84 years ago today, 4,963 Canadians went ashore at Dieppe. By early afternoon the beaches were back in German hands. Fewer than half the men came home. More than 910 were killed. 1,946 were taken prisoner, the largest single Canadian surrender of the war. This is Operation Jubilee mapped position by position, from the run-in to the last radio call off the beach.

This 25 second map shows how fast the Germans were retreating after the Falaise Gap was closed. It gives you an idea why the Allies thought that Operation Market Garden might just be worth the risk. In doing so, First Canadian Army was robbed of the resources it needed to clear out the Channel ports of Boulogne-sur-Mer and Calais, and delayed the clearing of the Scheldt Estuary. If you were in charge of Twenty First Army Group, which operation would you have prioritized? Clearing the channel ports and the Scheldt? Or was it worth the gamble to get bridge crossings on two rivers?

This is the new Project '44 web map by the way. We are putting the finishing touches on it before we release it to the public.

Americans of the 60th Infantry Regiment advance into a Belgian town under the protection of a Sherman tank fitted with a bocage blade. The 60th Infantry Regiment, part of the 9th Infantry Division, pushed through Belgium in the autumn of 1944 as the Allies advanced toward Germany. In this scene, infantrymen move forward behind a Sherman tank equipped with a bocage blade—an improvised device first used in Normandy to break through the thick earthen hedgerows that had slowed progress earlier in the campaign. Though less common outside Normandy, some tanks retained these blades as they continued east, where they could still prove useful for clearing obstacles and rubble in towns. The combined advance of infantry and armour gave American forces a crucial edge in forcing their way through defended villages, where German troops used buildings and narrow streets to mount stubborn resistance.

82 years ago this week, the Allied airborne dropped into the Netherlands to take the bridges to Arnhem. You know how it ended. Saturday 19 September we're watching A Bridge Too Far together, live in the Project '44 Discord. 1 PM Eastern / 7 PM Central European. Free, open to anyone. Join the server, hit Interested on the event, and be in the movie night channel at kickoff. Stream starts 10 minutes after. Come for the film, stay for the argument about whether XXX Corps could have moved faster. discord.gg/sb6N5Pjh?event=15… After the credits, our premium Patreon members stay on for a live session with the developers building the map. Questions, what's next, first looks. Details on Patreon.

Men of the U.S. 8th Infantry Regiment attempt to move forward and are pinned down by German small arms from within the Belgian town of Libin. Men seek cover behind hedges and signs to return the fire. September 7, 1944. In early September 1944, as U.S. forces advanced rapidly through Belgium, towns like Libin became scenes of sudden and violent firefights. Here, men of the 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, are shown pinned down by German small-arms fire while attempting to push forward. The narrow streets, stone houses, and hedgerows of Belgian villages made for difficult fighting. German troops, retreating but still determined to slow the Allied advance, used every wall, window, and corner to their advantage. American infantrymen hugged cover behind hedges, road signs, and buildings, trading fire as they tried to root out defenders. Though the Allies were pressing toward the German border, resistance in places like Libin reminded them the war was far from over. Every step forward required clearing determined rearguards, a costly and grinding task even amid the broader momentum of liberation.

1st Field Company of the Royal Canadian Corps of Engineers setting up a Bailey bridge over a ravine of the Straorini River. The Bailey bridge was one of the most important engineering tools of the Second World War, allowing armies to cross rivers, ravines, and demolitions quickly with prefabricated steel panels. Here, the 1st Field Company of the Royal Canadian Engineers assembles one across a ravine of the Straorini River in Italy. In the mountainous terrain of the Italian campaign, bridges were a constant requirement. Retreating German forces routinely blew crossings to delay the Allied advance, forcing engineers to improvise under pressure. The Bailey system could be carried in pieces by truck, manhandled into place, and assembled rapidly without heavy equipment—making it ideal for conditions in Italy. Canadian engineers like those of the 1st Field Company often worked under fire, clearing mines, repairing roads, and erecting bridges to keep supplies and armour moving forward. Each Bailey bridge built meant the difference between momentum and delay, ensuring that Canadian and Allied troops could maintain pressure as they fought their way up the Italian peninsula.

Infantry coming ashore during Operation Baytown. On 3 September 1943, British and Canadian infantry came ashore in Calabria during Operation Baytown, the first Allied landing on the Italian mainland. The operation was carried out by the British Eighth Army, which included the 1st Canadian Infantry Division and the 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade, fresh from their campaign in Sicily. The landings were lightly opposed. German forces had already begun withdrawing northward, leaving Italian troops to cover the approaches. Resistance on the beaches was sporadic, with most German units conserving their strength for defensive lines deeper in the mountains. For the Canadians, the greatest challenge was not the landing itself but the difficult advance inland—marked by demolished bridges, mined roads, and rearguard actions designed to slow their progress. Operation Baytown marked the beginning of a long, grinding campaign up the Italian peninsula. Though the beachhead was secured with little loss, the Canadians would soon encounter far more determined German resistance along the strong defensive lines that barred the road to Rome.

A Universal Carrier towing a six-pounder anti-tank gun of the 3rd Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery (RCA), Gouy, France, 30 August 1944. On 30 August 1944, a Universal Carrier was photographed towing a six-pounder anti-tank gun of the 3rd Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery (RCA) at Gouy, France. This was during the rapid Allied pursuit following the collapse of German resistance in Normandy, as Canadian forces drove eastward through France in the wake of the Falaise Pocket. The six-pounder, though already being eclipsed by larger weapons like the 17-pounder, remained widely used in Canadian anti-tank units in 1944. Light, reliable, and easily towed by the small but versatile Universal Carrier, it could be quickly deployed to cover roadblocks, ambush routes, or defend infantry against counterattacking armour. In the fast-moving battles of late August, mobility was just as important as firepower, and this combination gave Canadian anti-tank crews the ability to keep pace with the advance. For the 3rd Anti-Tank Regiment, part of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, actions at this stage were focused on protecting the flanks of the advancing infantry and ensuring that German armoured formations could not regroup and counterattack. The image captures both the improvisation and the urgency of the pursuit phase: light vehicles, modest guns, and highly trained crews working together to keep the Canadian advance moving forward.

This girl pays the penalty for having had personal relations with the Germans. Here, in the Montelimar area, France, French civilians shave her head as punishment. August 29, 1944. In the summer of 1944, as France was liberated from German occupation, waves of retribution swept through towns and villages. Women accused of collaborating with German soldiers—often through personal or romantic relationships—were singled out for public humiliation. This photograph, taken in the Montélimar area, shows a young woman having her head shaved by fellow French civilians. Known as les femmes tondues (“the shorn women”), thousands experienced this punishment. It was intended both as retribution and as a visible mark of shame, branding them in their communities. While some had indeed collaborated, others were punished on little evidence, or simply for survival choices made under occupation. The head-shaving rituals reflected the complex, often harsh reckoning that followed liberation, when the lines between justice, vengeance, and public spectacle were blurred in the raw aftermath of war.

American troops of the 28th Infantry Division march down the Champs Elysees, Paris, in the "Victory" Parade, August 29, 1944. On 29 August 1944, just days after the liberation of Paris, American troops of the 28th Infantry Division marched triumphantly down the Champs-Élysées in a grand “Victory” parade. Crowds lined the boulevard, cheering and waving flags as Allied soldiers passed beneath the Arc de Triomphe. The 28th Division, nicknamed the “Keystone Division” for its Pennsylvania origins, had fought through the brutal hedgerows of Normandy before entering the French capital. Their presence in the parade symbolized not only Paris’s liberation but also the close partnership between France and the United States in the fight against Nazi occupation. For Parisians, the spectacle was deeply emotional—the return of freedom after four years of German rule. For the soldiers, it was a rare moment of celebration before the long push eastward that still lay ahead.

Soldiers of the 48th Highlanders of Canada advancing towards point 146 during the advance on the Gothic Line, 28 August 1944. On 28 August 1944, soldiers of the 48th Highlanders of Canada advanced toward Point 146, a key feature in the German defences of the Gothic Line in Italy. The Gothic Line was the last major German defensive system in the Italian campaign, stretching across the Apennine Mountains from the Adriatic to the Tyrrhenian Sea. Its bunkers, trenches, and fortified high ground were designed to block the Allies’ advance into northern Italy. Point 146 was one of the many small but vital objectives along the line, a patch of high ground that gave the Germans strong fields of fire over the surrounding approaches. For the 48th Highlanders, part of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division, seizing such points meant brutal uphill fighting under artillery, mortar, and machine-gun fire. Progress was measured in yards, and every gain was hard won. The capture of objectives like Point 146 was essential to breaching the Gothic Line. Though the Canadians succeeded in breaking through its eastern sector in late August and early September, the campaign became another long and costly struggle in Italy’s mountains—one that demanded the persistence and sacrifice of infantry battalions like the 48th Highlanders.

Canadians of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry meeting Americans of the U.S. Army's 2nd Armoured Division, Elbeuf, France, 27 August 1944. On 27 August 1944, soldiers of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (RHLI) linked up with elements of the U.S. 2nd Armored Division at Elbeuf, a key crossing on the River Seine south of Rouen. This meeting came at the close of the Falaise Pocket battles, when Canadian, British, and American forces converged to trap large numbers of German troops retreating from Normandy. For the RHLI, part of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division, Elbeuf was the culmination of a rapid advance east after weeks of attritional fighting around Caen and Falaise. Securing the Seine crossings at towns like Elbeuf and Rouen was vital to prevent the remnants of German formations from escaping intact across the river. The encounter between Canadian infantry and American armour symbolized the broader Allied success: a coordinated effort that shattered the German front in France. Within days, the Seine would be crossed, Paris had been liberated, and the Allied pursuit would carry into Belgium and toward the Netherlands.

Photograph of American Soldiers in Paris August 1944. As American armoured cars rolled through Paris in August 1944, the liberation of the French capital was underway. This photo shows an M8 Greyhound armoured car of the U.S. Army beneath the Arc de Triomphe, with the French Tricolour flying once again from its heights. The M8, a fast six-wheeled reconnaissance vehicle armed with a 37mm gun, was often at the front of advancing columns, scouting ahead and harassing retreating German forces. In Paris, its presence symbolized both speed and momentum—the Allies were intent on driving the Germans out of France without pause. For Parisians, the sight of Allied vehicles under the Arc carried immense emotional weight. After four years of occupation, the French flag returned to the nation’s most iconic monument, signalling not only liberation but the rebirth of France’s sovereignty.