The day the U.S. Army Rangers first went into combat-and the battle that won't be forgotten.

Just months after Pearl Harbor, with America still struggling to bring itself up to fighting strength for World War II, it was decided that a specially-trained force based upon the British commando squads should be formed. They would become known as the Rangers.

Before their training was even complete, they would be thrust into the crucible of battle, taking part in a combined Canadian-British assault on the Germanheld French port of Dieppe. The raid was a disaster, and the fight for Dieppe became a slaughter, with horrific Allied losses. Several Rangers were killed or wounded-the first American blood spilled on European soil in the Second World War.

Here, drawn from historical records and personal recollections by those who were there, and illustrated with photographs and maps, is the story of those fifty Rangers who found themselves fighting nobly on the front lines in a battle they could not win-and would be lucky to survive.