Description

On the warm night of 18 August 1942, a flotilla pushed out into the flat water of the Channel. They were to seize the German-held port of Dieppe, destroy key installations, seize intelligence material and then sail for home.

This was the greatest amphibious operation since Gallipoli, with the biggest accumulation of fighter power ever assembled. But by the morning of the attack, one of its architects already feared that the operation would “go down as one of the great failures in history”. Its key players claimed it was essential to D-Day, with the media telling listeners that it was a success — but the tragedy was all too predictable.

Using first-hand testimony from combatants and civilians, and colourful analysis of the roles of Mountbatten and Montgomery, bestselling author Patrick Bishop’s gripping account brings Operation Jubilee powerfully and vividly to life, in an epic demonstration of how ambition, folly and courage came together in one of the most tragic episodes of the war.

Publisher Review

Patrick Bishop's exemplary account of this wartime fiasco is a catalogue of blunders such as even our national leaders of today would find impressive... Bishop tells the sorry story with superb authority and verve -- Max Hastings * Sunday Times * Patrick Bishop's well-researched, crisply written and utterly absorbing account of the Dieppe Raid tells a story of heroism and futility that will live for the reader long afterwards. Operation Jubilee was all the more tragic for having been entirely avoidable, in ways reasons that Bishop sets out powerfully, unflinchingly and unanswerably -- Andrew Roberts, author of 'Churchill: Walking with Destiny' Bishop's instinctive grasp of human nature and forensic analysis of the surviving evidence combine to pinpoint exactly why the hare-brained mission was launched and who was to blame... The hundred or so pages covering the raid itself are a masterclass of heart-stopping historical narrative as we accompany the doomed soldiers on their hopeless mission... [This is a] gripping, beautifully written account -- Saul David * Daily Telegraph * Bishop's account of the operation is the best I've read. He understands war, he understands battle, and he understands men -- Allan Mallinson * Spectator * Riveting and powerfully written. Patrick Bishop has turned this tragic cautionary tale into a fascinating, shrewd and timely reflection on leadership in a time of crisis, and what can happen to personal ambition in the fevered atmosphere of war -- Henry Hemming, author of 'Our Man in New York' Operation Jubilee is written with verve and knowledge, and with the author's trademark style of integrating eyewitness accounts with insight into the human condition in battle. It draws upon new evidence and provides a new perspective on the French civilians. Recommended reading -- Tim Cook, author of 'The Fight for History' Patrick Bishop's account of the preparation, the battle itself, and its aftermath is forensic, detailed, yet highly readable and written with his great understanding of war. I would be surprised if this book did not become the authoritative history of the disaster that was the Dieppe raid -- General Sir Mike Jackson [This] gripping new book sets the record straight and honours the 6,000 brave men sent into the jaws of death * Daily Express * A miniature masterpiece of historical narrative * Robert Fox *