Evening star., 1942-10-02
|Dieppe Raid BoIsiered.
Canadians Morale,
General Asserts
Show Wus Worth Number
Of CASUALTIES Involved,
Crerur DecIures
BY L. s. B. SHAPIRO.

CORRESPONDENT of the Montreal Gazette.
CANADIAN HEADQUARTERS.
Somewhere, in England. Sept. 20
Delayed - -(NANA).-"As a result
of Dfeppe,. the Canadian Corps is
ready to undertake any operation
asked OF us. The morale Of our
troops has never been higher than
1T is now, Esprit de corps is at Its
peak
Gen. H. d. G. Crerar, sGOC Of
the Canadian Corps in Britain,
made this statement as an estimate
of one of the important results OF
the Dieppe operation. Speaking with
this reporter in his headquar-
ters Immediately after inspecting
several units of his command, the
former chief of the Canadian gen.
eral staff stressed the Importance
of Dieppe on Canada's fighting ef-
fort In this war.
'Dieppe was our show" he said.
''It had to be our show. If 1t had
been undertaken by other than
Canadian troops, I would have had
grave fears for the morale Of our
units. They had been training .
long time for show of this sort.
training so hard each man wore
out a pair of boots In IL days last
summer, We couldn't hold men like
that on the sidelines indefinitely.
"Of course, we suffered heavy
casualties. Personally I feel the
loss OF several of my close friends.
But the show was worth it. Dieppe
has given every Canadian soldier
new pride and new urge for fight
ing. Until Dieppe, we were trading
on our reputation of the last war.
We don't have to any more.
Anxious for More Action.
II myself, as veteran of the
last war, was amazed when I went
out among our units after the return
from Dieppe. You'd expect them
to be bit slumpy after this hard
show. They came out of their
hunks and canteens to show that
they were in fine fettle and anxious
for more action. I noticed the same
reaction among our troops on leave
in London. Dieppe has made them
prouder than ever Of the uniform
they wear.
Where and when we next hit
the enemy are things which are not
my immediate concern. All I can
say is that the Canadian Corps Is
ready to do any job they ask of us"
Gen. Crerar. a graying man with
thA cnv,sifiuo fAaf,,roc Nf WI; ;s%
is probably Canadas most expert
enced soldier. In his 54 years he
has seen action in two wars; he
has served on the British general
staff; he has worked intimately
with Gems Gort, Sir Alan Brooke,
Lord Ironside and A. 6. L. Nc
Naughton; he worked for six years
on the complete reorganiza ton of
Canada's defense system; he has
been commandant Of the Rolay Mill
tary College and chief of the Cana
dian general staff at Ottawa; he
was the. first Canadian officer to
arrive in Britain after the outbreak
Of this war and, almost single
handed at first, he set up the Or
ganization for reception of Cana
dian troops In these islands.
Knows Why He's Fighting.
Harry" Crerar has never allowed
his preoccupation with military
matters to halt his 30-year study
of international affairs. He is one
of those soldiers who knows not only
how to fight but also why he is
fighting and for what grand objec-
tives. -
Gen. Crerar may use the trite
phrase that it's a small world. To-
day he finds himself in closest con-
tact with Gen A. G. l.. McNaughton.
GOC in c. of the Canadian forces
in Britain. and with Gen. Sir Alan
F. Brooke, chief of the imperial gen.
eral staff.
Toward the end of the last war
Gen. Crerar was brigade major with
the 5th Canadian Divisional Artil-
lery. The staff officer artillery of
the Canadian Corps was at that time
a talented young soldier, 1t. Col.
Alan F. Brooke. The war moved
quickly then and so did good SOL
diers. Within a few months Gen.
Crerar had succeeded Col. Brooke
as staff officer artillery. He was
now working closely with Andy"
McNaughton, who was GOO, Cana
dian Corps heavy artillery. And
few weeks before the en- dof the war
he succeeded McNaughton.
TAHou ithaca
OF a small sector of the 1918 front
are heavy with military honor and
responsibility. They are charged
with the defense of Britain and the
mounting of the offensive which
must one day break German power.
Canadian Corps headquarters is
situated In an old and handsome
English manor house set on q care
FULLY groomed estate in the center
OF the sector held down by Canadian
troops.
Gen. CrFar is Immediately In
charge Of the Canadians who must
one day meet the enemy in full
scale warfare. 1t is job which re-
qulres a sensitive balance of hard
discipline and human Qualities. The
man who undertakes it must be a
master Of organization and a STU
dent OF psychology. Because in
this war men of the line must
/ know why as we'll as how. Without
high morale no discipline and train
ing can be effective.
This Is why Gen. Crerar is so keen
on the Dieppe operation. Whenever
he can break away from his desk
he will be found with the units,
watching the men. studying their
reactions, gauging their enthusiasm
and judging their grievances. He is
convinced that Dieppe has put the
final polish on the long months of
Canadian preparation for battle.
As a student Of world affairs,
what does Gen. Crerar think of
the shape of the war today?
He smiled rather shyly, then took
a long puff of his cigarette.
AS long as we can keep on fight