Dieppe [key], city, Seine-Maritime dept., N France, in Normandy, at the mouth of the Arques River on the English Channel. It is a fishing and commercial port, a manufacturing center of products ranging from ships to telephones, and a beach resort. It is famous for crafts made of bone and ivory. Channel steamers sail from Dieppe to Newhaven, England. Dieppe was frequently involved in the wars between England and France. In the late 17th cent. it suffered severely from the dragonnades of Louis XIV and an Anglo-Dutch naval bombardment (1694). In World War II, Dieppe was the object of a costly commando attack (Aug. 19, 1942) to test the strength of the German defenses. The Allied forces, mostly Canadians, lost two thirds of their men in casualties. There is a war memorial on the beach. Among the notable buildings of the city are the Church of Saint-Jacques (begun 13th cent.) and a 15th-century château.
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