Dieppe

Dieppe, city in northern France, in the Seine-Maritime Department, on the English Channel at the mouth of the Arques River. It is a trade and fishing port, with a well-protected harbour situated at the foot of the steep slopes of a range of chalk hills. Dieppe is also a seaside resort and has a regular ferry service to England. There are industries processing petroleum, timber, horn, bone, ivory products, and food, especially fish. Points of interest include the 14th-century Church of St Jacques and an imposing 15th-century castle.

Dieppe has figured prominently in the maritime history of France since the 12th century. The English sacked the town in 1339, occupied it from 1420 to 1435, and laid siege to it in 1442. During the 16th century Dieppe was a prosperous commercial centre, frequented by merchants and pirates, and it was a centre of the Reformation in France. After the revocation (1685) of the Edict of Nantes, which had assured Protestants of their rights, the Roman Catholics took severe reprisals against the town. In 1694 during the war against the Grand Alliance Dieppe was virtually destroyed by the English and the Dutch. The city was rebuilt in the 18th century.

The Germans occupied Dieppe during the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), and again in June 1940 during World War II. On August 19, 1942, the port, transformed by the Germans into one of the most strongly fortified points on the English Channel, was raided by an Allied commando force of about 5000 Canadians, 2000 British, and small detachments of American Rangers and Free French. The purpose of the so-called Dieppe Raid was to obtain data for a projected invasion of Europe. Casualties were heavy, especially among the Canadians. The Germans were finally expelled from Dieppe in September 1944. Population 34,300 (2005 estimate).