Le Raid
Détails officiels et témoignage personnels du Raid de Dieppe.
BATTLE SUMMARY No. 33
In an attempt to secure the vital eastern headland, the Military Force Commander, who apparently did not know fully of the critical position ashore, decided to send in his floating reserve the Fusiliers Mont-Royal to Red Beach.
With the aid of smoke, and in the face of avery heavy firing, some of them were successfully put ashore at 0704 under the direction of Lt. Cdr J.H. Dathan, R.N., Senior Officer of Group 7, in M.L.214. He took 26 L.C.P., losing two when beached and a third during the withdrawal. So intense was the enemy's fire that the Fusiliers achieved little or no success and suffered serious losses as soon as they landed. Two small parties succeeded in penetrating into the town and dock area, but few returned.
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Meanwhile, owing to failure to allow for the then strong westerly set of the ride and the superabundance of smoke, some 300 officers and men of the Fusiliers had to be landed, not according to plan, but on the very constricted beach below the western headland. No frontal advance was praticable and attempts to move out on their flank proved unsuccessful.
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Around noon 288 of them, of whom some 100 were wounded, surrendered.
The Landing of the Fusiliers
At 0630 hrs, accordingly, the entry was made in the ''Calpe'' Intelligence Log, ''Fus.M.R. going ashore Red beach".
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Lt.-Col. Menard had gone aboard ''Calpe'' at 0610 hrs and had received his instruction. There instruction were now passed to the L.C.P.(L)a by loud hailer, to the following effect. Whereas in the event of everything going according to plan the Fus. M.R. had been instructed to concentrate, after landing, in the PARC JEHAN ANGO, preparatory to establishing an inner perimeter and covering the withdrawal of the main force.
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Lt. A.A. Masson states that the boats, which navel evidence indicates were 26 in number, approached the beach in a single line. He believes, but is not entirely certain, taht the order of sub-units from right to left (i.e., from west to east) was ''D'' Coy, ''A'' Coy, ''C'' Coy; H.Q. Group; and ''B'' Coy.