 1942 and in all future major landings. Consideration of the supporting role of vessels at sea produced numerous landing craft adaptations such as: Landing Craft Gun LCG, described by the BBC on D-Day as 'mini battleships', with their 4.7 inch guns and other armaments operating inshore; Landing Craft Flack, LCF, to provide anti-aircraft cover over the landing area; Landing Craft Tank (Rocket), LCT (R), for the initial bombardment of the beaches in advance of troops landing and Landing Craft Assault (Hedgerow), LCA (HR), that could lob volleys of spigot bombs onto the beach area, primarily to detonate hidden enemy mines. The need for troop commanders afloat to be aware of the on-going progress of the invading force was essential for well considered and justifiable decisions on, for example, the commitment of reserves or a timely and well organised strategic withdrawal.The need for landing craft to be armoured against small arms fire was now considered an imperative to reduce casualties on the approaches to the landing beaches. Photo; Canadian POW’s in Dieppe. In the middle/left of the photo is John Machuk of the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Winnipeg giving a wounded soldier the support of his arm. Who knows how many lives were saved in later amphibious landings, particularly Normandy, as a result of the casualties at Dieppe? This failed assault had ramifications for the German forces too. Their confidence grew in their ability to withstand an invading force and they came to believe that the inevitable Allied invasion would include an area with good port facilities. They subsequently concentrated on providing stronger defences around the main ports to the detriment of open beach locations. In this context, Albert Speer, former Nazi minister of armaments, admitted at the Nuremberg trials that the Germans' costly, two-year effort to construct Atlantic defences had been 'brought to nothing because of an idea of simple genius' - the Mulberry Harbours. The Dieppe raid carried with it a high cost but the lessons learned inspired and accelerated many initiatives that contributed to the success of subsequent landings.The outcome would almost certainly have been very different had General Roberts' resources included those the Dieppe experience may have encouraged to be developed, particularly the LCT(R) and the LCG. AVeteran Recalls At a ceremony held in November 2003 to award Corporal Leslie Ellis a commemorative Dieppe medallion for his part in the Dieppe raid, he recalled that he landed with the Royals at Puys... "some say it was a dress rehearsal for the invasion (of Normandy) and some say it was a whim of the top echelon. History says the Germans were waiting for us and we didn't have a chance after that. We were all well-trained, we did what we were trained to do. We were proud to have done it, we were soldiers ... we did what we were expected to do." continued ...
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