The ace up the sleeve of the Dieppe raiders would surely be the tanks of 14th Canadian Army Tank Regiment (The Calgary Regiment). However, as Mark W. Tonner, CD (retd.) explains, the tankers were unable to breach the defences.
THE CALGARY REGIMENT
On 10 August, 1942, The Calgary Regiment received orders to take part in a Combined Operations demonstration, which led the Regiment to immediately start waterproofing their Churchill tanks. Three days later, the Regiment received instructions from HQ, 2nd Canadian Division, for three exercises codenamed Ford I, Ford II, and Ford III, which were to last for a month from 15 August. What the regiment didn’t know, was that Ford I was the movement of units involved in Operation Jubilee to ports of embarkation.
Operation Jubilee saw the Calgary Regiment land on the main beach in support of the infantry of 2nd Canadian Division, and extracts from The Calgary Regiment’s war diary build a fascinating narrative. Since few troopers returned from the beaches, it was largely based on plans, radio logs, and observations made by those who didn’t get ashore:-
“The general tank plan was that all tanks would land on the main beach at Dieppe in successi…
