Today is the 80th anniversary of the Dieppe Raid. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says, “Today, we remember the brave Canadians who took part in the Dieppe Raid, one of the most difficult and tragic days of the Second World War for our country.”

It was August 19th of 1942 that nearly 5,000 Canadian soldiers along with British and American allies, approached the beaches of and around Dieppe in occupied France, with the objective to test the enemy’s defences, damage its port facilities, and gather intelligence to help defeat Nazi Germany.

In a statement, Trudeau says, “Unfortunately, the Canadian soldiers who came ashore were met with sustained enemy fire, and only a few small groups of Canadians managed to reach the streets of Dieppe. In the air, the Royal Canadian Air Force and the British Royal Air Force continued the offensive, conducting one of the fierces air battles of World War II.”

Many Canadian soldiers were wounded, 916 were killed and 1,946 were takes prisoner, and most of them remained captive until the end of the ware in Europe almost three years later.