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Operation Jubilee: Dieppe, 1942: The Folly and the Sacrifice
A GRIPPING TALE OF HEROIC FAILURE DURING THE DIEPPE RAID OF 1942
'A deeply humane, lucidly written and powerful tribute to some of the unsung heroes of the Second World War' Sunday Times on Bomber Boys
'This is the best kind of military history - the kind in which the author never loses sight of the impact of war on its victims, German as well as British, and those who were left behind... It reminds the rest of us what their war was all about' Evening Standard on Bomber Boys
____________
On the moonless night of 18 August 1942 a flotilla pushes out into the flat water of the Channel. They are to seize the German-held port of Dieppe and hold it for at least twenty-four hours, showing the Soviets the Allies were serious about a second front and to get experience ahead of a full-scale invasion.
But confidence turned to carnage with nearly two thirds of the attackers dead, wounded or captured. Operation Jubilee - the Royal Air Force's biggest battle since 1940 - has drama from start to finish, human folly and tragedy in spades and a fast, tight narrative with heroes at every level. The raid was both a disaster and a milestone in the narrative of the war - it had powerful lessons and far-reaching consequences that paved the way to D-Day.
Using first-hand testimony and recently declassified source material from archives across several countries, bestselling author Patrick Bishop's account of this gallant endeavour reveals the big picture and unearths telling details, establishing definitively Operation Jubilee's place in history.
'A deeply humane, lucidly written and powerful tribute to some of the unsung heroes of the Second World War' Sunday Times on Bomber Boys
'This is the best kind of military history - the kind in which the author never loses sight of the impact of war on its victims, German as well as British, and those who were left behind... It reminds the rest of us what their war was all about' Evening Standard on Bomber Boys
____________
On the moonless night of 18 August 1942 a flotilla pushes out into the flat water of the Channel. They are to seize the German-held port of Dieppe and hold it for at least twenty-four hours, showing the Soviets the Allies were serious about a second front and to get experience ahead of a full-scale invasion.
But confidence turned to carnage with nearly two thirds of the attackers dead, wounded or captured. Operation Jubilee - the Royal Air Force's biggest battle since 1940 - has drama from start to finish, human folly and tragedy in spades and a fast, tight narrative with heroes at every level. The raid was both a disaster and a milestone in the narrative of the war - it had powerful lessons and far-reaching consequences that paved the way to D-Day.
Using first-hand testimony and recently declassified source material from archives across several countries, bestselling author Patrick Bishop's account of this gallant endeavour reveals the big picture and unearths telling details, establishing definitively Operation Jubilee's place in history.
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First published October 7, 2021
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About the author
Patrick Bishop
73 books66 followersPatrick Bishop was born in London in 1952 and went to Wimbledon College and Corpus Christi College, Oxford. Before joining the Telegraph he worked on the Evening Standard, the Observer and the Sunday Times and in television as a reporter on Channel Four News. He is the author with John Witherow of a history of the Falkands War based on their own experiences and with Eamon Mallie of The Provisional IRA which was praised as the first authoritative account of the modern IRA. He also wrote a memoir the first Gulf War, Famous Victory and a history of the Irish diaspora The Irish Empire, based on the TV series which he devised.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
August 16, 2025
Another Military Blunder
The story of British military failures in the Second World War is one told too often. Unfortunately there are any many to speak of and if you look from a distance you will realise it is not just confined to the 1939-1945 conflict. Operation Jubilee, the raid on the French costal town of Dieppe on 19/08/1942 was no different, where gains were negligible and casualties (especially on the Canadian troops) were heavy. In this book author Patrick Bishop gives a meticulously researched account of one of the war’s most tragic and controversial episode.
In Operation Jubilee Bishop delves into the intricate planning and execution of the raid, highlighting the combination of political pressure, strategic miscalculations, and overconfidence that led to the operation’s failure. He critically examines the roles of key figures, notably Lord Louis Mountbatten, whose ambition and desire to demonstrate the effectiveness of Combined Operations contributed to the flawed decision-making process. The book also sheds light on the broader context, including the Allies’ need to appease Soviet demands for a second front and to boost morale during a challenging phase of the war.
A key strength of Operation Jubilee is Bishop’s ability to humanise the narrative. Through vivid prose and firsthand accounts, he brings to life the experiences of the soldiers who faced insurmountable odds on the beaches of Dieppe. The harrowing descriptions of the battle, the chaos of the landing, and the bravery of the troops provide a poignant reminder of the human cost of war. Bishop’s account focuses on the ‘official’ version of events and how the military command tried to justify the operation after its failure became clear. He also gives a detailed and sobering account of the attack itself, which feels like a cross between D-Day, The Somme and Dunkirk. For me the raid was bigger than I initially thought and it’s sad how the men who fought there have largely been sidelined due to the failure (which was no fault of their own).
In summary, Operation Jubilee is a significant contribution to World War II historiography. Bishop’s thorough research, critical insight, and compelling narrative offer readers a nuanced understanding of the Dieppe Raid, honoring the sacrifices of those involved while critically examining the decisions that led to such a devastating outcome. He does a great job in debunking the post-war narrative that it was a precursor for D-Day and gives a sense of soldiers’ experiences on that fateful day.
The story of British military failures in the Second World War is one told too often. Unfortunately there are any many to speak of and if you look from a distance you will realise it is not just confined to the 1939-1945 conflict. Operation Jubilee, the raid on the French costal town of Dieppe on 19/08/1942 was no different, where gains were negligible and casualties (especially on the Canadian troops) were heavy. In this book author Patrick Bishop gives a meticulously researched account of one of the war’s most tragic and controversial episode.
In Operation Jubilee Bishop delves into the intricate planning and execution of the raid, highlighting the combination of political pressure, strategic miscalculations, and overconfidence that led to the operation’s failure. He critically examines the roles of key figures, notably Lord Louis Mountbatten, whose ambition and desire to demonstrate the effectiveness of Combined Operations contributed to the flawed decision-making process. The book also sheds light on the broader context, including the Allies’ need to appease Soviet demands for a second front and to boost morale during a challenging phase of the war.
A key strength of Operation Jubilee is Bishop’s ability to humanise the narrative. Through vivid prose and firsthand accounts, he brings to life the experiences of the soldiers who faced insurmountable odds on the beaches of Dieppe. The harrowing descriptions of the battle, the chaos of the landing, and the bravery of the troops provide a poignant reminder of the human cost of war. Bishop’s account focuses on the ‘official’ version of events and how the military command tried to justify the operation after its failure became clear. He also gives a detailed and sobering account of the attack itself, which feels like a cross between D-Day, The Somme and Dunkirk. For me the raid was bigger than I initially thought and it’s sad how the men who fought there have largely been sidelined due to the failure (which was no fault of their own).
In summary, Operation Jubilee is a significant contribution to World War II historiography. Bishop’s thorough research, critical insight, and compelling narrative offer readers a nuanced understanding of the Dieppe Raid, honoring the sacrifices of those involved while critically examining the decisions that led to such a devastating outcome. He does a great job in debunking the post-war narrative that it was a precursor for D-Day and gives a sense of soldiers’ experiences on that fateful day.
January 8, 2023
Deeply researched, including interviews both with some of the survivors and German officers who commanded the defenders, this in-depth history of Operation Jubilee seeks to put the official narrative in context and lay the blame for this dreadful disaster where it truly belongs – with the senior planners and officers who conceived, planned and approved it. These included Lord Louis Mountbatten, General Bernard Law Montgomery, General Harry Crerar of Canada, General Paget (Commander, Home Forces), General Sir Alan Brooke and Captain John ‘Jock’ Hughes-Hallett, Royal Navy adviser to Mountbatten, who was Chief of Combined Operations, and who commanded the Royal Navy contingent on the raid. In addition, Prime Minister Winston Churchill approved it.
The operation was first conceived as Operation Rutter, when it was carefully planned and thoroughly discussed prior to involvement of the Canadians. The mission as planned went completely against accepted military practice, in that the main assault was to be made as a frontal assault by landing craft on the main beachfront of Dieppe, just west of the harbour entrance. The only reasons this was accepted was that the RAF were due to pound the seafront with bombs and strafe with air cannons, and the navy would lay down a heavy bombardment to suppress the defenders on the east and west headlands, both of which commanded good views of the beaches.
The 1st Airborne Division under General Browning (later of Operation Market Garden fame) were to drop behind the enemy lines and assist by knocking out the German artillery on the headlands.
As the plan progressed, however, the navy declined to send any battleship or other large surface ships – this was understandable owing to the close proximity of the Luftwaffe to the French coast, and the accuracy of Stuka dive-bombing, which often caused devastating damage to British shipping when it got the chance. So no naval bombardment was to take place other than from the escorting destroyers’ 4” guns, which were not heavy enough to destroy concrete gun emplacements. Even worse, on the night when Rutter was due to take place, the wind was too strong the paras pulled out, and it was cancelled.
It was also decided that the RAF could not launch too heavy a bombing campaign on Dieppe because too many civilians would be killed. The only remaining reason for allowing the mission to go ahead was if they could achieve ‘tactical surprise’. It should have been realised that if we knew the best time to attack was when the moon and tides were optimal, so would the German defenders, and in fact the German commander’s standing orders were that everyone slept at their posts on those dates and times. So even if the raiders achieved ‘tactical surprise’, it wouldn’t last long.
The Germans were very thorough and thoughtful regarding their defences at Dieppe. It was a port – a small one, agreed, but nevertheless one that would provide an easy way to resupply any invading force from England, so as such it was considered essential to prevent an attack from succeeding there. German resources were more than adequate for the job. They built concrete pillboxes and bunkers; they had several batteries of artillery including 88 mm, 105 mm 155 mm and even three 170 mm guns, as well as scores of MG34 machine guns and mortars. Some of these were located in caves in the cliffs, so could not be destroyed by bombing or bombardment. The larger guns would be able to shell the destroyers some miles out to sea.
The beach consisted of millions of large, round, smooth stones banked up, and the beach was steep. This made it very difficult to climb by both men laden with loads of equipment, and tanks, whose tracks sank in the stones and which jammed up the bogey wheels. On the beach and on top of the promenade were large amounts of curled and intertwined barbed wire, and most of the beach was covered by interlocking fields of fire by the machine guns and mortars. In short, it was suicide to launch a frontal attack at Dieppe, and once the naval bombardment and bombing had been scaled back, and the paras were forced to withdraw, the mission was cancelled.
Regrettably (and how easy it is to say that), it was resurrected as Operation Jubilee some months later, when political pressure from the Soviets and the gung-ho (and as yet untried) Americans became too much for Churchill to fend off. The Russians demanded a ‘second front’ to take the pressure off the Red Army, which was being badly beaten by the Wehrmacht, and the Americans demanded it because they (and us) were worried that the Russians might collapse, after which many German units could be sent back to the west, making it exponentially more costly for us to re-invade the Continent. Furthermore, the senior officers were desperate for a victory against the Germans, and concerned that their personal reputations were suffering owing to a lack of successes. This must have clouded their judgement. No heavy naval bombardment, no heavy bombing from the air, and no airborne troops to get behind the Germans – the seaborne troops and commandos were told to do everything, on a very tight schedule.
These are the basics but the author, Patrick Bishop, goes into much more detail. He did a great deal of research, in British, Canadian, American, French and German archives, and spoke with several veterans to glean their personal points of view. One of the achievements of the book is that even though we get all the high-level stuff about the planning and the generals, he never loses sight of the fact that this was a personal tragedy for so many individual men and families, and there are personal tales a-plenty in this narrative.
The book I read before this one was X-Troop: The Secret Jewish Commandos Who Helped Defeat the Nazis, and there were some X-Troopers at Dieppe, so there is a tie-in there.
Of the 6,000 or so personnel involved, military casualties amounted to 3,625, as well as 29 Churchill tanks and 10 armoured cars/Bren carriers. Included in these figures were 7 US Rangers killed and 6 wounded, and British marines and commandos. By far and away the worst losses, however, were borne by the Canadian 2nd Division, which lost half its men.
The Royal Navy loss was 523 personnel including 148 dead. In addition, the navy lost 1 destroyer and 33 landing craft, all sunk or abandoned. The RAF lost 66 aircrew including 53 deaths, and 106 aircraft. The pilots stated later that the FW190 was a superior fighter to their own Spitfire MKVs, and the German pilots knew how to dogfight well.
This book is both a damning indictment of military folly and a moving account of personal courage and sacrifice, as the title states. It will make you angry, sad, heartbroken and proud, and all modern officers – and politicians involved in conflict –should read it so they know what happens when they make mistakes based on personal glory and political expediency.
The operation was first conceived as Operation Rutter, when it was carefully planned and thoroughly discussed prior to involvement of the Canadians. The mission as planned went completely against accepted military practice, in that the main assault was to be made as a frontal assault by landing craft on the main beachfront of Dieppe, just west of the harbour entrance. The only reasons this was accepted was that the RAF were due to pound the seafront with bombs and strafe with air cannons, and the navy would lay down a heavy bombardment to suppress the defenders on the east and west headlands, both of which commanded good views of the beaches.
The 1st Airborne Division under General Browning (later of Operation Market Garden fame) were to drop behind the enemy lines and assist by knocking out the German artillery on the headlands.
As the plan progressed, however, the navy declined to send any battleship or other large surface ships – this was understandable owing to the close proximity of the Luftwaffe to the French coast, and the accuracy of Stuka dive-bombing, which often caused devastating damage to British shipping when it got the chance. So no naval bombardment was to take place other than from the escorting destroyers’ 4” guns, which were not heavy enough to destroy concrete gun emplacements. Even worse, on the night when Rutter was due to take place, the wind was too strong the paras pulled out, and it was cancelled.
It was also decided that the RAF could not launch too heavy a bombing campaign on Dieppe because too many civilians would be killed. The only remaining reason for allowing the mission to go ahead was if they could achieve ‘tactical surprise’. It should have been realised that if we knew the best time to attack was when the moon and tides were optimal, so would the German defenders, and in fact the German commander’s standing orders were that everyone slept at their posts on those dates and times. So even if the raiders achieved ‘tactical surprise’, it wouldn’t last long.
The Germans were very thorough and thoughtful regarding their defences at Dieppe. It was a port – a small one, agreed, but nevertheless one that would provide an easy way to resupply any invading force from England, so as such it was considered essential to prevent an attack from succeeding there. German resources were more than adequate for the job. They built concrete pillboxes and bunkers; they had several batteries of artillery including 88 mm, 105 mm 155 mm and even three 170 mm guns, as well as scores of MG34 machine guns and mortars. Some of these were located in caves in the cliffs, so could not be destroyed by bombing or bombardment. The larger guns would be able to shell the destroyers some miles out to sea.
The beach consisted of millions of large, round, smooth stones banked up, and the beach was steep. This made it very difficult to climb by both men laden with loads of equipment, and tanks, whose tracks sank in the stones and which jammed up the bogey wheels. On the beach and on top of the promenade were large amounts of curled and intertwined barbed wire, and most of the beach was covered by interlocking fields of fire by the machine guns and mortars. In short, it was suicide to launch a frontal attack at Dieppe, and once the naval bombardment and bombing had been scaled back, and the paras were forced to withdraw, the mission was cancelled.
Regrettably (and how easy it is to say that), it was resurrected as Operation Jubilee some months later, when political pressure from the Soviets and the gung-ho (and as yet untried) Americans became too much for Churchill to fend off. The Russians demanded a ‘second front’ to take the pressure off the Red Army, which was being badly beaten by the Wehrmacht, and the Americans demanded it because they (and us) were worried that the Russians might collapse, after which many German units could be sent back to the west, making it exponentially more costly for us to re-invade the Continent. Furthermore, the senior officers were desperate for a victory against the Germans, and concerned that their personal reputations were suffering owing to a lack of successes. This must have clouded their judgement. No heavy naval bombardment, no heavy bombing from the air, and no airborne troops to get behind the Germans – the seaborne troops and commandos were told to do everything, on a very tight schedule.
These are the basics but the author, Patrick Bishop, goes into much more detail. He did a great deal of research, in British, Canadian, American, French and German archives, and spoke with several veterans to glean their personal points of view. One of the achievements of the book is that even though we get all the high-level stuff about the planning and the generals, he never loses sight of the fact that this was a personal tragedy for so many individual men and families, and there are personal tales a-plenty in this narrative.
The book I read before this one was X-Troop: The Secret Jewish Commandos Who Helped Defeat the Nazis, and there were some X-Troopers at Dieppe, so there is a tie-in there.
Of the 6,000 or so personnel involved, military casualties amounted to 3,625, as well as 29 Churchill tanks and 10 armoured cars/Bren carriers. Included in these figures were 7 US Rangers killed and 6 wounded, and British marines and commandos. By far and away the worst losses, however, were borne by the Canadian 2nd Division, which lost half its men.
The Royal Navy loss was 523 personnel including 148 dead. In addition, the navy lost 1 destroyer and 33 landing craft, all sunk or abandoned. The RAF lost 66 aircrew including 53 deaths, and 106 aircraft. The pilots stated later that the FW190 was a superior fighter to their own Spitfire MKVs, and the German pilots knew how to dogfight well.
This book is both a damning indictment of military folly and a moving account of personal courage and sacrifice, as the title states. It will make you angry, sad, heartbroken and proud, and all modern officers – and politicians involved in conflict –should read it so they know what happens when they make mistakes based on personal glory and political expediency.
May 28, 2024
A mostly dry account of an operation driven by one man’s ego (Mountbatten) and a victim of a lack of evidence due to ensuing coverups to really get an insightful picture of what occurred that fateful day.
August 7, 2025
This book was a bit of a disaster, nearly as much as the raid itself.
I’ve read a few of Bishops books before (admittedly many years ago) about the air campaigns of the RAF’s fighter and bomber boys and remember enjoying them a lot, mixing fact and personal accounts well - so it was a surprise how much of a slog I found this book.
Operation Jubilee is a raid which I was aware of, but only from an embarrassed mention within a documentary where it only seems to get a few seconds mention and my reading nothing more than the wikepdia page… and of course playing an adaptation of it as part of one of my war themed board games; so I was very keen to read a proper account of the apt sub title - the folly and sacrifice.
A raid that should have never been green-lit and was utterly futile. The most fascinating aspect is the propaganda cover up, hiding the deaths and grand scale of the mess-up from the public. The primary story they ran with was as a pre-cursor to D-Day, which I am convinced they learnt about a lot of things that didn’t work (not enough air cover, unarmed and unarmored landing craft, relying entirely on surprise, trying to take a well defended and fortified port, sheer cliff faces and a fool hardly retrieval system to name a few) the amount of men and resources piled into this seemed utterly pointless. To chuck 6,000 men at this impossible stretch of beach to grab some prisoners and blow up a few buildings before heading back just doesn’t make sense. Putting your soldiers through the toughest part of an assault force twice when you’re not trying to establish a footing is futile. Perhaps they were blown away by the headline and awe-inspiring St. Nazaire raid… but that was a relatively small crew of highly trained Commando’s doing something no-one believed possible.
The book starts well, giving an overview of the allied bleak situation… months of allied losses and setbacks as Germany’s appeared to grow stronger by the day. The military and public desperate for some good news in the papers, a sense we were giving some back to ‘Jerry’… this was thought up as part of a long list of potential morale boosting operations. One of the main reasons cited was to put enough pressure on the Germans to reduce their focus on Operation Barbarossa at a time the allies were worried the Soviets might crack under the pressure - this eventual raid however certainly didn’t help.
In this book, what follows was a hundred pages that could have easily been cut. The raid itself doesn’t even start until around 200 pages in. Reading about Operation Jubilee is a subject (I would say) that is reserved for the more well versed WW2 history buff. This isn’t going to be on the shelves at the airport with a Richard & Judy sticker on it, so do we need to spend this long explaining the allied position and back story of the players involved - especially the heavy hitters like Churchill, Monty and Mountbatten? One thing I hadn’t known was that the original raid (planned for 1941) was cancelled at the last minute - which only makes it more shocking they still went ahead with it.
Where this book should have been heavily edited was the completely unnecessary deep dive into the formation of the Commando’s and telling of a significant number of their raids unto this post. Not enough detail to provide anything new to the audience I assume would be reading this, and too overwhelming thanks to it’s rather general overview for the non-versed.
The raid itself a found to be a very disorientating experience, and not in a meta way to describe the chaos of the day. Although there were occasional sections that were exciting, I don’t think I’ve read an account of a relatively simple raid that felt so confusing in trying to explain a clear narrative or give a sense of the big picture. I would put this down to what feels like a lack of longform first hand accounts. This is likely due to a combination of the cover-up, minimal interviews from the time or shortly after, misinformation given to the troops on the ground, the sheer number of casualties severing accounts and what it seems Bishop hasn’t been able to interview any survivors. This was really lacking in the true human story. This mostly read like a dry after-action report that although it told the bare facts of what happened, it didn’t give a sense of anything unique to this operation and location. Blue squad under heavy fire assaulted the bunker to the left, taking three casualties. They followed the ditch and secured the position taking 5 prisoners… or something like that. It just didn’t give a feel of perspective of anyone on the ground. There was sentences or a few words in quotes dropped in to try and humanise the situations but these were so short, it was hard to get a sense of what their input was. It was only really the accounts of some of the more traumatic things that were seen that day that stood out.
I would have liked to have seen a lot more from the German perspective and the French civilians that experienced this, but this was very minimal. The German press coverage post-event was extremely interesting, but again very lacking. Based on his writings previously on the RAF, I was expecting for what was billed as the largest air involvement to date some excellent accounts from the bombers, fighter bombers, smoke screen raids and dogfights to give some stories, but these were mostly crammed into a few paragraphs as an afterthought one the land based story was told with again hardly any personal accounts.
The epilogue provided some stronger moments on the peoples respect for the soldiers, the previously mentioned German propaganda, the moving and well-kempt Canadian cemetery in the outskirts of the town and the liberating of the town on D-Day, rather poignantly by some veterans and replacements for the regiments involved, who were able to pay their respects at the cemetery before moving onto their next objectives.
I’m ultimately glad I read it, as I do have a greater sense of the planning, the objectives for each section and the way it all fell apart on the day. However, it could have been 200 pages, much more focused and without any long interviews from a small/select number of witnesses, it lacked focus and humanity and was ultimately a disorientating and incredibly dry read.
I’ve read a few of Bishops books before (admittedly many years ago) about the air campaigns of the RAF’s fighter and bomber boys and remember enjoying them a lot, mixing fact and personal accounts well - so it was a surprise how much of a slog I found this book.
Operation Jubilee is a raid which I was aware of, but only from an embarrassed mention within a documentary where it only seems to get a few seconds mention and my reading nothing more than the wikepdia page… and of course playing an adaptation of it as part of one of my war themed board games; so I was very keen to read a proper account of the apt sub title - the folly and sacrifice.
A raid that should have never been green-lit and was utterly futile. The most fascinating aspect is the propaganda cover up, hiding the deaths and grand scale of the mess-up from the public. The primary story they ran with was as a pre-cursor to D-Day, which I am convinced they learnt about a lot of things that didn’t work (not enough air cover, unarmed and unarmored landing craft, relying entirely on surprise, trying to take a well defended and fortified port, sheer cliff faces and a fool hardly retrieval system to name a few) the amount of men and resources piled into this seemed utterly pointless. To chuck 6,000 men at this impossible stretch of beach to grab some prisoners and blow up a few buildings before heading back just doesn’t make sense. Putting your soldiers through the toughest part of an assault force twice when you’re not trying to establish a footing is futile. Perhaps they were blown away by the headline and awe-inspiring St. Nazaire raid… but that was a relatively small crew of highly trained Commando’s doing something no-one believed possible.
The book starts well, giving an overview of the allied bleak situation… months of allied losses and setbacks as Germany’s appeared to grow stronger by the day. The military and public desperate for some good news in the papers, a sense we were giving some back to ‘Jerry’… this was thought up as part of a long list of potential morale boosting operations. One of the main reasons cited was to put enough pressure on the Germans to reduce their focus on Operation Barbarossa at a time the allies were worried the Soviets might crack under the pressure - this eventual raid however certainly didn’t help.
In this book, what follows was a hundred pages that could have easily been cut. The raid itself doesn’t even start until around 200 pages in. Reading about Operation Jubilee is a subject (I would say) that is reserved for the more well versed WW2 history buff. This isn’t going to be on the shelves at the airport with a Richard & Judy sticker on it, so do we need to spend this long explaining the allied position and back story of the players involved - especially the heavy hitters like Churchill, Monty and Mountbatten? One thing I hadn’t known was that the original raid (planned for 1941) was cancelled at the last minute - which only makes it more shocking they still went ahead with it.
Where this book should have been heavily edited was the completely unnecessary deep dive into the formation of the Commando’s and telling of a significant number of their raids unto this post. Not enough detail to provide anything new to the audience I assume would be reading this, and too overwhelming thanks to it’s rather general overview for the non-versed.
The raid itself a found to be a very disorientating experience, and not in a meta way to describe the chaos of the day. Although there were occasional sections that were exciting, I don’t think I’ve read an account of a relatively simple raid that felt so confusing in trying to explain a clear narrative or give a sense of the big picture. I would put this down to what feels like a lack of longform first hand accounts. This is likely due to a combination of the cover-up, minimal interviews from the time or shortly after, misinformation given to the troops on the ground, the sheer number of casualties severing accounts and what it seems Bishop hasn’t been able to interview any survivors. This was really lacking in the true human story. This mostly read like a dry after-action report that although it told the bare facts of what happened, it didn’t give a sense of anything unique to this operation and location. Blue squad under heavy fire assaulted the bunker to the left, taking three casualties. They followed the ditch and secured the position taking 5 prisoners… or something like that. It just didn’t give a feel of perspective of anyone on the ground. There was sentences or a few words in quotes dropped in to try and humanise the situations but these were so short, it was hard to get a sense of what their input was. It was only really the accounts of some of the more traumatic things that were seen that day that stood out.
I would have liked to have seen a lot more from the German perspective and the French civilians that experienced this, but this was very minimal. The German press coverage post-event was extremely interesting, but again very lacking. Based on his writings previously on the RAF, I was expecting for what was billed as the largest air involvement to date some excellent accounts from the bombers, fighter bombers, smoke screen raids and dogfights to give some stories, but these were mostly crammed into a few paragraphs as an afterthought one the land based story was told with again hardly any personal accounts.
The epilogue provided some stronger moments on the peoples respect for the soldiers, the previously mentioned German propaganda, the moving and well-kempt Canadian cemetery in the outskirts of the town and the liberating of the town on D-Day, rather poignantly by some veterans and replacements for the regiments involved, who were able to pay their respects at the cemetery before moving onto their next objectives.
I’m ultimately glad I read it, as I do have a greater sense of the planning, the objectives for each section and the way it all fell apart on the day. However, it could have been 200 pages, much more focused and without any long interviews from a small/select number of witnesses, it lacked focus and humanity and was ultimately a disorientating and incredibly dry read.
May 11, 2022
The story of the Dieppe Raid itself, as depicted in Patrick Bishop's book, is powerful and heartwrenching. It becomes abundantly clear that ego - especially that of Mountbatten - was a driving factor in the operation's planning and execution, which turned out to be a disaster.
But I had issues with the writing. First, there were occasions where Bishop jumped back and forward in the story, which, in some instances, was justified and in others perplexing. Perhaps more frustrating for me was the inconsistent punctuation, something I attribute to questionable editing. In particular, the absence of commas in numerous sentences meant that I had to read them back to understand their meaning or, worse still, skip over them because they came across as nonsensical.
But I had issues with the writing. First, there were occasions where Bishop jumped back and forward in the story, which, in some instances, was justified and in others perplexing. Perhaps more frustrating for me was the inconsistent punctuation, something I attribute to questionable editing. In particular, the absence of commas in numerous sentences meant that I had to read them back to understand their meaning or, worse still, skip over them because they came across as nonsensical.
September 8, 2022
A fresh account of a terrible event in British and Canadian military history. It’s a thorough review of the planning process, the personalities involved, the execution, the debacle and the aftermath. But it’s also rather dry and more personal recollections from participants, especially combatants, would be welcome. In particular there is very little comment from the German side.
February 24, 2022
Patrick Bishop for my money -- loose change and all -- is one of the finest military historians of his generation. Indeed along with Max Hastings -- both of them have been in the heat of battle covering the Falklands War amongst others -- perhaps the best of the bunch. He is on top form here with this account of the catastrophic raid on Dieppe dismissing the line that became the one Louis Mountbatten -- head of Combined Operations Head Quarters (COHQ) which came up with the idea and reactivated it when the first attempt had to be called off due to the weather -- propagated it served as a good dress rehearsal for D-Day. This is not a hatchet job on Mountbatten, Bishop praises him for his charm -- he would have background on all his crew on his various ships so he could chat with them -- but his desire to prove himself had dire consequences, not just in Dieppe but prior to that principally on HMS Kelly. The ship suffered several mishaps -- costing the lives of some of the crew: "Some of these calamities could be put down to bad luck. Others were due to human error, with Mountbatten carrying much of the blame." However, Churchill liked the cut of his jib and thus the die was cast or the Dieppe was. Throw into the mix pre-Desert Theatre of War Montgomery, who presided over some meetings where decisions with dreadful consequences were taken and two of the iconic figures of that era of history emerge rather more battered than some who bang the drum for them would prefer. Monty -- one of nine children no less -- agreed to the Canadians being the principal force though he was rather sneering of their capabilities. He subsequently denied this labelling them as 'fine chaps' but being 'totally inexperienced'. As Bishop rightly points out this was a 'distortion and a slur'....'the idea that seasoned soldiers could have succeeded where they did not was insulting nonsense.' The Canadians indeed fought with extraordinary courage against impossible odds -- not that they were facing a crack German division as it was a hotch potch of Germans, Poles and Sudeten Germans -- due to the ludicrous choice of the target which was extremely well defended in terms of gun emplacements. Add to that the Navy refused to provide a cruiser or battleship to provide covering fire only sending destroyers and the withdrawal of parachutists the Canadians were on a hiding to nothing. There are heart-rending accounts of what took place on the battlefields that day. Whatever the prickly Montgomery thought of their performance one rather prefers to hear it from those on the ground who were sacrificed to reassure the Soviets -- effectively to show Stalin that the West was keen to help out on another front as Churchill etc were nervous the Russians might make peace with Hitler if they did not -- such as Jack Poolton of the Royal Regiment of Canada, who got annihilated on the beach at Puy along the coast from Dieppe: "We took our licks. We didn't ask for any quarter...we didn't beg. We didn't crab. We didn't bellyache. We knew we'd been licked and the Germans had licked us and we were going to take it like men, like soldiers." Of the 554 Royals who sailed to France only two officers and six men returned. This is written with panache and elan -- characteristics many of the Canadians and the Commandos who accompanied them displayed that horrific day -- and is engrossing reading. Bishop rounds if off not with as deadly a line as the candlestick in the library: "The last service of the dead of Dieppe is to remind us for ever of a simple truth: that peace is sweet and war an abyss of sorrow and waste."
December 1, 2022
I think the best military histories are written a few decades after the fact. The first generation of books is likely written by hagiographers (i.e fanboys) and haters, cherry-picking the limited facts available to suit their position. A clearer picture emerges as official secrets are unsealed and personal documents become available in archives.
Bishop is a good narrator, exploring the events leading up to the raid, the raid itself, and the post-raid analysis. The description of the raid has the right amount of detail.
Bishop counters the arguments for the raid, not using his own words, but those of others. There was a lot of blame to go around. In my view, the principal recipients of that blame are Mountbatten, McNaughton and Crerar. While many are implicated, the three not only made poor decisions, but were in a position to either stop, or substantially change the plan before it happened.
While McNaughton and Crerar were proximate causes, the ultimate cause was the Canadian Army itself (until a short time before that, known as the Permanent Active Militia). In 1942, McNaughton and Crerar were both administrative Generals; the Canadian Army being in no position to produce professional, fighting Generals. The lesson is that allowing skills to atrophy during peacetime produces catastrophic results when things heat up.
All in all, a great read. I will be seeking out more of Bishop's books.
Bishop is a good narrator, exploring the events leading up to the raid, the raid itself, and the post-raid analysis. The description of the raid has the right amount of detail.
Bishop counters the arguments for the raid, not using his own words, but those of others. There was a lot of blame to go around. In my view, the principal recipients of that blame are Mountbatten, McNaughton and Crerar. While many are implicated, the three not only made poor decisions, but were in a position to either stop, or substantially change the plan before it happened.
While McNaughton and Crerar were proximate causes, the ultimate cause was the Canadian Army itself (until a short time before that, known as the Permanent Active Militia). In 1942, McNaughton and Crerar were both administrative Generals; the Canadian Army being in no position to produce professional, fighting Generals. The lesson is that allowing skills to atrophy during peacetime produces catastrophic results when things heat up.
All in all, a great read. I will be seeking out more of Bishop's books.
October 12, 2022
Wow, what a book this was! I had never heard of Operation Jubilee and the account by this author, meticulously researched, was eye-opening and very poignant.
The book takes us through the planning, the conception of the raid and the major players, why they made the decision to undertake it and then the raid itself and the aftermath.
There are pictures in the book and it really hurt my heart to look at some of them :( These men were in the prime of their lives and the men at the top, with their huge egos, sacrificed them. For what, exactly??!!
Throughout the reading of the account of the raid, I was absolutely amazed and stunned at some of the heroics by the men. True heroes, one and all.
4.5 stars from me.
The book takes us through the planning, the conception of the raid and the major players, why they made the decision to undertake it and then the raid itself and the aftermath.
There are pictures in the book and it really hurt my heart to look at some of them :( These men were in the prime of their lives and the men at the top, with their huge egos, sacrificed them. For what, exactly??!!
Throughout the reading of the account of the raid, I was absolutely amazed and stunned at some of the heroics by the men. True heroes, one and all.
4.5 stars from me.
July 27, 2024
Dieppe, another blunder from the UK military command, with a proper cover up to not tarnish the names of the involved. Canadians crying for action were given a deeply flawed plan. Of course you can then justify that it was necessary to lose these men in order to avoid errors at Normandy, or at least that is a way to give meaning to their deaths. But their deaths were not necessary, making stupid mistakes just to remember ourselves not to do them. Avoidable. Now the book, well done, covering the planning and execution and the lack of intelligence and common sense of the people in charge. An important reading to dissect the failure of Dieppe.
March 24, 2022
The best book about Operation Jubilee or the Dieppe raid I've seen. The author did a great job of combining the big picture (overall planning, strategy, geopolitical considerations) with the personal (details on each unit involved and personal stories). This book covers every aspect about Dieppe including a convincing thesis about why it happened and who holds the most blame for the ill conceived assault.
May 4, 2024
Excellent analysis of the fiasco that was Dieppe.Pinning the blame where it was due,namely Mounntbatten.Overpromoted,arrogant and ambitious.
Constantly using his influence with Churchill to make sure he didn't write an unflattering version of history.
The author dispels the myth that this operation saved lives on D Day.
Mountbaten was also responsible for the thousands killed at Indian independence
Constantly using his influence with Churchill to make sure he didn't write an unflattering version of history.
The author dispels the myth that this operation saved lives on D Day.
Mountbaten was also responsible for the thousands killed at Indian independence
December 7, 2021
An incredible insight into a WW2 disaster I had never heard of.
Thoroughly examining the poor planning with expert details and features stories from all sides involved.
This tale will stay with me.
'Peace is sweet and war an abyss of sorrow and waste.'
Thoroughly examining the poor planning with expert details and features stories from all sides involved.
This tale will stay with me.
'Peace is sweet and war an abyss of sorrow and waste.'
September 18, 2025
visited Dieppe in 2008. The book definitely helped me understand what happened. The people keep the cementary pristine with red and yellow roses. There are monuments and Canadian flags. They were so thankful for the sacrifices of the Canadians.
November 15, 2021
A thorough examination of one of the biggest debacles in WWII. Poor planning, incompetent recce, and a huge to-do list (mostly impossible to achieve) for the Canadian troops.
January 27, 2022
Excellent account of a gripping, if doomed, raid. Brave Canadian effort.
March 17, 2022
Fascinating analysis of the many mistakes that plagued this battle, the bravery of those involved and the politicking to avoid blame ever since.
September 19, 2022
An excellent insight into the flawed thinking & planning that led to the disastrous raid on Dieppe.
November 5, 2023
it wasnt supposed to take this long
11/10
11/10
December 15, 2023
Good but sad read
Good story, good pace, the reality of politics, thirst for prestige, paid for by the blood of the fighting man.
Good story, good pace, the reality of politics, thirst for prestige, paid for by the blood of the fighting man.
August 17, 2025
Detailed account of all aspects of this operation from all sides so worth reading to get the full picture
October 30, 2025
Superb account
November 25, 2025
Depressing
A well researched book that is no holds barred. Ideal to read if you are at Sandhurst.
Be prepared to feel very at ill when you read this book
A well researched book that is no holds barred. Ideal to read if you are at Sandhurst.
Be prepared to feel very at ill when you read this book
April 2, 2024
A well written and as expected the research was top dog. Enjoyed the build up giving a reasoned argument for the operation, although flawed.
March 26, 2023
Good a bit dry in parts.
March 26, 2024
I have decided to bump my review of this book down one star. After actually having to do research on Dieppe for school I have realized that there are more concise and clear reporting of the Dieppe story than this one. It’s not bad, but I think this book suffers from delving too deep into it that it sometimes loses focus on what it is actually talking about
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