operation jubilee.

picture this: you are a canadian soldier, maybe 18, obviously good looking. you have been training for almost two years in britain for participation in world war two, but you have seen absolutely no action. you have malfunctioning equipment, and no guns. you have spent two years bonding with the men in your unit, and you are ready to prove yourself to your country and the allied forces. you are anxious to see battle. you are told that you will attack the port town of dieppe, in the north of france.

at this point in the war, the allied forces were not strong enough to mount a full-scale attack on the continent, so it was decided that they would attach an occupied german port in the north of france. it has been argued by many that the disaster at dieppe taught the allies many lessons which helped them in the future -- in particular for the d-day invasions of normandy in 1944. however, it was still a failure. operation jubilee never held the objective of permanently taking over dieppe from the germans. it was meant to be a major raid, to prepare troops for a major amphibious assault that would be necessary in the future to defeat the germans.

however, the germans had to have anticipated something. they were ready. the canadians were slaughtered. the beach at dieppe is large stones which are difficult to walk on, let alone roll tanks across. a long row of buildings is a veritable blockade between the beach and the city centre. with one look at the city, you can understand why it was a recipe for disaster.

we spent a few hours on sunday exploring the port town, walking along the beach, taking pictures of the cliffs and exploring the AMAZING museum and memorial to the canadian solders. it was fittingly cloudy, heavy and raining -- how i always pictured it would have looked when the soldiers arrived on the beach after crossing the channel. the museum was simple but incredibly informative. included was a collection of present and past pictures and quotes from the canadian veterans who actually participated in the raid. a personal touch that really struck home. looking at the pictures, i realized they were all someone's grandpa, father, son. and these were only the ones who survived.

it was interesting how much the canadians are appreciated and valued in dieppe. kristin offered a canada pin to one of the women who worked at the memorial, and i swear she shed some tears. it was touching. even at the local bar we attended in the evening, we were warmly recieved when we told them we were canadian. while canadians did return later in the war to liberate dieppe, i feel that the appreciation towards us is slightly unjustified. i did not risk my life for them, i do not even know anyone who stormed the beach in 1942. it is interesting to be valued for something intangible, such as citizenship. i guess i was lucky to be born in canada.

more than 4000 of the 6000 men that made it ashore in the dieppe raid were either killed, wounded or caputured. it was a complete disaster. the battle scars are no longer visible in the town, but the emotional scars are far from disappearing.