Certainly Not the Jersey Shore

Before we really had the chance to enjoy the scenic route I supposedly put together, we were in Dieppe. My original reason for going here was to learn more about the Dieppe Raid of 1942. Canadian commandos were basically sacrificed in a ill-conceived raid on the German stronghold at Dieppe. Of the 6000 troops involved, more than 3600 were killed, captured or wounded. The intent was to test German defenses, steal intelligence, and to determine whether it would be possible to attack and hold a German port city for very long. The Allies also wanted to prove to the Russians that they were doing their part at a time when most of the fighting seemed concentrated in Eastern Europe. It was a miserable failure. So much so that there really is nothing of note left from that time. The town was never seized, important Allied documents were captured by the Germans instead and German treatment of POWs became more harsh as a result. Perhaps the one positive was that based on the ineptitude of the assault, they were far too confident in their own defenses along the Normandy coast.