DIEPPE RAID

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23756, 30 September 1942, Page 3

DIEPPE RAID

“An Invasion In Rehearsal”

PART TAKEN BY CANADIANS (N.Z. Press Association—Copyright.) (Rec. 6 p.m.) MONTREAL, Sept. 28. Mr Wallace Reyburn. correspondent of the “Montreal Standard” during the Dieppe raid, when speaking at a luncheon at the Canadian Club, answered questions which are frequently raised about Dieppe. He said the reason for the raid was to provide a prelude to a second front. Dieppe was chosen because its proximity to English air bases made a protective aerial umbrella possible. Asked whether it was a commando raid, Mr Reyburn replied: “No, it was an invasion in rehearsal, with heavily armed infantry and tanks.” Asked if anything hampered the success of the operations, he replied: “A chance encounter with German patrol boats gave warning to the enemy, causing heavier casualties than otherwise would have resulted.” Asked if the Germans were prepared or surprised, Mr Reyburn said: “The Eboat encounter prepared the Germans on the left flank, but the raiders on the right flank dug the Nazis out of bed with their bayonets. The security precautions were perfect.” Asked if the tank landings were successful, Mr Reyburn replied: “The sea wall caused the engineers great difficulty in getting the tanks ashore, but German propaganda pictures show that they penetrated a great distance.” Bombers were not used to soften up the coast beforehand because this would have eliminated the element of surprise. Asked if the Dieppe raid was worth the heavy casualties, he replied; “Certainly. It was realised beforehand that they would be heavy. The military knowledge gained will be invaluable, and necessary before a second front is launched.” The French population remained cool during the operation. A farmer continued bringing in hay. Another cycled along the street under shellfire. Asked about the Xng'ish part in the raid, Mr Reyburn replied that he was disgusted and shocked to hear statements that the Canadian troops had been used unnecessarily, and English troops had been saved. “Such statements must make Goebbels rub his hands with glee,” he said. “The Canadians insisted on forming the spearhead of this invasion rehearsal because, as General MacNaughton said, they wanted to.” Mr Reyburn recalled the work of the English commandos i.i carrying out the dangerous task of flanking the German artillery. The British Navy, too, was wonderful. The sailors coolly went about their duties with gaping wounds in their arms and bodies. They did not flinch. Asked whether the troops were discouraged by the action, he replied: “Assuredly not. A typical reaction was that of a soldier who said; ‘With our wonderful Navy and Air Force I am ready to go back to-morrow and blast hell out of them’.”