Europe 1941

Once Hitler had conquered all that territory he needed to figure out a way to protect it: The Atlantic Wall: a system of defenses built by Germany along the west coast of Europe to protect against attack from Britain.

What type of defenses were built? Underwater obstacles to prevent boats from getting to the beaches.

A system of mines in the water and on the land near the coast.

Concrete bunkers containing machine guns to mow down anyone who made it onto the beach.

Giant guns that could fire shells into the English channel

Tall cliffs and bluffs that were difficult to scale and gave the Germans the advantage of being on high ground

Despite these defenses, the Allies wanted to attempt an attack. REASONS FOR AN ATTACK: Soldiers had been waiting in Britain for 3 yrs waiting for an attack Raise morale in Allied countries after 3 yrs of defeat Take pressure of the USSR who was being attacked by Germany in Eastern Europe

The Allied Plan: Decide to attack the French town of Dieppe in 1942 5000 Canadian soldiers sent to attack town and return to England Key to success was the element of surprise but Germans spotted ships at night, and some ships got lost & arrived late

The Result: When Canadians arrived Germans were ready and waiting Many boats were blown up before they got to the beach In the end, 900 men were killed and 2000 were taken prisoner Only a few ever reached the town

The Battle of Dieppe: Was it successful? NO: Hundreds of lives were lost (mostly Canadian) in an attack some believed never could succeed YES: Lessons learned could be applied to future attack; tested the German defenses to help prepare for a larger invasion