Were the Germans really that good?

[D-Day_Dodger]

5.The Canadians through out the war held their own or better for sure. The Brits or Americans didn't go into Deippe ( Pardon the spelling ) It was the Canadians. One of the best movies made was the Devils Brigade :)

Tide1

Actually the Brits and Yanks were at Dieppe, although not as part of the main landing force. British Commandos and a 50 man detachment of American Rangers made successful attacks against coastal gun emplacements. In fact the first American serviceman to die in the ETO was killed at Dieppe.
As for The Devil's Brigade, it was a thoroughly enjoyable movie, but one that should be taken with a grain of salt. The characterization of the Canadians as a bunch of prim and proper soldiers compared to the rowdy "dirty dozen" like Americans just wasn't the case. It was an all volunteer force as I recall. Also the raid on the Italian village where they capture the whole garrison complete with commander, is a piece of pure fiction.
However, on the plus side, the movie gets top marks for the portrayl of the climatic assault on the Germans mountain top position on Monte Defensa. The terrain looks accurate and many of the incidents included actually happened, like the deadly German sniper and the Cdn officer who gets killed after accepting a German officer's surrender. That officer was played by Cliff Robertson, who also wore a CANADA shoulder flash as commander of "633 Squadron". Thanks Cliff. Your Order of Canada is in the mail.