By Will Fowler. Collins­-2003. £17. Hardback. ISBN 0-00-711125-8 Operation Jubilee, Dieppe 1942 was called a 'reconnaissance in force', rather than a raid, by Mountbatten. The cost to Canada was immense. From just under 5,000 men of the 2nd Canadian Division 3,379 were lost, along with all its 28 Churchill tanks, with 106 RAF planes (compared to only 48 Luftwaffe lost from an incredible 960 committed to the skies over the battle) as well as 33 landing craft and a destroyer, HMS Berkeley. German losses in the battle were remarkable low 591 in total. Fowler's book is a detailed, accurate portrayal of the only successful aspect of the Dieppe attack –No 4 Commando's assault on Batterie 813 'Hess' at Varengeville-sur-Mer, on the right flank of the landing. It was the idea of Lord Lovat, and led by him. This book details preparations for the raid, the route followed from beach to battery, and goes on to provide a good account of what turned out to be a daring, well led attack pressed home, but not without an element of luck. Purely an infantry battle with no armour or AFV's involved at all, the account is supported by detailed maps and a plan of the Battery, which was armed with 6 x 155mm captured French guns, flak and mg's and Fowler records the action of Lovat's 4 Troops (each 66 men strong) and the German responses. The guns of Batterie Hess positioned within a strongly defended perimeter, had no permanent bomb-proof structures in August 1942, and were said to be vulnerable in some German reports written before 'Jubilee'. The book is written with a less informed readership in mind than the average WWII wargamer, and each chapter ends with full descriptive notes on everything from the 'Batterie Hess' heavy guns, to the flak weapons and the MG34; even-the-German mine types encountered. I found 'The Commandos at Dieppe' valuable and superbly written by an author with several sound WWII volumes under his belt. Highly recommended, and after reading it I feel ready to get out my 'Raventhorpe' 25mm Commandos again. [This operation goes a long way to explaining the success the Canadians had on Juno Beach on 6 June 1944. Kenn] Back to Table of Contents -- Lone Warrior # 150 Back to Lone Warrior List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2005 by Solo Wargamers Association. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com