Everything about British Commando totally explained
The
British Commandos were first formed by the
Army in June 1940 during
World War II as a well-armed but non-regimental raider force employing unconventional and
irregular tactics to assault, disrupt and reconnoitre the enemy in mainland Europe and Scandinavia.
Initially raids were typically made by comparatively small numbers, of short duration and at night, later growing in complexity and size. The Commandos were formed and operated in secrecy and produced a demoralising effect on German coastal forces while achieving celebrity status among the British public, comparable with that attached to fighter pilots and shrouded in myth. As the war progressed commandos operated increasingly in the role of
shock troops, sometimes up to
brigade strength and sometimes in conjunction with infantry.
Formation
Following
Sir Winston Churchill's instruction to form a "butcher and bolt" raiding force as a means of continuing the war against
Nazi Germany after the
evacuation of most of the
British Expeditionary Force at
Dunkirk, a format for the new force was put forward by Lieutenant-Colonel
Dudley Clarke (
Royal Artillery) during his time as Military Assistant to General Sir
John Dill, the
Chief of the Imperial General Staff. He penned his proposals on
June 5 1940, just two days after the evacuation, which was approved at a meeting between Dill and Churchill on
June 8, and department M.O.9 of the
War Office was created the following day to pursue the idea. M.O.9 continued to foster the Commando idea until disbanded with the creation of the Tri-service organisation known as
Combined Operations, encompassing all three services. On Churchill's orders the units were to be armed with the latest equipment and were to launch an attack at the earliest opportunity.
In 1940, volunteers were called for from serving Army soldiers within certain formations still in Britain and men of the disbanding Divisional
Independent Companies originally raised from
Territorial Army Divisions and who had seen service in Norway. Some later recruiting was conducted in the various theatres and among foreign nationals joining the Allies. In 1942 the
Admiralty agreed to volunteers being sought from the
Royal Marines Division and the first
Royal Marines Commando, No.40, was formed in mid February. The same year, recruits were also called for from the British Police Force. Some 400 men passed Commando training and were then assigned to various battalions.
Dudley Clarke proposed the name "
Commando" after the raiding and assault style of Boer Commando units of the
Second Boer War. Despite Churchill's liking for the name, some senior officers preferred the term "Special Service" and both terms coexisted until the latter part of the war. Persistence of the term "Special Service" derived the terms
"Special Air Service", for the original No. 2 Commando parachutists, and longer term the
"Special Boat Service" whose origin lays in Lt.
Roger Courtney's Folbot Troop, later "Special Boat Section" of No.8 Commando and "101 Troop" of No.6 Commando.
Each Commando was to consist of a headquarters unit plus ten troops of 50 men including three officers (changed in
1941 to six troops of 65 men per Commando including a Heavy Weapons Troop). Some thirty Commando units were formed during the war within the
Army,
Royal Marines,
Royal Navy and
Royal Air Force, together with a number of other
Special Forces units. Army Commandos and Royal Marines Commandos were eventually formed into four brigades.
Each Commando was initially responsible for the selection and training of its own officers and men. Commando troops received extra pay from which they'd to find their own accommodation whenever in Britain. They trained in physical fitness, survival, orienteering, close quarter combat, silent killing, signalling, amphibious and cliff assault, vehicle operation, weapons (including the use of captured enemy small arms) and demolition. Many officers, NCOs and trainee instructors initially attended various courses at the all forces Special Training Centre at
Lochailort,
Scotland. Also in the
Scottish Highlands, Combined Operations established a substantial all forces amphibious training centre at
Inveraray, and in
1942 a specific Commando Training Centre at
Achnacarry near
Spean Bridge. All field training was conducted with live ammunition.
Some World War II operations
Northwest Europe
The first attack - though not very effective except in respect of its propaganda value - was made by 120 men of the 375-strong No.11 Commando/Independent Company commanded by Major
Ronnie Tod on the night of
June 23 1940. The attack - code-named
Operation Collar - was an offensive reconnaissance on the
French coast south of
Boulogne-sur-Mer and
Le Touquet. The only British injury was a bullet graze to Dudley Clarke's ear (Clarke there as an observer), while at least two German soldiers were killed.
A second and similarly inconsequential attack,
Operation Ambassador, was launched on the German occupied island of
Guernsey on the night of
July 14,
1940, by men drawn from H Troop of No.3 Commando under John Durnford-Slater and No.11 Independent Company. The raiders failed to make contact with the German garrison.
Norway
After intensive training and a number of cancelled operations over the following months, a major raid,
Operation Claymore, was launched on the morning of
March 3,
1941, by No.3 and No.4 Commando on the practically undefended
Norwegian Lofoten Islands, successfully destroying
fish-oil factories, petrol dumps, and 11 ships, capturing 216 Germans, and recruiting 315 Norwegian volunteers.
Encryption equipment and
codebooks were also seized during this operation.
Middle East
In an attempt to help stem the early successes of
Rommel's Afrika Korps, a force derived from Troops of Nos. 3, 4, 7, 8, and 11 Commando, organised as three 'Special Service' Battalions, with the addition of another 'Special Service' Battalion drawn from the locally raised '50' series Middle East Commando (together known as
Layforce after their commander Colonel
Robert Laycock) were attached to General Sir
Archibald Wavell's army in February 1941. Their first raid was made on
April 20 on the port of
Bardia; although little damage was caused, Rommel temporarily recalled a brigade sized battle group from the front to defend against subsequent raids. The Commandos were then used to help defend the island of
Crete, and covered the eventual evacuation, with the exception of No.11 Commando, which was reinforcing
Cyprus.
Following the British
invasion of Syria on
June 8 1941, No.11 Commando successfully led the crossing of the
Litani River in
Lebanon, fighting against troops of the French
Vichy Régime.
Return to Norway
The minor Norwegian port of
Vågsøy (Vaagso in English) was to be the main target of one of the first raids under
Louis Mountbatten's
Combined Operations organisation.
Operation Archery involved Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 6 Commando, a
flotilla from the
Royal Navy, and limited air support. The raid took place on the morning of
December 27,
1941, causing significant damage to factories, warehouses, the German garrison, and sinking 8 ships.
The raid prompted
Hitler to divert 30,000 troops to Norway, upgrade coastal and inland defences, and send the
battleship Tirpitz, the
battlecruiser (or light battleship)
Scharnhorst, the "
pocket battleship"
Lutzow and the
heavy cruisers
Hipper and
Prinz Eugen to Norway — a major reorientation of effort away from the North Atlantic convoy routes for the protection of Norway. Hitler was led to believe that the British might invade
northern Norway to put pressure on
Sweden and
Finland.
As a diversion
Operation Anklet was launched on the Lofoten Islands at the same time.
France
St Nazaire
The French port of
St. Nazaire contained the only
dry dock on the French Atlantic coast capable of berthing the German battleship
Tirpitz for repairs, and thus enable it to operate against convoys from there.
No.2 Commando plus demolition experts from Numbers 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9 and 12 Commandos launched a
Combined Operations raid,
Operation Chariot, with the
Royal Navy on
28 March 1942, which became known in Britain thereafter as 'The Greatest Raid of All'.
The destroyer
HMS Campbeltown (formerly the
1919 decommissioned
USS Buchanan) had 24 Mark VII
depth-charges (4 1/4 tons) cemented below decks behind the forward gun support.
Accompanied by 18 smaller ships, the
Campbeltown sailed into port where she was rammed directly into the
Normandie dry dock gates. The Commandos engaged the German forces and destroyed the dock facilities. Eight hours later, delayed-action fuses set off the explosives in the
Campbeltown which wrecked the dock gates and killed some 360 Germans and French.
The dock remained out of action for the duration of the war and the
Tirpitz was never sent south to France, eventually being destroyed by British bombers while at anchor off
Tromsø,
Norway. A total of 611 soldiers and sailors took part in Chariot; 169 were killed and 200 (most wounded) taken prisoner. Only 242 returned immediately. Of the 241 Commandos who took part 64 were posted as killed or missing and 109 captured. Among participants in the raid two commandos and three members of the
Royal Navy were awarded the
Victoria Cross, while 80 others received decorations for gallantry.
Dieppe
On
August 19,
1942,
Dieppe was the site of a bloody landing by 4,965
Canadian troops and 1,075 men of No.3 and No.4 Commando, and the newly formed No.40 Commando
Royal Marines, designated A Commando (RM) at that time. Among them were distributed 50 U.S.
Rangers and members of 3 Troop, No.10 (Inter Allied) Commando (German-speaking, many Jewish) and some of the embryonic No.30 (Assault Unit) Commando.
Nos.3 and 4 (with those of No.10 (IA) and most of the Rangers) were to destroy batteries to the north and south respectively which overlooked the harbour. No.40 Commando (RM) and some Rangers were to land with the Canadian infantry and armour. No.30 (AU) was to race through to the Dieppe Town Hall/Headquarters and capture whatever intelligence documents could be found. An RAF
radar expert had a mission to search for and take German radar documents believed to be at Dieppe. Unknown to him, his
bodyguards had orders to kill him in the event of capture.
The boats carrying No.3 Commando ran into a German convoy and the ensuing sea battle scattered their formation and prevented the landing and attack going to plan. Though only 18 men succeeded in reaching their objective and were unable to destroy the guns, determined sniping prevented the German gun crews from firing on the invasion force. No.4 landed successfully and destroyed their target battery.
The raid lasted only nine hours but claimed 907 Canadian dead and 1,946 taken prisoner. The Royal Air Force lost 106
aircraft and 153 men in the air battle above Dieppe (the largest air battle of the European war in terms of sorties flown), while the Royal Navy lost a destroyer, several landing craft and 550 men. While Germany suffered several hundred casualties, the overall operation was widely criticised as poorly conceived, although it did lead to the decision not to attempt to capture a port by way of head-on assault during the invasion of
Normandy in
1944 —
Operation Overlord.
» See Dieppe Raid for more detail.
Italy
On 1st April
1945 the whole of 2 Commando Brigade, Nos. 2, 9, 40 (
RM) and 43 (RM), under Brigadier
Ronnie Tod were engaged in
Operation Roast at
Comacchio lagoon, north east
Italy. This was the first major action in the big spring offensive to push the Germans back across the
River Po and out of Italy. After a fierce three-day battle, the Commandos succeeded in clearing the spit separating the lagoon from the
Adriatic, so securing the flank of the
8th Army and fostering the idea the main offensive would be along the coast and not though the
Argenta Gap.
A total of 946 prisoners were taken, while three battalions, two troops of
artillery and a company of
machine gunners were wiped out. In the course of the operation 20 field guns and a number of mortars and rocket launchers were also captured. During the operation, Cpl
Tom Hunter of No.43 Commando (RM) earned a posthumous
Victoria Cross for conspicuous gallantry in single handedly clearing a farmstead housing three
Spandau machine guns, then engaging further Spandaus entrenched on the far side of the canal from open ground.
Burma
In
Burma 142 Commando Company formed part of the
Chindits (the 77th Indian Infantry Brigade), and fought in the first long-range Chindit operation behind Japanese lines, codenamed
Operation Longcloth. The raid began on
February 8 1943 and lasted for about three months. It inflicted little damage on Japanese supply lines but it did show that British and Indian Army and Indian forces could fight in the jungle as well as or better than the Japanese; this gave a boost to the morale of the Allied forces fighting in the
South-East Asian Theatre.
In the India / Burma theatre 142 Commando Company also operated in conjunction with the U.S. unit
Merrill's Marauders.
Later in the
Burma Campaign 3 Commando Brigade comprising No. 5 Army Commando, No 44 RM Commando, No.42 RM Commando, and No.1 Army Commando took part in the coastal landings during the Allied
Southern Front offensive of 1944/45. Culminating in the battle of Hill 170 at Kangaw. Here
Lt G Knowland of 4 Troop No 1 Army Commando was awarded the Victoria Cross.
The battle of Kangaw was the critical battle of the second Arakan campaign.
Hitler's Commando Order
On
October 18 1942 Hitler issued his
Kommandobefehl, or
Commando Order. In this order, Hitler required that British or Allied soldiers participating in Commando operations should be "annihilated to the last man", even if in uniform, escaping, or surrendering — contrary to the stipulations of the
Geneva Conventions. This was prompted by his rage at the success of the Commandos and their effect on the morale of his men, and an incident on the
Isle of Sark,
Channel Islands, involving men of the
Small Scale Raiding Force and No.12 Commando. In this action 3 German prisoners were killed with their hands tied while attempting escape.
Commando battle honours
Adriatic -
Alethangyaw -
Aller -
Anzio -
Argenta Gap - Burma 1943/45 - Crete -
Dieppe - Dives Crossing -
Djebel Choucha -
Flushing - Greece 1944/45 - Italy 1943/45 -
Kangaw - Landing at
Porto San Venere - Landing in Sicily - Leese -
Litani - Madagascar - Middle East 1941,42,44 -
Monte Ornito -
Myebon - N. Africa 1941/43 - N.W. Europe 1942,44,45 -
Normandy Landing - Norway 1941 - Pursuit to
Messina - Rhine -
Salerno -
Sedjenane 1 - Sicily 1943 -
St.Nazaire -
Steamroller Farm - Syria 1941 -
Termoli -
Vaagso -
Valli di Comacchio -
Westkapelle.
Post-World War II reorganisation
During the war the British Army Commandos spawned several other famous British units such as the
Special Air Service, the
Special Boat Service and the
Parachute Regiment. The British Army Commandos themselves were never regimented and were disbanded at the end of the war while the
Royal Marines Commandos continued, though in smaller numbers and with much reorganisation.
In 2005 the operational British Commando force consisted of
3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines which included 40, 42 and 45 Commando
Royal Marines, 29 Commando
Royal Artillery, and
Independent Commando Squadron Royal Engineers
(the latter two both Army Commandos), a logistic regiment, a naval squadron of medium helicopters, and a landing craft squadron.
3 Commando Brigade also included either the First or the Second Battalion
Korps Mariniers.
Commando Training Today
Royal Marines recruits undergo a 32 week course at the
Commando Training Centre Royal Marines, Lympstone. Included within this (and Royal Marines Officer Training) is the Commando Course.
Those volunteers for Commando Training from other services undertake the
All Arms Commando Course, also run at CTCRM. Such volunteers will be aiming to serve in a number of units that are part of 3 Commando Brigade, examples include:
They will already have completed basic training and indeed may be very experienced personnel. 'Beat-up' courses are run by both the Commando Gunners and the Commando Engineers to prepare volunteers for the Commando Course itself.
There is also a Reserve Commando Course run for members of the
Royal Marines Reserve and Commando units of the
Territorial Army.
Some other Commando operations
Ambassador July 1940 raid on Guernsey
Anklet December 1941 raid on the Lofoten Islands.
Archery December 1941 raid on Vaagso, Norway.
Colossus February 1941 first airborne raid, raid on Italian aqueduct, origin of term 'SAS', (but not the organisation).
Gauntlet August 1941 raid on Spitsbergen.
Claymore March 1941 on the Lofoten Islands.
Biting February 1942 raid on the German radar near Bruneval, France.
Chariot March 1942 raid on St. Nazaire, France.
Abercrombie April 1942 raid on Hardelot, France.
Basalt October 1942 raid on Sark (SSRF).
Clawhammer October 1942 planned raid on radar sites near Cherbourg.
Frankton December 1942 raid on shipping near Bordeaux, (RN Boom Patrol Detachment - Cockleshell Heroes).
Gunnerside February 1943 raid on the heavy water plant at Rjukan (SOE Norwegians).Further Information
Get more info on 'British Commando'.
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