Operation Jubilee (8-19-42)

28

OUR LOSSES SEVERE
Fusiliers and South Saskatchewans suffer many casualties

Former the rearguard

Covers debarkation at Dieppe – Nazis hoist white flag then shoot
By L. S. B. Shapiro

Canadian Corps Area, somewhere in England – (Aug. 20)
The reinforcements moved in tonight – fresh, grim men to take the places of the dead, wounded and missing – and the last Canadian operation in the Dieppe battle was complete. The Dominion’s army corps is ready once more, a fighting army now with experience behind it of carrying to the enemy the most furious Western Front battle since Dunkerque. It is a proud army because all of England is vividly conscious of “the Canadians.”

Movement of reinforcements was heavy because casualties were severe. No attempt was made to minimize the losses suffered by Canadians, particularly by units of the Fusiliers Mont Royal and the South Saskatchewan Regiment. Les Fusiliers, French-Canadian unit, distinguished itself in za dogged rearguard action to cover embarkation of the last troops from the beach at Dieppe, and when the final order to evacuate weas given pitifully few of the Fusiliers could make their way to the barges. The French-Canadians turned in an epic performance in their first action. Their commanding officer was wounded but safely evacuated.

Today Canadian officers met with the Combined Operations staff under Lord Louis Mountbatten to review the operation and assess the cost. Besides valuable enemy installations destroyed, known gains included the test of a new type of tank-carrying barge proof of the effectiveness of this new system of land-air cooperation, urgent experience in the intricate operations of landing under fire and, above all, final determination of the high quality of Canadian troops as an attacking force. The coast was great, but the results achieved are considered well worth it.

Airmen show worth

In the air, the operation was a pronounced success. Many RCAF squadrons formed part of the umbrella over Dieppe and their superiority over German fighter formations as complete. At airfields all over southeast England today fliers were jubilant.

…

29

Witness tells of Dieppe raid

Storming of defences vividly described by correspondent
By Ross Munro, Canadian Press war correspondent

Ross Munro, Canadian Press war correspondent and only Canadian newspaper reporter who landed ion the French coast with the troops in Wednesday’s Commando raid, describes in this story what he saw. Munro is single, 28, Ottawa-born, graduate of University of Toronto and before going overseas worked in Canadian Press bureaus in Toronto, Winnipeg, Ottawa, New York and Washington.

With the Canadian raiding force at an English south coast port – (Aug. 20)
Back from the blood-stained beaches of Dieppe, I sailed into this port with a battered landing craft flotilla which brought scores of battle-worn Canadians to England again after the spectacular combined operations raid on the French coast.

Shock troops that stormed the formidable defences of Dieppe in a bold thrust from the sea laboriously climbed up on the dock and walked slowly to trucks that took them to a reception camp a few miles away.

There was no noisy fanfare for the retuning warriors.

Workers, sailors and soldiers at the dock just grinned a welcome and out a friendly hand on the shoulder of the tired raiders.

There were the men with whom I set out in the dusk of Tuesday night for the shores of France.

But their ranks had thinned.

In the words of the official communiqué:

Casualties were high.

This Canadian assault force, the greatest yet sent out in this war, met withering fire.

…

30

ENEMY LOSS HEAVY
Two shore batteries, radio location station destroyed

Black Watch on raid

Raid held successful demonstration of coordination of all three services

London, England (CP Cable) – (Aug. 20)
A total of 276 German planes were probably destroyed or damaged in “one of the greatest air battles” of history, and the Nazis had to send aerial reinforcements “from all parts of occupied France, Holland and Belgium” during the Allied commando raid on Dieppe, a communiqué said tonight.

The most comprehensive Combined Operations Headquarters announcement yet issued said 91 Nazi planes were definitely destroyed and about twice that number:

…have probably been destroyed or damaged.

The raid was described as “a successful demonstration of coordination of all three services” in which two Nazi shore batteries and a radio location station were destroyed, two small Nazi vessels sunk, a number of prisoners captured, and “heavy casualties” inflicted on the enemy.

The communiqué disclosed that the entire military force in the raid was commanded by Maj. Gen. J. H. Roberts, a Canadian divisional commander. It listed his troops as follows:

The military forces were drawn from the following units of the Canadian Army: the Royal Regiment of Canada, Royal Hamilton Light Infantry, Essex Scottish Regiment, Camerons of Canada, Fusiliers Mont Royal, South Saskatchewan Regiment, 14th Canadian Army Tank Battalion.

In addition, the following special service brigade troops took part, Numbers 3 and 4 Commando, Royal Marine “A” Commando, a detachment from the United States Ranger Battalion, and a small contingent from the Inter-Allied Commando (No. 10).

In addition to the Canadian units named, it was disclosed tonight that a detachment of Toronto Scottish Machine Gunners manned Vickers guns set up for anti-aircraft duty on boats and on principal beaches.

Black Watch there

Also, there was a detachment of the Black Watch (Royal 42nd Highlanders) from Montreal, which operated with the Royal Regiment of Toronto in the landing at Puits.

Officers and non-commissioned officers of the Royal Canadian Artillery were with the assault troops to coordinate the naval bombardment with Army operations shore.

Allied plane losses were announced as 98, but the pilots of 30 of these were saved. The assault troops suffered severe casualties. The strength of the attacking force was not given.

The communiqué announced the loss of “a fairly large number of landing craft,” and the 904-ton destroyer Berkeley:

…which was so seriously damaged that she had to be sunk by our own forces.

Most of the crew was saved.

Commenting on the strength of the German coastal defences, the communiqué said:

It became clear during the raid that the enemy had brought additional troops and guns to the Dieppe area quite recently.

The great aerial battle was not a British-planned affair, the communiqué said, but naturally developed during the operations.

31

Tanks of raid return to U.K.

Calgary regiment drives remnants through English town

An English east coast town (CP) – (Aug. 20)
Crews of the Calgary Tank Regiment, which led the way into Dieppe yesterday, drove the remnants of their battle-smashed tank formations through this town tonight as cheering, flag-waving crowds offered the Western soldiers food, beer and cigarettes.

This was the first news that any of the tanks taken to France were transported back to England. The Combined Operations communiqué last night said:

Tanks which had been landed and some of which succeeded in breaking into the town were ordered to be blown up and destroyed before our troops reembarked.

Mud-splashed but cheerful, some of the Canadian stopped off at the local pub.

Women came running from their homes with offerings of meat pies and other food for the heroes of Dieppe.

One Canadian said:

We can’t say much. It was great but it really was hot while it lasted. We gave the Germans something to think about.

One of the officers who led the Canadian tank assault was Maj. J. Bagg of Calgary.

32

Leaflets gave warning Dieppe was only raid

London, England (CP Cable) – (Aug. 20)
Canadian forces striking at Dieppe Wednesday carried leaflets and posters advising the French population to remain neutral, it was disclosed tonight.

Big posters and tissue paper leaflets which the raiders distributed once they got ashore said in bold black type:

Frenchmen! This is a surprise stroke, not an invasion. We strongly urge you to take no part and to do nothing that might invite reprisals by the enemy.

We appeal to your cool-headedness and good sense. When the hour strikes, we will notify you. And then will we act side by side four our common liberty and your liberty.

33

Brooklyn Eagle (August 21, 1942)

Quentin Reynolds describes Commando raid on Dieppe

By Quentin Reynolds, Colliers staff correspondent

London, England (UP) ­–
The whole operation against the Dieppe region was extremely hazardous.

Maj. Gen. James Roberts, from the Canadian Army, was in charge of the military force, and he insisted that the destroyer in which he was sailing should go first. I was on that destroyer.

An armada of ships followed us. Soon dark, ghostlike shapes of silent ships began to loom on either side and astern of us. Each craft knew just where it was going. It had all been worked out with meticulous precision by the staff of the Combined Operations Command.

Flotilla moves in

We had reached within six miles of Dieppe when bright golden flashes and blue and red bursts from tracer bullets splashed the sky. The radio detector used by the Germans had evidently picked up the engines of our torpedo boats and thought the RAF was overhead. For 20 minutes, the anti-aircraft barrage continued. Meanwhile, our flotilla worked closer inshore.

British Commandos had landed by now on the beach to our right. Their job was to silence a battery of large guns at dawn. A dull explosion and a red glow told us that they had done their usual effective job.

Now the invasion barges, looking like East River scows, closed in. There was no opposition at first. Our destroyer was close enough to see the white beaches. Then heavy guns, mortars and machine guns opened and we knew our boys were catching it.

Roberts directs attack

Roberts sat in his small room with three aides who wore earphones. Roberts was in touch by radio with his men ashore and the Fighter Command in England.

He called for a smokescreen to shield his troops on the west beach. Within a few minutes, Douglas Bostons swooped low and soon the beach was covered with a heavy white screen. The men landing on the middle of the three beaches were being strafed by Focke-Wulf 190s. Roberts barked an order to an aide who contacted the Fighter Command and within half a minute, we saw a group of Spitfires veer off and take care of the situation.

Doctors work miracles

It was evident that the opposition ashore was very great. The wounded began to be brought aboard. There were a lot of them.

Many had been forced to swim. Our two doctors soon had a waiting list. They worked miracles in their tiny sick bay. One doctor amputated a man’s leg in less than 10 minutes. He had to hurry. Other urgent cases awaited.

Our destroyer was hit twice by bombs, and the doctors swore softly as the concussion and the shaking of the ship reopened wounds.

By 10:30 in the morning, Roberts ordered the landing force to withdraw. The withdrawal was difficult and costly, but many troops managed to climb into small boats and get out into the bay. Three hours later, our fleet limped out of French waters.

Few remain unscathed

Our wounded lay on the decks, in the gangways, in every cabin, and in the wardroom. Few of the crew remained untouched, for we had been under constant fire and bombing now for nearly nine hours. The Luftwaffe pursued us, and the Spitfires took a dreadful toll. Very few moments we saw a Dornier or Focke-Wulf streak comet-like into the sea.

The organization and planning was perfect, aided by weeks of aerial reconnaissance. Lord Louis Mountbatten and his aides knew everything possible about Dieppe and its neighboring territory.

Except for one thing, the raid would have been 100% perfect. The Germans had strengthened their artillery defenses, and when the troops stepped on the beaches, they met a withering fire from six-inch guns, mortars and machine guns. Many fell, but others, disregarding the storm of lead and steel, charged. In many cases, the fighting was so close the faces of the dead we brought home were covered with powder burns.

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34

Flying Fortresses played vital role at Dieppe

Called greatest threat to Germans since 1,000-plane RAF raids

London, England (UP) –
United States Army Flying Fortress raids on German-occupied territory emerged today as a vitally important feature of the Allied raid on Dieppe and as a potent of new, early attacks on the French invasion coast.

Official reports assessing the final results of the Dieppe raid showed that it was far more than a grand-scale Commando attack. As part of it, the British Fleet fired hundreds of shells into key targets and planes, in addition to providing a protective umbrella, dropped 261,000 pounds of high explosive and fragmentation bombs to knock out enemy strongpoints and kill ground troops.

A detailed study of the Dieppe raid convinced many observers that the Commandos would have achieve a smashing victory instead of a moderate success if they had employed dive bombers and parachutists.

Allied quarters, assessing the role of the giant B-17 Boeing bombers in the “second-front rehearsal” attack on Dieppe, said they were the greatest threat to the Germans after the 1,000-plane raids of the Royal Air Force.

Heavy raid on Amiens

Fortresses, in a raid which was clearly a following of the Dieppe operation and a hint at other, bigger combined operations, made a devastating attack yesterday on the railroad center of Amiens.

In three straight days, while the Allied ground forces were preparing to attack Dieppe, while they were attacking and while they were returning to their depots, the Fortresses had shattered the railroad yards of three of the most important communications centers behind the French coast.

3 railyards blasted

First, they had attacked Rouen, then Abbeville and yesterday they attacked Amiens.

Reports to United States Army Air Forces and Royal Air Force headquarters left little doubt that the railroad yards at all three towns, the only ones from which the Dieppe area could be quickly reinforced by rail, had been knocked out.

In the entire three days of high-altitude precision bombing, not a single Fortress had been lost.

Royal Air Force, American Army, Canadian and Allied fighter squadrons, totaling more than 500 planes, made the greatest single sweep ever carried over the continent yesterday as the Fortress bombed Amiens. The sweep was carefully coordinated with the Fortress raid to cover an area of French invasion territory which the Allies may hit soon again in greater force.

Serve tea and cake

An authorized informant revealed that British Commandos captured the Dieppe racetrack and converted it into a temporary landing field. They advised planes by wireless that the field was ready and that tea and cakes were being served at a nearby church. One pilot did land on the racecourse, his plane damaged. He burned it and came home with the Commandos.

A definitive communiqué last night of the Combined Operations Headquarters said that the Dieppe raid was a successful demonstration of the coordination of the Navy, Army and Air Force.

The communiqué said the Germans had heavily reinforced the entire invasion coast with guns as well as men but that nevertheless the Allied troops landed at all beaches selected, destroyed two coastal gun batteries, a radio location station, inflicted heavy casualties on the Germans, sank two small vessels and brought back a number of prisoners.

It was admitted that the destroyer Berkeley (904 tons) and “a fairly large number” of invasion craft were lost. Berkeley was so seriously damaged its crew sank it. Most of the crew were saved.

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35

Völkischer Beobachter (August 22, 1942)

Beruhigungspillen für Moskau –
Churchill in Sorge um Stalins Wohlwollen

…und die Amerikaner sind enttäuscht

Stockholm, 21. August –
Angesichts des so schnell mißglückten Versuches, durch eine Landung an der französischen Küste bei Dieppe die von Moskau so dringend geforderte zweite Front zu errichten‚ ist man in London fortgesetzt bemüht, den schlechten Eindruck zu verwischen und ‘das Unieruehmen zu bagatellisieren. Nicht einmal die zuerst benützte Bezeichnung einer „Generalprobe“ will man, so melden die.Londoner Berichterstatter der schwedischen Zeitungen, noch dafür zulassen, da sie „allzu sehr auf eine zweite Front hindeute“, und so hat man sich jetzt darauf geeinigt, die mißglückte Landung als eine „Pro be mit dem Ziel, Offiziere und Mannschaiten unter realistischen Formen zu üben“, zu bezeichnen.

Gehorsam befolgt die englische Presse die Anweisung Churchills‚ diese neuerliche Niederlage zu vertuschen und dem bolschewistischen Bundesgenossen durch das. Scheitern der „ersten Zweite-Front-Invasion“ nicht den Mut zu nehmen. Als erste allein für Moskau gedachte Beruhigungspille stellt der luftmilitärische Mitarbeiter des Evening Standard Wider besseres Wissen und mit unverfrorener Phantasie fest, daß:

…mindestens ein Drittel aller in Frankreich liegenden Jagdflugzeuge abgeschossen wurde.

Die Yorkshire Post leugnet selbstverständlich gleichfalls, daß es sich bei dem Dieppe-Unternehmen um den Versuch‚ eine zweite Front zu errichten‚ gehandelt habe. Immerhin aber ist diese Zeitung in ihrem Kommentar schon wesentlich vorsichtiger und schreibt:

Unser Programm in Westeuropa zielt darauf hin, die zweite Front zu errichten. Wir haben vielleicht noch ein großes Stück Weges vor uns, bevor wir sie schaffen können. Doch wir sind gestartet und werden den Weg lortsetzen‚ bis das Ziel erreicht ist.

Die amerikanische Presse kann ihre Enttäuschung darüber, daß die so begeistert begrüßte „Invasion" so schnell scheiterte, nicht ganz verbergen. Die New York Times nennt sie „einen immerhin mit Tapferkeit pnd Präzision durchgeführten verwegenen Versuch“, und eine andere Neuyorker Zeitung tröstet ihre Leserschaft damit, daß „die Dieppe-Unternehmung sicherlich zu einem größeren strategischen Plan gehörte”. Trotz dieser Vertuschungsversuche aber spukt die von der Times aufgeworfene Frage:

Welchen Zweck hatte eigentlich die Operation‚ wenn es sich nicht um eine zweite Front gehandelt haben soll?

…auch heute noch in den Köpfen der englischen Bevölkerung. Angesichts der außerordentlich schweren Verluste an Menschen und Material wirken die offiziellen Versicherungen, daß sie nichts zu sagen hätten, weil man „wertvolle Erfahrungen“ gesammelt und sich für den Ernstfall geübt hätte‚ recht lahm, und der Gedanke‚ daß man bloß um einer „Probe“ willen so viele Menschenleben aufs Spiel setzte‚ hat sicher nichts Aufmunterndes für das englische Volk.

Daß es sich dabei aber tatsächlich keineswegs nur um eine „Probe“ gehandelt hat, geht aus den sich auf offizielle Quellen stützenden Berichten einiger schwedischer London-Berichterstatter hervor‚ die ausdrücklich betonen, daß der Diepper Landungsversuch mit aller Sorgfalt ausgearbeitet und vorbereitet wurde.

„Wochen und Monate hat es gedauert, bis alle Einzelheiten für das Unternehmen ausgearbeitet waren”, heißt es zum Beispiel in dem Bericht einer Gotenburger Zeitung.

Die Vorarbeiten umfaßten unter anderem auch Modellbau und die gemeinsame Ausbildung und Ubungen. Man wählte einen englischen Küstenabschnitt, der große Ähnlichkeit mit Dieppe hatte; niemand der Teilnehmer weiß heute noch, wie viele Male er den englischen Strand der Dieppe kopie gestürmt hat. Zu gleieher Zeit hatten die Jagdflieger Großübungen, zuerst allein, dann im Zusammenwirken mit anderen Waffenteilen und zum Schluß alle zusammen mit den vorgesehenen Truppen.

Man kann sich unschwer vorstellen, welch eine niederdrückende Wirkung es auf die englische Offentlichkeit ausüben muß‚ daß sich trotz dieser bis ins kleinste ausgearbeiteten monatelangen Vorbereitungen die kombinierten „alliierten“ Streitkräfte nicht länger als neun Stunden auf dem europäischen Festlande halten konnten. Es stimmt weite Kreise bedenklich‚ daß Churchill schon so weit unter Stalins Einfluß geraten ist‚ auf einen Wink von Moskau hin ein Unternehmen in Gang zu setzen, dessen militärische Sinnlosigkeit auch englischen Offizieren nicht verborgen war.

Wie in den Tagen von Dünkirchen

Die Madrider Zeitung ABC gibt folgenden Bericht von Teilnehmern an dem britischen Landungsabenteuer wieder:

Schon am Abend vor der Aktion‚ auf der Fahrt zu den Sammelplätzen‚ hatten wir schwere Kämpfe mit deutschen Kampfflugzeugen zu bestehen‚ die bei Sonnenuntergang unaufhörlich auf den Kanal kamen und die englische Küste unsicher machten. Wir sehnten die Dunkelheit herbei, um aus dem satanischen Feuer herauszukommen.

Ein anderer Teilnehmer berichtet:

In der Nacht nach der fehlgeschlagenen Landungsoperation waren die Eisenbahnen und Landstraßen‚ die zur Küste führen, fast verstopft durch die vielen im Sanitätsdienst stehenden Fahrzeuge, die Verwundete aus dem Hafen abholen und ins Innere des Landes transportieren sollten. Wie in den Tagen von Dünkirchen ergoß sich eine wahre Lawine von Verwundeten über die Städte Südenglands‚ Theater und Kinos wurden in aller Eile als Krankenhäuser eingerichtet.

38

The Gazette (August 22, 1942)

FIRST LIST OF CANADIAN CASUALTIES AT DIEPPE IS ISSUED
56 names released

Only NCOs, ranks contained in preliminary compilation

Officer losses heavy

Seven Quebec men named; five are members of Black Watch, all wounded

Ottawa (CP) – (Aug. 21)
Canada’s Roll of Honor, official name for the casualty list of the war, was swelled by the addition of 56 names tonight, the first section of a sizeable list of soldiers, killed, wounded and missing in the battle of Dieppe.

As usual, the Department released the names for publication only after it knew the next of kin of the men concerned had been officially notified by telegram or hand-delivered letter.

Of the 56 men named in the official list, 27 were reported killed, two dangerously wounded, 13 wounded, one wounded and missing, one missing and believed wounded, one missing and believed killed, and six missing.

Ottawa’s first Dieppe casualty list contained the names of seven men from the Quebec Regiment, listed as wounded. Five of these were known to have been with the Black Watch.

In the list were:

  • Lance Cpl. William Cook Farmer of Montreal
  • Pvt. John Allan Hare of Montreal
  • Pvt. James Hosie of Montreal
  • Pvt. Norman O’Hara of Montreal
  • Pvt. Adam Kane Pollock of St. Anne de Bellevue
  • Pvt. John Rattigan of Verdun
  • Pvt. Jean Paul Vezeau of Montreal.

The two listed men who are not definitely known to have been members of the Black Watch were Pvt. J. A. Hare and Pvt. A. K. Pollock.

From many towns and cities across the country, however, came word of other casualties not on tonight’s official list. Word of these was from the messages delivered to the homes of relatives of the men.

The names of tonight’s list were all those of private soldiers and non-commissioned officers. No commissioned officers were mentioned but the reports emanating from next of kin indicated the office ranks also suffered heavily. Several lieutenant colonels, commanding battalions, majors, captains and lieutenants have been reported by next of kin to have been lost.

Officers not listed

Army spokesmen said the officers’ names would appear in subsequent lists and that they knew of no specific reason why some did not appear tonight.

Another list about the same size as tonight’s is to be issued tomorrow at around 9 a.m. EDT.

Hamilton was the hometown of more men on the list than any other centre. Dispatches from overseas stated men from the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry took a prominent part in the fighting on the strongly defended coast of France.

…

39

Fusiliers take holy communion before leaving for Dieppe hell

Somewhere in England (CP Cable) – (Aug. 21)
Québec’s Commando sons, who took holy communion while receiving the final operation orders against Dieppe, stepped a few hours later into what their Padre called “l’Enfer – oui I’Enfer.”

There was perhaps nothing more expressive than his quiet “Hell – yes Hell” as he spoke the native tongue of Québec.

The French-Canadians, members of Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal, back from Western Europe’s greatest Allied raid, confirmed his quiet statement that they looked into hellfire from the moment their boots crunched onto Dieppe’s gray shore.

And they said its scorching breath – the murderous, endless Nazi fire – still fanned them when they left.

The bespectacled, battle-dressed priest, Capt. Armand Sabourin of Montréal, was one who placed the White Host on the tongue of every raiding member of Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal on the eve of Dieppe when they cheered the announcement that they were going into action.

Father Sabourin, under the mandate of his Church, absolved all the men during a brief ceremony which followed the French-Canadian commander’s announcement of the raid objectives. The soldier-priest then stood before his boys and casually advised them to remember in their light-heartedness the dangers to their lives contained in their first action.

His words checked their cheers for a moment and it was then that he pronounced absolution.

In sections, the French-Canadians then gathered about their officers and were briefed in the parts individual groups were to play in the operation. While they were thus lectured the priest visited one section after another and one by one gave the holy bread to each man.

Then they boarded the boats and set out for France. The chaplain went with them, saw them through Dieppe’s fire and returned with those who came back.

In their camp today, I watched the padre move among his French-Canadian charges.

Sometimes he joked about their introduction to the Nazi version of modern war. They bantered back, but the stories they told of the raid bore a blunt trademark that was also reflected in their eyes.

But their heroic accounts were crisp new pages for the history of brave Canadian fighting men.

They were simply-told stories of selfless sacrifice that defied embellishment.

They concerned the deeds of men who accepted the worst the Germans could hurl at them and strode undeterred to heroism.

…

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40

NAZIS ALL SET TO MEET RAID, SURVIVORS SAY
Surprise not achieved, wounded Canadians report

Plan foiled by chance

Enemy convoy encountered approaching Dieppe – tales of heroism revealed

At a Canadian Army hospital somewhere in England (CP Cable) – (Aug. 21)
The fortunes of war turned against the Canadians in the early hours of Wednesday morning and sent them into an inferno of bullets from the German defenders of Dieppe instead of against an enemy taken by surprise.

This was the impression of a score of wounded Canadians at this hospital where there are more than 100 less-seriously wounded soldiers, brought here for rest and care after their furious attack on the French port.

“They were waiting for us,” was the comment prefacing account after account of the deadly artillery and machine-gun fire which swept across the landing craft even before the soldiers had time to disembark.

One unconfirmed report said a German prisoner had told his captors the Nazis had been waiting for days for the attack, bot most of the Canadians were inclined to discount this claim.

A chance clash with a German convoy as the invasion fleet approached the French coast was accepted generally by the Canadians as reason why the assault did not take the Nazis by surprise.

Lt. Jack Halliday of Hamilton, Ontario, said:

Certainly, there are a lot more people over there than were expected, but even at that I think we gave them something.

Lance Cpl. Ronald Hancox of Winnipeg, a Lorne Scot who was with a headquarters defence platoon, said:

The Germans threw everything they had at us.

First-aid men praised

Wounded in one shoulder, Hancox was most impressed by the bravery of a first-aid man who “worked like a demon” despite ceaseless fire from the German defences.

Hancox said:

He was the best man we had there and a lot of the boys can thank him they are still alive.

Lt. W. R. Scott of Galt, Ontario, member of a reconnaissance battalion and on the Raid as a liaison officer, spoke little about his part in the assault but paid high tribute to the Navy.

He said:

I always had a healthy respect for their men, but I have never seen anything more magnificent than the way they acted at Dieppe.

A big, blond, handsome officer, Scott was wounded by a shell splinter which pierced his haversack and his back. He salvaged part of his damaged kit as a souvenir.

One story of the Navy’s heroism was told by a Sergeant Suchard on the headquarters staff who twice went ashore in tank-landing craft.

The sergeant, whose story was passed on by other Canadians, said the captain of a landing craft was “blown off” the bridge and that a colonel aboard took his place.

Then the bridge was blown away and the colonel with it.

…

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41

Dieppe general lauds men’s gallant conduct

Somewhere in England (CP Cable) – (Aug. 21)
Maj. Gen. J. H. Roberts, the Kingston, Ontario, officer who commanded the landing forces in the Wednesday Dieppe raid, talked to those of his men who came back today and praised them for the:

…marvellous leadership shown throughout the engagement and the most gallant conduct of all ranks.

One of Canada’s top fighting leaders, the general said these qualities and the determination shown by the troops to come to grips with the enemy at no matter what coast were the great things which emerged from this battle.

It was typical of “Ham” Roberts to call on his men like this, lift the spirits of the battle-worn troops with friendly talk and tell them personally that they are getting 48 hours leave.

He said:

Now we are going to remake these battalions at once, and the remade battalions are going to be worthy of the men we lost.

These are no Canadians anywhere who would not be more than proud to become a member in any battalion in the force.

We have established a great tradition and we certainly don’t intend to let all those gallant fellows down by not reaching their very high standard of training and morale in the shortest possible time so that we’ll be ready to go back and more than get pout vengeance for the men we’ve lost.

42

Second front in France feasible, experts’ analysis of Dieppe raid

Berne, Switzerland (AP) – (Aug. 21)
The Allied landing raid at Dieppe demonstrated, foreign and military experts said here today, that a second front can be opened in France – granted sufficient superiority of land-based planes, adequate transport and the proper element of surprise.

Published neutral descriptions of the recently-completed Channel fortifications indicate, furthermore, that a full-scale invasion effort would cost heavily, but that the Allies would have a chance of advancing to the Meuse and Rhine of they outweighed the Germans in men and material.

Neutral observers raised the question whether, in view of the costly air battles over Dieppe Wednesday, Allied airpower has yet attained sufficient strength to give the necessary protection to full-scale landings.

The availability of transports for supplies from America to Britain and for supplies and troops to cross the Channel also appeared to be a major problem.

The socialist newspaper La Sentinelle noted that:

The psychosis of a second front has penetrated the spirit of the masses in Germany.

…and added that while propaganda is directed toward belittling its chances, the German High Command:

…is convinced that sooner or later, the problem will put itself in a direct manner.

With this in mind, the newspaper said:

The Germans have erected in haste bases of defence all along the coasts of occupied regions.

Neutral newspapermen had a glimpse of these defences in a recent tour of the fortification zone.

Along the coast of France, Belgium and Holland, according to a correspondent of La Sentinelle who visited the zone:

…even in places most exposed, the German disposition of defences extends barely more than five to six kilometres (three to four miles) in depth.

He wrote that in many places protected by the nature of the terrain no artificial defence system has been established.

…

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43

U.S. Commandos at Dieppe admit raid looked a ‘suicide mission’

London, England (AP) – (Aug. 21)
The Commando raid on Dieppe “looked like a suicide mission” to four American Rangers, attached to Lord Lovat’s command, but, as Cpl. William R. Brady of Grand Forks, North Dakota, put it today:

Damned if we didn’t make it.

The suicide idea occurred to Brady and his companions when they were ordered to storm a 75-foot cliff, north of Dieppe. The others are:

  • Staff Sgt. Kenneth Stemson of Russell, Minnesota
  • Sgt. Alex J. Szima of Dayton, Ohio
  • Cpl. Franklin M. Koons of Swea City, Iowa.

The four said they believed they were the first United States troops to fight on French soil in this war. They believed they were ahead of other Rangers in the raid before they were assigned to a unit which was ordered to go forward and knock out a six-gun battery (apparently anti-aircraft).

They came back from the death-ridden gunports around Dieppe with undoubted admiration for British fighting qualities, and they praised the Canadians as “one hell of a fine bunch.”

Brady was in the first group to land on the beach. They scaled a cliff to knock out two German pillboxes.

He said:

It looked like a suicide mission but damned if we didn’t make it.

He continued:

I was the last man over and found the first pillbox empty.

Machine-gun bullets were spraying the ground from Nazi .50-calibre guns in another pillbox. The party halted beside the first pillbox and, as Brady said:

What the hell! We thought we’d do get the other one.

They started for it, but then paused while Bill Phinney, a British Commando, thoughtfully climbed a telegraph pole through a hail of bullets and cut the wires.

As they neared the pillbox two Spitfires came to their aid. The British planes swooped low and “neutralized” the pillbox with machine-gun bullets.

All this time, the group was under fire from German snipers.

Brady said:

We let them go ahead – we didn’t lose a man.

They moved forward then to a crossroads where they encountered a German patrol of 10 men. The group opened fire, the Americans with Garand rifles, and got five.

The others, Brady said:

…got the hell out of there.

One of the Americans said:

I believe I was scared when we had to cross a field 200 yards wide under fire.

But the British were so damned calm about it that it seemed like a manoeuvre. You can depend on them.

Stemson was in the same party which was roughly handled by the Germans.

Four of the British were killed and three wounded.

None of the Americans attached to Lord Lovat’s unit were killed and American casualties in the entire raid were light.

Koons praised the “wonderful job” done by the RAF, to cover his party’s landing. Under this cover, they reached a ravine used by bathers in happier times to get down the cliffside. There they found barbed wire with a sign in German and English reading:

Attention – Mines.

Koons said:

We figured this was a bluff, so we said “to hell with it” and went right through after blowing up some wire with a Bangalore torpedo.

The party moved about 600 yards through good cover to an orchard.

Szima said there was an anti-aircraft gun there and “we were about to fire on it.”

He said:

Any minute I thought I’d see a German helmet followed by a handful of grenades.

They found a dead German in the orchard with his chest blown away and then got ready to wipe out a German gun crew.

Szima said:

I saw them getting ready to fire at the Spitfires. I got my rifle ready when a British officer said we’d do it the quick way. So, he calls up some Bren gunners and they chopped down the gun crew.

They started firing back. My hat fell off. I bent over to pick it up and found a bullet hole in it. Then I got a bullet over my shoulder. Another hit the concrete. That guy had me picked as his meat.

Two Germans in a nearby house attacked the party.

Jim Haggerty, a British Commando, whom Szima called “the toughest guy I ever saw,” blew the German out of the window with a grenade.

All the Americans agreed that the Germans were “plenty tough” and had wonderful field craft.

The boys couldn’t say enough in praise of the British troops. They told how Sgt. Maj. Charlie Williams, with a hole blown in his back, had directed the company’s fire and how another non-commissioned officer lay with a bullet in his stomach, firing until he died.

Koons said:

You know what covering fire is. You stand there and hope to God you’ll see a German but you don’t.

At every clearing we got bullets until we reached the cliff. When we got there, we had two breaks. We heard a tremendous explosion as Lovat’s guys blew up some six-inch guns and down in the beach we saw the boats ready to take off.

Brother, they looked awfully sweet.

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44

Our own lads were there

When commando units of Canada’s overseas Army had their baptism of fire at Dieppe two famous Montreal regiments were represented, Les Fusiliers de Mont-Royal and the Black Watch (Royal 42nd Highlanders). The former acted as “floating reserves” for the raiding forces, the Black Watch detachment operating with the Royal Regiment of Toronto in the landing at Puits. It is not necessary to state that the men of both these forces carried themselves well, that they fought with courage and distinction and added new lustre to their nation’s name.

Both regiments are old and seasoned. Each has a long and splendid history, a magnificent battle tradition, and as one generation follows another under the colors of the Black Watch and Les Fusiliers de Mont-Royal they catch the spirit of the men who have gone before and are imbued with it. History has been written by both these military units, and they are writing it still. In Wednesday’s raid, the French Canadians, placed in what has been described as a “hell spot,” acquitted themselves with conspicuous gallantry and skill. Montreal is justly proud of these splendid soldiers and of their achievement. They have set a memorable example, one that must inevitably make its appeal to all brave hearts.

The casualty lists are beginning to come. Canada was warned that they would be heavy. Deep grief, the sense of abiding loss, is being brought into many Canadian homes. It was so in the last war and is so in all wars. Bit with this grief there is a pride which comforts and supports, a pride in the knowledge that these husbands, fathers, sons and brothers have given to their country the “last great measure of devotion,” that there can be no greater sacrifice, no finer passing.

45

Father wants to join son who saw Dieppe

Winnipeg, Alberta (CP) – (Aug. 21)
J. J. Horton, 48, Great War veteran and father of a member of the Queen’s Own Highlanders who took part in the commando raid on Dieppe, applied today for enlistment in the Army “to be right behind” his son. He has received no word from his son, Victor, since the raid.

46

Völkischer Beobachter (August 23, 1942)

Britische Darstellung des Unternehmens bei Dieppe –
Fünf Landungsversuche – fünf Niederlagen

Von unserer Stockholmer Schriftleitung

Stockholm, 22. August –
Nach und nach gehen die englischen Stellen die genauen Einzelheiten über ihr gescheitertes Invasionsunternehmen bei Dieppe bekannt. Im ganzen wurden fünf verschiedene Landungen vorgenommen, von denen eine von vornherein vollständig mlßglückte und-die anderen vier zu keinem anderen Ergebnis führten, als daß sich die an Land gebrachten Truppen nur einige Stunden hindurch halten konnten, ehe sie nach starken Verlusten an Menschen und Material ihr Heil in der Flucht suchen mußten.

Die erste Kommandoabteilung, bestehend aus kanadischen Truppen, hatte den Auftrag, eine Batterie bei Berneval, siehen Kilometer nordöstlich von Dieppe, zu nehmen. 20 Minuten vor der Landung wurde jedoch die herankommende Barkasse von einem deutschen Patrouillenfahrzeug entdeckt und sofort von einer Anzahl von Flakfahrzeugen und Schnellbooten angegriffen. Als die Soldaten trotzdem noch versuchten‚ an Land zu kommen, standen sie einer undurchdringlichen „Feuerkulisse“ gegenüber. „Die VerIuste waren groß“, heißt es in einer schwedischen Wiedergabe der offiziellen englischen Verlautbarung,

…und die Tatsache, daß.die Batterie nicht genommen werden konnte, war ein großer Strich durch die Rechnung. Die Batterie spielte nämlich noch eine bedeutende Rolle bei den späteren Kämpfen und erschwerte das Unternehmen.

Auch das Royal Regiment of Canada, das zwischen Dieppe und Berneval bei Le Puits landen sollte, wurde von dem Feuer der deutschen Küstenwacht überrumpelt. Der erste Landungsversuch wurde mit sehr großen Verlusten für die Angreifer zurückgeschIagen und die nächsten Angriffe wurden von dem gesammelten Feuer aller in diesem Abschnitt vorhandenen Waffen empfangen.

Das South Saskatchewan Regiment unternahm die dritte Landung in Porville zwischen Varangeville und Dieppe. Eine andere Gruppe unter dem persönlichen Befehl von Lord Lovat, eines Kommandounterfiihrers von Lord Mountbatten, hatte den Auftrag, bei Varangeville an Land zu gehen und zu versuchen, eine Batteriestellung in der Nähe zu nehmen. Ungefähr zur gleichen Zeit‚ da die Panzerwagen an Land rollten, unternahmen Verbände, bestehend aus dem Royal Hamilton Light Infantry Regiment aus Ontario und dem gleichfalls aus Ontario kommenden Canadian-Essex-Scotch-Regimenteinen Vorstoß gegen die zentralen Küstenverteidigungsstellungen. Durch die Bernevaler Geschütze aber‚ die ununterbrochen in Tätigkeit waren, wurden sie daran gehindert. Abteilungen der Royal Canadian Engencers wurden gleiehfalls gelandet, um den Panzerwageneinheiten den Weg zu bereiten.

Aus dieser Darstellung geht klar hervor, daß die frühere englische Behauptung kanadische Truppen hätten nur ein Drittel der gesamten Landungsstreitkräfte ausgemacht, kaum stimmen kann. Außer der unter dem Befehl Lord Lovats stehenden englischen Abteilung waren, diesem Bericht zufolge, ausschließlich kanadische Regimenter an den Operationen beteiligt. England hat also auch diesmal wieder seine übliche Taktik angewandt, bei allen schwierigen und Verluste versprechenden Unternehmungen die Truppen der Insel zurückzuhalten und die Dominionsoldaten vorauszuschicken.

47

Dieppe gilt nicht als Ratenzahlung –
Moskau fordert jetzt erst recht die zweite Front

Das Weltinteresse unvermindert bei der Ostfront

vb. Wien, 22. August –
Nach dem schnellen militärischen Ende seiner Invasion auf dem europäischen Kontinent hatte Churchill sich der Hoffnung hlngegeben, das verlustreiche Abenteuer wenigstens in politische Münze umsetzen zu können, das Interesse der Welt von der ungünstigen Lage seiner bolschewistischen Bundesgenossen abzulenken und in Moskau sowohl mit der Kraftanstrengung Großbritanniens wie mit ihrem Echo günstigen Eindruck zu machen. Auch darin ist der englische Ministerpräsident sehr enttäuscht worden. Man ist allgemein über die kurzlebige zweite Front bei Dieppe schon zur Tagesordnung zurückgekehrt, die nach wie vor vom günstigen Ablauf der deutschen Operationen an der Ostfront beherrscht wird, und Moskau zeigt sich infolgedessen so ungnädig, von dem Einsatz der Briten am Kanal kaum Notiz zu nehmen, statt dessen jedoch mlt vermehrter Lautstärke die zweite Front in wirksamerer Form zu fordern.

Die britische Offentlichkeit darf, wenn das allgemeine Interesse an Churchills dilettantischer Strategie so schnell nachläßt, selbstverständlich das Thema Dieppe noch nicht ruhen lassen‚ und die Londoner Zeitungen sind darum eifrig bemüht, die blutige Abfuhr ihrer Invasionstruppen mit erfundenen Erfolgen am Rande der schnellen und harten Auseinandersetzung zu verkleiden. Sie sind dabei mit typisch britischer Unverschämtheit nicht bescheiden und tun so, als hätten sie in dem pausenlosen Feuer der deutschen Küstenbatterien, in dem blitzschnellen Zugriff der deutschen Luftwaffe und in der Standfestigkeit der deutschen Infanterie Veranlassung zu langatmigen militärischen Überlegungen gehabt, die auf künftige Möglichkeiten englischer Angriffe abzielen. Da ihrer ganzen blassen Theorie aber die einfache Tatsache gegenübersteht, daß ihr großer Angriffsapparat in unglaublich kurzer Zeit restlos zusammengeschlagen war, verfangen die zahllosen „Wenn“ und „Aber" selbst bei jenen Ausländern schon nicht, die von der englischen Insel her als wohlwollend neutral angesehen werden.

Auch bei den Bundesgenossen hat Churchill die Resonanz auf seine verlustreiche Anstrengung schnell verloren. Die Amerikaner haben den Kopf voller Sorgen um den pazifischen Raum, vorzugsweise um die Salomoninseln, und die Bolschewisten zeigen wieder einmal mehr Wirklichkeitssinn als ihre britischen Freunde, indem sie den Blick nach wie vor von ihrer bedrohlichen Lage an der Südfront nicht abwenden. Man denkt in Moskau nicht daran‚ die lnvasion bei Dieppe als ausreichenden Beitrag zur gemeinsamen Kriegführung zu betrachten und fordert im Gegenteil mit zunehmender Schärfe eine wirksame Entlastung. Für das wortreiche englische Kommuniqué hat der Moskauer Rundfunk kaum Zeit gehabt, doch verbreitet er in zunehmender Zahl Meldungen des lnhalts, daß unter dem Druck der Massen in England und in den USA. die Sterilität der Regierungen der Aktivität der Straße nachgebe’n müsse. Diese Moskauer Nachrichtenpolitik arbeitet natürlich nach zwei Seiten insoweit, als den Briten damit die mangelnde Anerkennung ihrer Anstrengungen durch Stalin bescheinigt, den Sowjetrussen aber gleichzeitig auch das nachhaltige Fiasko der britischen Bundesgenossen verschwiegen wird, mit deren Hilfsversprechen man die Völker der Sowjetunion bisher über die eigenen Niederlagen hinweggetröstet hat. Diesem Druck auf England und der Täuschung der Sowjetbürger dient etwa eine in den Vereinigten Staaten schon aufgegriffene Meldung aus Moskau, daß die Errichtung einer zweiten Front in Europa zu einem viel früheren Zeitpunkt beginnen würde, als man es in Deutschland ahne – daß inzwischen das erste Aufgebot der britischen anasion bei Dieppe folgenschwer zusammengebrochen ist, übersieht Moskau geflissentlich.

Gegen die schwammigen Diskussionen der feindlichen Agitation steht die nüchterne Sprache des Wehrmachtberichts, in dem nicht Möglichkeiten erörtert und Betrachtungen angestellt, sondern Tatsachen mitgeteilt Werden. Wieder sind beim weiteren Vorriicken an der Südfront zwei Orte von unseren Truppen mit stürmender Hand genommen worden. Auch jenseits der deutschen Grenzen ist man von der entscheidungsschwangeren Wichtigkeit unserer Operationen auf dem Südflügel der Ostfront überzeugt und legt eine gewisse sprachliche Zurückhaltung der deutschen Berichte, wie etwa die Neue Zürcher Zeitung schreibt, nicht in dem Sinne aus, als ob die Intensität der Kampfhandlungen nachgelassen habe, sondern daß sich hinter dem Schleier der deutschen Schweigetaktik neue strategische Entscheidungen anbahnen.

Ein Blick auf die OKW.-Meldungen bestätigt, daß die Kampftätigkeit im Osten in Abwehr und Angriff unvermindert anhält und daß die Sowjetarmeen mit ihrem Druck auf die deutschen Stellungen am Ilmensee, am Wolchow und bei Rschew verlustreich erfolglos bleiben, während der deutsche Vorstoß im Süden unablässig weiter Raum gewinnt. Selbst englische Stimmen müssen den Schwerpunkt der kriegerischen Auseinandersetzung im Osten feststellen. Der militärische Korrespondent der Zeitung Evening Standard zum Beispiel berichtet, daß die Russen nach eigenem Eingeständnis seit dem 15. Mai 2000 Panzer, 3000 Geschütze und 2000 Flugzeuge verloren haben. Die Zahlen bleiben hinter den wirklichen Verlusten der Sowjets zwar zurück, beeinflussen den Engländer aber doch zu der betrübten Bemerkung:

Das sieht nicht so aus, als ob die Russen den Deutschen überlegen wären.

Um die bolschewiotiuhen Mahnungen nach einem effektiven englischen Einsatz zu kontern, werden der Times Sätze gestattet, die sich der deutschen Auffassung ziemlich nähern. Während Stalin Herrn Churchill an seine feierlich übernommenen Verpflichtuugen erinnert, macht das Londoner Blatt umgekehrt den Moskauern klar, was man an der Themse von ihnen erwartet. Es schreibt:

Was sich auch irgendwo anders abspielt oder abspielen wird, es läßt sich nicht leugnen, daß der Hauptkriegsschauplatz Rußland ist und zweifellos noch in Zukunft eine Zeitlang bleiben wird.

Die Lage auf diesem Kriegsschauplatz wird in der Times mit dem Satz charakterisiert:

Engländer und Amerikaner können nicht damit rechnen, daß der Widerstand der Sowjets ohne zunehmende Unterstützung unendlich andauert. Denken wir daran, daß Rußland die wichtigste Front ist.

So will sich Churchill für seine Niederlage bei Dieppe entschuldigen lassen, so will Moskau den kostspieligen Start zur Invasion des Kontinents gerne übersehen. Die Situation zwischen den beiden Bundesgenossen hat sich also in nichts geändert, und man darf als lachender Dritter bei diesem Widerstreit beider Meinungen über den Kriegsverlauf wohl fragen, was für ein Ergebnis Churchills sensationell gemachte Reise nach Moskau eigentlich gezeigt hat?

48

Brooklyn Eagle (August 23, 1942)

Allied fliers blast Germans in Dieppe ruins

U.S. fighters roar across – ‘ruthless’ raids predicted

London, England (UP) – (Aug. 22)
Daylight bombings of Berlin by American Flying Fortresses “in the near future” was predicted in responsible quarters today as Allied fighter planes returned to Dieppe and attacked German crews repairing the wreckage of Wednesday’s Commando raid.

British Air Minister Sir Archibald Sinclair, describing the rapid increase in American air strength based in the British Isles, stated in a speech tonight that American airmen will soon be joining “ruthless” 1,000-plane raids on the heart of Germany.

While the Allied fighter pilots – British, Canadians, Poles and others – struck in a sudden attack at battered Dieppe, American fighters went into action over Northern France, roaring across the English Channel at house-top level.

German troops strafed

Targets in occupied Belgium were also attacked in the daylight sweeps of the Spitfire pilots, as were four factories in Northern France, airdromes, railroad yards and columns of marching German troops.

Four Canadian pilots, sweeping down on Dieppe at less than 1,000 feet, shot up a gun position on the eastern side of the coastal city where their comrades of the Canadian Commandos played such a leading role in Wednesday’s nine-hour attack. Wireless masts were also attacked.

Pilots who flew over the gun positions said they:

…looked to be well burned out.

Gun positions not manned

The Air Ministry said some of the gun positions were not manned ands that a single anti-aircraft gun post, which put up virtually the only opposition, was silenced.

Into the promised 1,000-plane thrusts at the heart of Germany will be thrown fast new, secret fighters, informed observers predicted, including 500-mile-an-hour Tornadoes and Typhoons which have not yet gone into action against the Luftwaffe.

Air circles believed it was possible Germany might be suffering a plane shortage, in view of the delayed appearance of Nazi fighter planes during the Wednesday Dieppe raid ands reports from Moscow that a shortage of enemy planes had resulted in a considerable reduction of raids against the rear of Soviet lines.

Moscow reported that the Germans were unable to bring up aerial reserves when large numbers of planes were required to support ground operations.

49

Völkischer Beobachter (August 24, 1942)

Bumerangspiel zwischen Bolschewisten und Plutokraten –
Moskau über die deutsche Stärke im Westen bestürzt

London fragt: Wann hören die bolschewistischen Rückzüge auf?

Stockholm, 23. August –
Wie es nach den Moskauer Verhandlungen Churchills mit Stalin nicht anders zu erwarten war, nahm die Bevölkerung der Sowjetunion trotz gegenteiliger Bemühungen amtlicher Stellen den britischen Landungsversuch bei Dieppe für die in Moskau von Stalin erzwungene Errichtung der zweiten Front. Das geht aus einem Bericht des Moskauer Berichterstatters der Sunday Times, Alexander Werth, hervor, in dem es heißt, daß die Bolschewisten dem Unternehmen „leider mehr“ Bedeutung beimaßen, als man ihm jetzt in London zugestehen will, und daß sie sich‚ als sie die kurze Mitteilung darüber, die klein und unauffällig auf der letzten Seite der Moskauer Zeitungen untergebracht war, lasen, schließlich damit trösten mußten,

…daß wenigstens irgend etwas im Westen im Gange sei.

Im übrigen sei man in Moskau über die deutsche Stärke im Westen äußerst überrascht gewesen und die Berichte über die schweren Verluste bei diesem Angriff bei Dieppe hätten Erstaunen erweckt, da man angesichts der kraitvollen deutschen Operationen im Osten der Uberzeugung gewesen sei, daß die Deutschen den Westen von Truppen hätten entblößen müssen.

In seinem Bericht geht Alexander Werth auch auf die großen Kampfwagenverluste der Bolschewisten ein. „Die Sowjetrussen haben in den letzten drei Monaten mehr Kampfwagen verloren“, meint er darin, „als die Alliierten der Sowjetunion liefern können.“ Auch der Moskauer Korrespondent von Reuter sieht sich zu besorgten Feststellungen veranlaßt. Anscheinend will er die englische Offentlichkeit darauf vorbereiten, daß die Sowjetunion doch nicht der standhafte Bundem die Alliierten die Hauptlast des Krieges aufbürden können‚ bis sie sich selbst in der Lage sehen, ohne allzu großes Risiko für sich selbst eingreifen zu können. Denn in seinem Bericht führt er an, daß die Regierung der Sowjetunion schon jetzt gezwungen sei, einen sehr schweren Winter anzukündigen. „Die wirtschaftlichen und territorialen Verluste, die das Land erlitten hat“, schreibt er‚

…müssen unausweichliche Prüfungen mit sich führen, die viel härter sein werden als im vergangenen Winter.

Auch die Londoner Presse beschäftigt sich jetzt wieder mit der immer schwieriger werdenden Lage in der Sowjetunion. Der Londoner Berichterstatter der schwedischen Zeitung Dagens Nyheter meint, daß man sich allgemein frage, wann die Sowjets endlich ihre „Rückzugstaktik“ beendigen werden. Stalins Tagesbefehl, sich nunmehr nicht mehr weiter zurückzuziehen, deute zwar auf eine Änderung der bisherigen bolschewistischen „Strategie“ hin, doch sei man in London sehr darüber beunruhigt, daß man so gar nichts Genaues über die sowjetrussischen Reserven an Soldaten, Material und Transportmittel wisse. Es läge nach der Meinung englischer Sachverständiger eine große Gefahr darin, daß die Sowjetrussen mehr und mehr bis an die äußersten Grenzen des europäischen Transportsystems gedrängt wurden und die Wolga ihnen als einziger bisher noch intakter Verkehrsweg übrigbleiben werde.