SOLDIERING ON: The Long-Term Effects of the Dieppe Raid on the 2nd Canadian Division

Abstract

On 19 August 1942, the 2 nd Canadian Division was nearly destroyed in Operation “Jubilee,” the f ailed Dieppe raid. The division’s next operations occurred two years later in the Normandy campaign (16 June - 21 August 1944). Like Dieppe, the Normandy campaign had its share of failures, and the Canadian effort there has long been seen as one of the wor st performances among the Allied armies in the war. Until now, no historian has asked whethe r the 2 nd Canadian Division suffered lingering effects from Operation “Jubilee” that affected its performance in the Normandy campaign. Using primary source documen ts to examin e the morale and training of 2 nd Canadian Division and compare the “combat effec tiveness” of the 2 nd and 3 rd Canadian Divisions in the Normandy campaign, this study shows that morale remained steady during the rebuilding p eriod after Dieppe. Ho wever, 2 nd Canadian Division underperformed during the Normandy campaign and suffered proportio nally higher casualties than 3 rd Canadian Division. Moreover, the division experienced problems with leadership and training, and suffered two notable breakdowns in unit cohesion that can be traced to the high number of junior leaders lost in the Dieppe raid.