On August 19, 1942, in one of the darkest hours of the Second World War, 4,963 soldiers of the 2nd Canadian Division, with air and naval support, set sail for Dieppe, Puys and Pourville, and the waiting guns of the Nazi occupying forces. This was the first large-scale Allied military operation that looked forward to the liberation of France. The battle was brief and bloody: 807 Canadians perished in combat, 1,946 were made prisoners of war and only 2,210 soldiers returned to England. The sacrifice of so many in such a short time is seared forever in the memory of the Canadian people.