On August 19, 1942, over six-thousand Allied-forces infantrymen (primarily Canadian, supported by the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force) endeavored to penetrate the German stronghold at the port of Dieppe, via a stone beach along the northern coast of France. The Operation was a complete disaster; within six hours, sixty-percent of the attacking infantrymen were dead, injured, or captured. Nine-hundred and seven Canadians died in the aborted raid.
Until recently, it was unclear why the Allied forces had followed through with the Dieppe Raid, which was a poorly planned assault. But a military historian, David O’Keefe, sifted through top-secret, British military documents until he discovered an answer that is like the plot of a spy novel, which makes sense, because Ian Fleming — WW II British Intelligence Officer and author of the James Bond books — was involved.
When O’Keefe confronted British Navel authorities with his evidence, they acknowledged that he had discovered the truth.
The Dieppe Raid was initiated as a diversion for a pinch operation; the raid provided cover for a commando unit’s infiltration into German Naval headquarters (intelligence indicated it was in Dieppe’s Hôtel Moderne) and to board specific boats within the inner harbor: the ultimate goal of the mission was to ‘appropriate’ German code-books and a code-machine. Ian Fleming was the head of the commando unit.
To me, that seems like a lot of lives to use as a diversion, but hopefully this will provide solace and meaning for survivors. The Dieppe Raid was poorly planned and doomed to fail: the troops arrived late, and the planned cover of darkness had dissipated.
A documentary of the Dieppe Raid, based on the evidence that O’Keefe uncovered, has been created; the documentary, Dieppe Uncovered, will be aired on History Television on Sunday, August 19 (the seventieth anniversary of the raid).
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2012/08/18 at 11:01
[...] The Dieppe Raid Uncovered (almostfalling.com) [...]
2012/08/19 at 09:34
I think David O’Keefe while his research into it is commendiable but is lagging with how the Enigma Codes, codemaching and code books really were found….they were not found at Dieppe, France nor I doubt seriously if any spies actually got into Dieppe, France. What really happened was later during the Battle Of The Atlantic, when 2 Royal Canadian Navy ships, HMCS Outremont and HMCS New Waterford captured Uboat U-1006 intact and took it to be researched by the Bedford Institute of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada….I should know, my father Leander Wilson Brewster told me the full story of how the Enigma Codes, machine and code books were captured however there was no DAMN IAN FLEMMINGS ABOUT only Brit Navy CID and RCN CID clamping a lid on the whole incident. Due to a drunk ships captain of the HMCS Outremont both ships got bounced out of immortalization of Hollywood when the shipscaptain of the Outremont, 3 weeks before they were to tow the U-1006 to Hollywood California, USA crashed the Outremont into it’s own pier, CID gave the HMCS Anannah credit for the sinking of U-Boat U-1006 and the Brit Navy and Canadian Navy covered up the whole affair swearing the men of both ships to secracy for 71 years from that point on, neither crews of the Outremont nor the New Waterford ever did get to Hollywood to make the real movie but all they got was to go out on the Atlantic again to continue the war against the Uboats, my father died in 2003 but 2yrs before told me the complete story.
2012/08/19 at 09:39
I can prove that this happened because I was given pictures from an Don Spinks whom is the grandson of Westley Allen Spinks whom was a friend of my father’s on the HMCS Outremont, another friend is Lloyd Meredith whom was junior officer onboard HMCS Outremont…..also a friend of my father, Don Spinks kindly sent me copies of the photos that his grandfather Westley Allen Spinks took, this pretty well verifies the incident having took place, proving once and for all that the truth is stranger than fiction.
2012/08/19 at 12:28
Thank you for your comments: my post was only reporting the news as it is. I don’t recall reading whether or not the ‘commando’ raid was successful. Perhaps the truth will be aired on the television show (?).
In the post, I was more concerned with the poorly planned Dieppe Raid and the reasons for it.
2012/08/19 at 13:34
db johnson, I certainly can understand your position and reporting the news as it is, but don’t you think that if Ian Flemmings Commandoes even got near those enigma machines and code books they would get captured and interrogated??? Your very right the Dieppe Raid was poorly planned by some top Brit and Canadian Brass whom never took into account the information they had from France itself about the beaches of Dieppe, in David O’Keefe not verifying his research to his researching limits he has missed out on important WW2 developments and instead took heresay from the later writer of the JAMES BOND FICTION. My father’s accounts can be backedup with photos more or less of what happened especially the U-1006 pictured in 2 frames of photoes moving in the waters of the West Arm Of Halifax Harbour in 1944, what more proof does anyone need than that? What really irriatates me is that historians don’t believe me when I show those pictures to them, especially local historians, I took those photoes on CD Rom Disk to Dan Connlin of the Maritime Museum Of The Atlantic in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada and he only said, “Those pictures only show a supposed location…..it could be the Thames River where that submarine was shot?” A concerned individual sent me a photo of the same area of Halifax Harbour, The West Arm Of Halifax which showed a modern Canadian Submarine in the exact same area where the German Uboat was in at only this picture was of about 1985 or so, the exact land areas were exactly the same so my father was exactly right in his story.
I can understand David O’Keefe’s trying to make a few Dieppe Veterans feel good about the Dieppe Raid but the truth should be put out ahead of any stories concerning fictious accounts of the Dieppe Raid and what the allies truely intended the raid to be. I am dissappointed in trying to get my father’s story out and the lack of TV documentary groups willing to actually take such stories such as my father’s at face value, I have been trying now for about 9 years to have my father’s story heard by the media and no media not even our own ATV News wants to accept my father’s story as substancial. That is the real crime of the present times the biasness of both the media and historians.
2012/08/19 at 14:01
Again, thank you for your comments: you’ve voiced your concerns and I understand your frustration. I wish you all the luck in having your father’s story verified and brought to light.
2012/08/19 at 15:36
At last, I know why my late Old Man (RM Commando D H Lawden, captured at Dieppe and POW at Stalag VIIIB for three years) was there for. He didn’t speak much about what he actually did, but then, I suppose he actually didn’t know much, just what he needed to know and no more, from what the TV programme showed. Official Secrets and all that. I have a whole new level of respect for ALL those guys now…..I wonder if the film makers have access to the names of the participants, just to see if Dad’s name pops up somewhere?
2012/08/19 at 18:27
It’s nice that you gained some insight into your father’s past!
Thanks for dropping by and taking the time to comment.
2012/08/20 at 13:25
Indeed it has, thanks DB.
I’m already on a website for ex-POWs interned at Stalag 8B during the war (and their families). Quite a few of the Canucks who went to Dieppe and were captured (the lucky ones, in the scheme of things) have been sharing their experiences there.
Like most of them, Dad always felt Dieppe was a waste of lives and effort, blaming Lord Louis Mountbatten. It’s a pity he didn’t know then what we know now. And sadly, he revealed very little of his personal experience there, other than en route to the landing beach, his CO(?) in their landing craft had half his head blown off, and that a mate of his called Chic was somehow involved with others in their capture. No mention of HMS Locust, Ian Fleming etc. Still, I just wonder if the records David O’Keefe had access to show the names of who was where at the time and if so, possibly the level of involvement of my Old Man? Wouldn’t it be amazing if he was of those involved in the ‘Pinch’?….Wow….
Simon (Birmingham, UK)
2012/08/20 at 14:19
It would be awesome to find out about your Dad’s involvement: I’m not sure where you’d start, but I think it would be worth the effort. Perhaps O’Keefe will make some of his findings public (?).
take care,
Bruce
2012/08/20 at 17:03
Hi again Bruce….
Maybe he can be contacted via the TV company responsible for producing the programme. I’ll see what Google says….
Thanks!
Simon
2012/09/12 at 14:19
After reading your comments about your father, I strongly suspect he would have known mine.
Royal Marine Leslie R Munday CHX104014. He joined 40 Commando when they called for the first volenteers and were still called ‘A’ commando. He was on the Dieppe raid and was also taken prisoneer and spent three years in and about Stalag VIIIB Lambsdorf. Some of the time he was in work camps (one processed sugar beat). He tried to escape three times the last time he was placed against a firing squad who went through the motions upto taking aim then told him that was a warning…he did not try to escape again. He finally ended up doing the long march home.
He was on a landing craft the was destined for the harbour. He said his commander was shoot whilst signalling for the other craft wearing his white gloves to get them to withdraw. The landing craft was shelled at its rear. he told me many lives including his were probably saved because the ramp release to let them out of the landing craft onto the beach jammed, so they could not rush out into the waiting mass of machine gun fire. So the landing craft backed awaythey all had to strip off and jump over the side and then swim away from the beach because they were still being shoot at. Eventually swimming ashore to be captured.
The documentary made me pretty sure that it was the same landing craft as 10 platoon/intelligence. I dont know what platoon my father was in but he certainly did not know about the ‘pinch’. I wish he’d still been alive to find out about it. A picture of my fathers platoon just before the raid shows about thirty of them so I suspect a landing craft held about three platoons?
He did not talk about the war much until he joined the Royal Marine association in the late seventies/early eighties then he went to one or two Dieppe anniversry events.
2012/09/13 at 16:29
How about that Ross! Many thanks for recalling your Dad’s personal story here. It’s a whole lot more than I remember my Old Man (he died in 1980) telling us about though. He never managed to get to any reunion, not that he’d have wanted to I suspect. Probably down to Dieppe and his subsequent POW experiences, which must have been pretty grim, enough for him to want to ‘lock it all away’ if you know what I mean. According to the few things he told Mum (who’s still with us) he, too, tried escaping and was subsequently put into chains in solitary but she doesn’t remember him telling her what work parties he would have been sent on. In fact, it wasn’t till I found the VIIIB website that I learned of these. He did mention however, getting into a large German house (while on the Death March presumably. He never said…) and he actually managed to bring home some trophies of war, one of which was a German ceremonial sword, engraved with hunting scenes. How he managed that I haven’t a clue!
As for your Dad and mine, I would love to think they did know each other. It’s quite possible. The only way to find that out would be to check the Military records at Kew and see where they were both deployed and match that against the official report of the operation. At least it would give a rough idea of what they did and when.
Simon
2012/09/14 at 12:29
Simon
thaks for the reply.
May I suggest that we get in touch via direct E-mail. So we dont post too much personnel or non relavant info on this interesting site.
I have a photograph of my father and his comrades in arms taken just before the Dieppe raid. It has about 30 members of 40 commando on it, so its just the section/platoon that my father was in. There is the chance that the photograph could also contain your father. Plus other stuff.
You can contact me via friend reunited (ROSS MUNDAY, NORTHAMPTON, formerly of Weston Favell upper school).
Cheers
Ross
2012/09/14 at 13:23
I hope Ross’s photo has Simon’s father in it (what a cool happenstance that would be!). Take care!
2012/09/14 at 17:24
Hello again DB…it might be best that Ross and I talk privately, but I suppose then the others here wouldn’t learn of any interesting stuff we might uncover. While I appreciate the need for ‘security’ regarding personal data etc., perhaps we could put a quick occasional update here for those interested.
Ross, I’m not on Friends Reunited, but I’ll visit the website and see if I can pop a message over to you. I’m quite intrigued about the photos you have.
Regards,
Simon
2012/09/14 at 19:22
Best of luck!
And yes, please drop a comment here if anything interesting transpires.
2012/08/20 at 09:14
I watched the documentary last night. What I’d like to find out — if the British commandos had been successful in pinching the “4- Wheel Enigma”, how were they going to cover up the fact that they had stolen it. If the Germans had found out that the Allies were in possession of it (noticed one missing), I would think it would become worthless.
It’s a moot point, since the raid was unsuccessful.
2012/08/20 at 10:26
Yes, I too would like to know more about that aspect of the affair.
I believe there was some interesting information about breaking the German code in William Stevenson’s book A Man Called Intrepid. I read it years ago: very interesting, and I wish I could recall more…I’ll have to revisit the book.
2012/08/20 at 14:15
That had crossed my mind while watching. Mind you, if the Pinch had been successful, what would the Germans have done? Ditch Enigma? Hardly. Yet another rotor? Possibly, although I am hardly the person to ask about the Enigma machine’s inner workings! That said, the Germans could only surmise about how useful an Enigma machine would be to the Allies. After all, they were assured in the knowledge that it would take years to break their codes, given the technology of the day, even with access to a machine. They didn’t know (as far as I’m aware) we had Alan Turing and a team of mathematical genii using highly secret new technologies crunching the numbers, to work out how to read their military communications traffic.
Does anyone have more background to this?
Simon
2012/08/20 at 19:06
We now use enigma codes every day thanks to efforts to what my father did without actually knowing he did it; I think the British DONI had it’s hand in a less bloody way to to capture those codes and machines, I am very very proud of my late father and the crews of the Outremont and New Waterford, they did what Commandoe Group 4-40 could not do, They did the impossible what Ian Flemings would have loved to do but could not do, I think the Rotter Fleming put a security gag on the 2 ships crews because he was flaming jealious of their accomplishment. THERE IS NO REASON WHY NOT THE 2 CREWS SHOULD HAVE GONE TO HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA helped do a non-fictional movie-Docudrama about their achievements but like so many others the cloak and dagger secracy was a running gag by 1945; there is no doubt that the captains of HMCS Outremont and HMCS New Waterford had very similiar orders when trying to capture German UBoats intact, The Brits had found out about 6 months later that they were able to break the enigma codes…….I HIGHLY DOUBT IT, BECAUSE THE ROYAL CANADIAN NAVY profited by the Dieppe Raid and did what Commandoe Group 4-40 could not do and did not know they even did accomplish what eluded Ian Flemings, my father probably is laughing in his grave right now, praising me for what the 2 crews of the Outremont and the New Waterford did, but I insist that David O’Keefe contact me to finally put to rest the mystery of the enigma codes…..for it was solved by HMCS Outremont and HMCS New Waterford!
2012/08/20 at 19:08
Simon my thoughts exactly, yesss you could have added another rotor, you could have added alot more things even using Austrian dialect to confuse the Allies and force them to make mistakes in decoding the enigma encrypts, why stop there, you could use the Gothic German Language to make it extra confusing.
2012/08/20 at 19:11
I tried contracting Dr David O’Keefe but it is nearly impossible to do so; sadly he does not rub elbows with anyone but goes on his merry way writing books and doing bigscale Documentaries that fills his pockets but does not seem to care for the “littleguys” nor more obscure Veterans though he should try to be more open.
2012/08/21 at 16:19
Well, if he’s so difficult to contact, I wonder if it would be easier to access the same information he has!
Simon
2012/08/21 at 18:04
Good point: it may be a lot of work, but O’Keefe managed to do it.
2012/08/23 at 04:52
Bruce, I guess the first point of contact will be the National Achives at Kew, near London. I might drop them an email to see how to proceed.
Cheers for now,
Simon
2012/08/23 at 06:11
Best of luck!
2012/08/20 at 19:44
I have no direct or indirect involvement with the Dieppe Raid (my Dad was serving at that time but not in that arena), but I’ve been thinking about this thing all day.
At this time I’m wondering about 2 issues.
1. It is O’Keefe’s opinion that 5000 men were sent on this mission so a unit of commandos could pinch the Enigma. The 5000 did their job, and more. They must have known when they were approaching Dieppe that things were not going to go well. They certainly knew when they landed that there was a massacre in progress. For me, It’s impossible to imagine how they pressed on. But they did. They actually tried to complete this mission. On the other hand, when the commados arrived, they saw the situation for what it was and took the more sensible route. They tried another tack, and when that also looked too dangerous, they pulled out. Too bad someone hadn’t made the same choice with the 5000.
2. Sending 5000+ men to steal a machine seems heavy-handed. This is not meant to be flippant, but 007 would have done it a little more efficiently. Fleming would have him get that thing with a re-breather and a smile. Hopefully they tried a lot of other ways before they used this approach.
2012/08/20 at 19:55
I have to agree; it seems like an abuse of troops.
2012/08/23 at 11:14
I think the one point being overlooked here is that when British Intelligence lost the ability to decipher German communications our shipping losses skyrocketed. Supply lines were crucial to the survival of the U.K. therefore any means was sought to acquire the new codes, etc.as soon as possible. This is not an issue about who took credit for what. It is about desperate times and men like Fleming trying to solve a serious situation. I suspect he was as happy as anyone when someone else was able to capture the codes and equipment. Pity it could not have been accomplished sooner because our shipping losses were very high for the 6 months we operated without the codes after the failure to capture it at Dieppe.
Very easy for armchair admirals to sit back today and be critical. We have the luxury of knowing that we survived and won. They could not know the future and were driven to make the desperate efforts to get an upper hand.
By the way, if this had succeeded, we would be boasting today about how, at the sacrifice of so many of our countrymen, we were able to save the U.K. from starvation and defeat.
The reality is that our army was ill prepared for that kind of landing. They had courage and little else.
P.S. Covering up the theft? The navy did have the ability to completely level the kind of building so there would have been little left to be found.
2012/08/23 at 11:36
Good points.
2012/08/24 at 14:59
Ditto Bruce, very incisive comments Richard. Chances are the building would have been blown to buggery by the Commandos, as you say, to cover their tracks. No suspicion on the German’s part, they would have thought it part of the attack, probably.
Post-war critics have fired the same flak against Bomber Command and the USAF. War isn’t cricket you know, we were fighting to save our way of life. Any problems with the way war was prosecuted must be viewed without the benefit of hindsight….
Simon
2012/08/25 at 20:33
I think DJ Kearney, Richard Welsman and Moby The Villian have some good points but they neglect some other points that have come up since they have made their posts. 1. David O’Keefe said himself in the documentary that just 4 months to 6 months later the Enigma Codes were cracked. It was August 1942 that the Dieppe Raid happened on…..then BINGO, in November 1943 the Outremont and the New Waterford captures the Uboat-1006, the ships captain gets drunk ramming the Outremont into it’s bierth and a big gag of secracy…..why now???? If the Enigma Codes had been cracked and they now had an 4 disk Enigma Machine in UK Allied hands why not hit the world press with the news but still the allies kept the gag orders to keep the heroes muzzled….men like my father and his friends???? Jealiousy of Ian Flemings as well as the need to be sure what they knew about the Enigma Codes was exactly right and could be reproduced time and time again, is what I choose to believe. 2. There was only 4 men in the entire 6,000 manned forces that raided Dieppe, France that knew why they were raiding it; why did they not know how heavily it was being defended and force the RAF to take the attack more seriously by sending in a bigger attacking force of bombers and fighters???? One man drowned that knew the details, one man got back to Britain after looking like a coward but was never punished, 1 other man had a long navy career after commanding the ship that Ian Fleming was on. The facts are the facts, they had photos of the coastline, they underestimated how reinforced the gun emplacments were and had an 3. “Bridge Too Far” Syndrome about the whole mission.
2012/08/26 at 02:59
Eric,
You seem to have an axe to grind, and you are using the comments forum on my blog to do so.
In my opinion, if you want to get your point across, it would help if you didn’t slag people; for example, you seem to have a problem with Ian Fleming, a man who has been dead since 1964 and certainly was not responsible for bringing forward the recent facts surrounding the Dieppe Raid.
I’d appreciate it if, in future, you stick to facts, and present them in a respectful manner on my blog; otherwise, I’ll remove your comments. You’re free to develop your own blog in whatever manner you wish, but please respect mine.
2012/10/11 at 11:46
I will first take the opportunity to thank DB Johnston for posting this article. Truely, the Dieppe Raid was one of (if not the most) biggest blunders of the war.
Eric cannot stick to facts, simply because he has none. I’ve seen his so called “photographic proof”, and they are pictures drawn…badly…with crayons.
This will be my only post about Eric, because as you said, DB, this is your blog, and no place for a flame war. I posted to voice my support for you, and wish that you continue your great work!
2013/01/28 at 08:32
All this goes to show what the value of professional historians have for our times. It took a guy like Dr. O’Keefe to unearth the truth and put at rest once and for all the rumors and antagonisms that were generated about this raid.
2013/01/28 at 13:39
Yes; it’s good to finally know the truth.
2013/04/08 at 23:41
Dear All,
My grandfather served with 3 and 30 Commando but died in 1959 so I have never met him. He only told of being captured on the beach to my father and spending the rest of the war as a POW, escaping three times only to be recaptured twice thanks to some French Nazi collaborators.
What does not ring true for me is his beach capture if 30 Commando were to assault the harbour, he also had his Paratrooper wings which 3Commando were not trained for. I wonder if his claim of capture in Dieppe covered his classified operations between then and his subsequent capture.
I find it hard to believe that a highly trained commando force who had conducted raids successfully, accidentally bumped into a German convoy!
3 Commando had helped to solve the enigma riddle twice before in 1941 only for the codes to be changed, so it is perfectly reasonable to me that we needed to obtain them without the Nazi’s knowing about it.
I would also like to thank the Canadians for there bravery and sacrifice.
Finally my father has a meeting later this year to learn more, I’ll update after that.
Joshua Martin Grandson of Horace Frederick Martin