This archive is an extract from original World Wat Two War Diary of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, Royal Canadian Army, June 1944 Prelude - Doc Snafu Use of Paratroopers in 1940 The Pioneering Airborne Forces of World War II The year 1940 marked a significant phase in the evolution of airborne warfare. Although the concept of paratroopers had been explored in the 1930s, by 1940, only a handful of nations had developed organized airborne units capable of conducting combat operations. The primary armies that fielded paratroopers at this time were Germany, the Soviet Union, Italy, and, to a lesser extent, the United...

Document Source: Memorandum on the Capture and Subsequent Escape of D.61182, P.S.M. Lucien Adhemard Dumais (Fus. M. R.) Operation Jubilee, Dieppe, France, 1942 No Canadian Intelligence Officer was present at the detailed examination of PSM Dumais conducted by MI.9. The information included in this memorandum was obtained at an interview that took place on October 23, 1942, 2 days after PSM Dumais’ return to the United Kingdom. On August 19, 1942, at 0700, PSM Dumais landed from an R craft on the beach at a point 50 yards east of the Casino. This craft contained 20 men from N°3...

Document Source: Royal Canadian Army, Puits, Memorandum, Cpl Ellis (Royal Regiment of Canada). Memorandum of Interview: LCpl L.G. Ellis, DCM, (B-66984). Royal Regiment of Canada, at Canadian Military Headquarters, London, October 20, 1942. Operation Jubilee, Dieppe, France, August 19, 1942. Corporal Ellis (then Lance Corporal) is the only member of the Royal Regiment of Canada known to have crossed the sea wall during the attack at Blue Beach and who subsequently succeeded in returning to England. Cpl Ellis landed on Blue Beach with A Company, Royal Regiment of Canada, which landed on the right flank (i.e. the west end of...

Source Document: The Canadian Army 1939 – 1945, An Official Historical Summary, By Colonel C. P. STACEY, O.B.E., A.M., Ph.D., Director, Historical Section, General Staff, 1948. Prélude Often forgotten in History, the Royal Canadian Army in World War II In the shadow of the great powers, amidst the sweeping battles of World War II, stood a force whose impact was far greater than its size might suggest: the Royal Canadian Army. Often overlooked in popular memory, the contributions of Canadian soldiers were not only significant—they were essential. From the blood-soaked beaches of Normandy (France) to the rugged mountains of Italy, from the...

Document Source: Official Report, Operation Jubilee, Dieppe, France, 1942 (Royal Canadian Army). Report on the Operation Jubilee, August 19, 1942, Capt G. A. Brown (RCA), Personal Account. Landing at Blue Beach As far as I know, Royal Regiment C suffered no casualties while approaching the beach, although we were fired on, for about 10 minutes before touchdown, by light weapons whose calibers I was not able to ascertain from my seat in the stern of the LCA (Landing Craft Assault). Royals touched down at 0535, as I remember my first message to HMS Garth ‘Doug Touched Down 0535’. We were met...

Document Source: Operations of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, Royal Canadian Army, in Belgium, Holland, and Germany, 1944-1945. The Final Operation: January 2, 1945, to March 24, 1945. (1) The object of this report is to describe the part played by the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, Canadian Infantry Corps, in the operations of the Allied Armies in northwest Europa during the final phase of WW-2. The report will deal with a minor extent with the role of the unit as ground troop helping to hold the front line in Belgium, during the Ardennes counteroffensive, and in the Netherlands, during the...

Document Sources: Appendix, Historical Section, Canadian Military Headquarters Report #138; Further Material Relating to the Organization and Training of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion. This appendix supplements the information contained in those sections of Report N°138 which deal with the background, the formation, and the early training of the 1-CPB. The chief sources of information have been the relevant files at A.H.G. Other material consulted included the War Diary of Gen A.G.L. McNaughton, various directorate diaries at A.H.Q, and the unit War Diary. Background to Formation of the Unit Although the memorandum prepared by Col Burns in November 1940 was the...

Document Source: Royal Canadian Army, Historical Section, Canadian Military Headquarters. This archive is an Amendment to Report #139. Amendment to Report #139 (1) The following amendment, dealing with the casualties suffered by the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion on June 6, 1944, should be read in conjunction with paragraph #40 of this report. (2) This breakdown of casualty figures has been compiled by the Officer in charge of the War Diaries, the Historical Section of the Canadian Military Headquarters (CMHQ), from information contained on the 'battle casualty statistic cards' maintained by the Casualty Section, Overseas Canadian Records Office. (3) Casualties for June...

This is not really common for me to use the text of someone else. But sometimes, when a published archive is very interesting and has many photos I have to republish it for my readers. While surfing the Net for wartime photos, I found Harold's website and started reading the archive on the Canadian Airborne Units. Of course, I am not using the entire archive because the title - Canadian Airborne Units before 1968 - doesn't really fits with my area of expertise. This is why I asked Harold to use the WW2 part of his work. I hope...