Operation Jubilee : Dieppe, 1942 : The Folly and The Sacrifice

Quick overview On the warm night of 18 August 1942, a flotilla pushed out into the flat water of the Channel. They were to seize the German-held port of Dieppe, destroy key installations, seize intelligence material and then sail for home. This was the greatest amphibious operation since Gallipoli, with the biggest accumulation of fighter power ever assembled. But by 9am on the day of attack, one of its architects already feared that the operation would "go down as one of the great failures in history". Confidence turned to carnage, with nearly two thirds of the attackers dead, wounded or captured.