Dieppe Raid's Outstanding Factors And Many Lessons

Taranaki Daily News, 22 August 1942, Page 3

Dieppe Raid's Outstanding Factors And Many Lessons

By Our Special Observer.

Feature is that Dominions now blooded in land operations.

Fuller details of the raid on Dieppe provide some interesting angles to the operation and point to lessons learned and some to be learned. There is the striking point as far as the Dominions are concerned that land troops of all the Dominions have now been thoroughly blooded in this war. Australians earned their highest honours in General Wavell's campaign and in the subsequent stand at Tobruk. New Zealanders earned .glory in Greece and on Crete, in both of General Auchinleck's campaign in Libya and later in the defence of Egypt. South African land troops were prominent at Sidi Rezegh early in this year. As a large land force, Canadians have received immersion in the fire of war at Dieppe. If the East African campaign, the true value of which is only now becoming fully apparent, is regarded primarily as an Indian Army affair, it will be demonetrated with some force that the troops of the British Empire have played a worthy role in the war. Always keeping in mind the fact that the unsung forces from the Home country have never once been absent from campaigns in which the major share of publicity has been given to the Dominions, the people of this Dominion will share with the people of Canada deep pride in the latest manifestation of the fighting qualities of troops from the Dominions. Superlative Air Support. The aspect of the raid that the majority of people will find most satisfying in view of what has contributed so much to the tragedies of the past is the evidence of the superlative air support that was accorded to the landing troops, The Canadian Prime Minister has paid tribute to the Royal Air Force for the air cover that it provided for the regiments from Canada. It was no easily-won air supremacy that the Royal Air Force achieved, as is shown by the fact that nearly 100 British planes were lost, though they accounted for even more of the enemy. The victory was the more meritorious for another reason. The fighter sweeps that the Royal Air Force has conducted over France since early in this year have resulted in the best fighter squadrons of the Luftwaffe being retained in the west, thus relieving the Russians. The proof of that, on the one hand was to be found in how many of the latest type of Focke Wulf 190's the Royal Air Force was encouhtering in battle over France, and on the other how when the Hurricanes first went into action in Russia. their score was 16 to one.

Influence on Russian Campaign. Over Dieppe even to check the R.A.F. it was necessary for the Germans. to bring in their fighter aircraft from all over occupied France and the Low Countries. It may well be expected, therefore, that with the prospect of other raids certain and perhaps a landing to hold a portion of the coast attempted, the enemy will strengthen his fighter defence of France. If this is forced to be suificiently excensive the relief to the Red Air Force will be considerable. It is said that to cover a real invasion attempt it will be necessary for the Royal Air Force to push out its air protection further and in greater strength. This is just where the fighter-sweeps.will pay handsome dividends. The fqrays have been going deeper and deeper into France and the organisation is designed for expansion. At the present time the limit of the depth of the sweeps is the range of the fighter aircraft now in service. But new types with greater range are co.ming forward." Furthermore, as numerical strength of the squadrons grows even greater so will it be possible to diffuse the attack and prevent the enemy from using airfields within fighter range of the sector of land operations. That is, unless he is prepared to build up his strength in the west to comparable power with that of the forces situated in Britain. This will certainly be a stern test because it must be assumed that the United States Air Corps is rapidly Teaching a stage when it will be more than an auxiliary to the Royal Air Force over Europe and will rise to the rank of an equal partaer. The German quandary then will be to decide between the respective calls of its eastera and western fronts. Naval and Land Aspecis. The part played in the operation by the Royal Navy was both essential and well done. It is worth noting that even along a German-occupied coast not a single German surface vessel appeared during the whole operation to contest things with the navy. This is a measure of the value the enemy places upon his E-boats when it njight be thought that they could create at the least some confusion. On shore the battle was evidently a bloody affair. But this would be inevitable since the job was to attack well entrenched and heavily defended positions. The Commando led by Lord Lovat added to its already high reputation and in silencing the German howitzer battery and killing its personnel not only played a vital part in the Dieppe raid but also created a legend that will inspire other Commandos— and do exactly the reverse to men in the hundreds of batteries that Germany has strung out from Kirkenes to the Pyrenees. The outstanding lesson of the Dieppe raid is that even aided by a multiplicity of machines, in the final analysis all the qualities that make for victory are the exclusive possession of men — courage, initiative, blood and sweat.