Zero hour off Dieppe: The Combined Services launch their attack at the appointed time and place: With the opening stages of an air battle raging overhead the British Armada sails dauntlessly in, it's cargo of heroic commando troops ready to storm the defences of Dieppe

"We have had to pay a heavy price in casualties, but a resounding blow has been struck in the cause for which we fight, and the results are clearly well worth while." This summing-up by Lieut.-General McNaughton, G.O.C-in-C., Canadian Army, reflects the official reaction to the results of the Commando raid on Dieppe on August 19 [1942]. Though our casualties were certainly not negligible, the objects of the raid were achieved and invaluable experience gained by those who lived to bring it back with them. The operation was carried out through the punctuality of clockwork - a magnificent example of co-ordination between the three Services. Every force arrived off the six selected beaches at the exact time, as appointed, and the supporting air force was equally punctual. In the chill light of dawn, the troops, the majority of whom were Canadians, stormed the beaches, the men attacking the town of Dieppe itself having the support of tanks. Bloody battles were fought on the beaches, the quays, and in the streets of the town, to the accompaniment of the din of naval and shore guns, and incessant roar of aircraft overhead. Point after point of the programme was achieved in the face of tremendous opposition. Two heavy gun batteries and an important radiolocation station were destroyed, heavy casualties inflicted on the enemy, and a number of prisoners take. As the battle proceeded and reports began to filter back. It became clear that not only were the aims of the raid being accomplished but that the Allied air forces were joined with the Luftwaffe in the mightiest aerial encounter since the Battle of Britain - an encounter that resulted in the destruction of a very considerable portion of the Luftwaffe's forces in Western Europe. the troops on shore, after fighting for nearly nine hours, were re-embarked in the naval vessels which, lying close inshore, had been assisting throughout the day by heavy bombardment of German targets in the town ad on the surrounding hills, and presently the great fleet was on its way home, covered still by a protective umbrella of fighter aircraft. Our artist has depicted the scene off the beaches as the troops went in to attack. The fleet of barges, containing tanks, armoured vehicles and troops, is closing in on the shore. The Casino and a tobacco factory in Dieppe are on fire and pouring up clouds of smoke, and the black cloud of smoke in the top left-hand corner is the result of a collision between two German aircraft, which exploded and plunged into the sea. The French coast can be seen from Puys, on the left, to Varangeville, on the extreme right."

Despite the efforts of publications such as The Illustrated London News to heroicise the Allied efforts during Operation Jubilee - as shown by the text to accompany Grineau's drawing - the Dieppe raid of 19th August 1942 or Operation Jubilee was one of the single worst disasters to befall allied armies in the Second World War. A 6,000 strong force of Canadian and British troops lost 4,131 men killed, wounded or captured in just six hours and 106 RAF aircraft were destroyed along with the destroyer H.M.S. Berkeley.

Some blamed the disaster on Churchill's specific instructions not to bomb or shell Dieppe preceding the raid in fear of civilian casualties, others blame a gung-ho approach to mount an attack in an area of coastline unsuited to amphibious warfare by restless allied commanders. In response however, similar to the quote from Lieut.-General McNaughton used by The Illustrated London News above, Mountbatten offered the most famous post-facto justification for Operation Jubilee when, echoing Wellington’s words about Waterloo, he stated that the battle of D-Day was won on the beaches of Dieppe.

Along the top of the sheet Grineau has located the view by annotating the sheet with various locations including Pourville and Dieppe's Tobacco Factory. To the bottom of the sheet are added inscriptions denoting that the work has passed censorship.