Commando Battle
Arnaude Kubiak
The Commandos, also known as the British Commandos, were formed during the Second World War in June 1940, following a request from Winston Churchill, for special forces that could carry out raids against German-occupied Europe. Initially drawn from within the British Army from soldiers who volunteered for the Special Service Brigade, the Commandos' ranks would eventually be filled by members of all branches of the British Armed Forces and a number of foreign volunteers from German-occupied countries. By the end of the war 25,000 men had passed through the Commando course at Achnacarry. This total includes not only the British volunteers, but volunteers from Greece, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Canada, Norway and Poland. The United States Army Rangers and US Marine Corps Raiders, Portuguese Fuzileiros Portuguese Marine Corps were modelled on the Commandos.[1]
Reaching a wartime strength of over 30 units and four assault brigades, the Commandos served in all theatres of war from the Arctic Circle to Europe and from the Mediterranean and Middle East to South-East Asia. Their operations ranged from small groups of men landing from the sea or by parachute, to a brigade of assault troops spearheading the Allied invasions of Europe and Asia.
The request for volunteers for special service was initially restricted to serving Army soldiers within certain formations still in Britain, and from men of the disbanding divisional Independent Companies originally raised from Territorial Army (TA) divisions who had served in the Norwegian Campaign.[nb 1]
By the autumn of 1940 more than 2,000 men had volunteered and in November 1940 these new units were organised into a Special Service Brigade consisting of four battalions under the command of Brigadier Joseph Charles Haydon.[7] The Special Service Brigade was quickly expanded to 12 units which became known as Commandos.[8] Each Commando had a lieutenant-colonel as the commanding officer and numbered around 450 men (divided into 75-man troops that were further divided into 15-man sections).[8] Technically these men were only on secondment to the Commandos; they retained their own regimental cap badges and remained on the regimental roll for pay.[9] The Commando force came under the operational control of the Combined Operations Headquarters. The man initially selected as the commander of Combined Operations was Admiral Roger Keyes, a veteran of the Gallipoli campaign and the Zeebrugge Raid in the First World War.[10] Keyes resigned in October 1941 and was replaced by Vice Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten.[8] Major-General Robert Laycock was the last Commander of Combined Operations; he took over from Mountbatten in October 1943.[11]
The Commando units formed in the United Kingdom were: No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, No. 5, No. 6, No. 7, No. 8 (Guards), No. 9, No. 10 (Inter-Allied), No. 11 (Scottish), No. 12, No. 14 (Arctic), No. 30, and No. 62 Commando.[12] At the same time there were four Commando units formed in the Middle East: No. 50, No. 51, No. 52, and the Middle East Commando.[12] The No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando was formed from volunteers from the occupied territories and enemy aliens.[13] It was the largest Commando unit formed, and contained troops from France, Belgium, Poland, Norway, the Netherlands, and No. 3 (X) Troop. The No. 3 (X) Troop consisted of enemy aliens; it was also known as the English, Jewish, or British troop and was officially renamed the Miscellaneous Troop in 1944. Most of the troop had German, Austrian, or Eastern European backgrounds, while others were political or religious refugees from Nazi Germany.[14]
In February 1941 the Commandos were reorganized in accordance with a new war establishment. Each Commando unit now consisted of a Headquarters and six troops (instead of the previous 10). Each troop would comprise three officers and 62 other ranks; this number was set so each troop would fit into two Assault Landing Craft. The new formation also meant that two complete Commando units could be carried in the 'Glen' type landing ship and one unit in the 'Dutch' type landing ship.[25] The motor transport issued to each commando consisted of one car for the commanding officer, 12 motorcycles (six with sidecars), two 15 hundredweight (cwt) trucks, and one 3-ton truck. These vehicles were only provided for administration and training and were not intended to accompany the men on operations.[26]
In February 1942 the Royal Marines were tasked to organise Commando units of their own.[27] In total nine Commando units were formed by the Royal Marines: No. 40, No. 41, No. 42, No. 43, No. 44, No. 45, No. 46, No. 47 and the last, No. 48, which was only formed in 1944.[12] In 1943 two other Commando units were formed. The first was the Royal Naval Commandos, who were established to carry out tasks associated with establishing, maintaining, and controlling beachheads during amphibious operations.[28] The other was the Royal Air Force Commandos, who would accompany an invasion force either to make enemy airfields serviceable, or to make new airstrips operational and contribute to their defence.[29]
By now the Commandos started to move away from smaller raiding operations. They were formed into four brigades to spearhead future Allied landing operations. The previous Special Service Brigade Headquarters was replaced by Headquarters Special Services Group under command of Major-General Robert Sturges.[32] Of the remaining 20 Commando units, 17 were used in the formation of the four Special Service brigades. The three remaining Commandos (Nos. 12, 14, and 62) were left out of the brigade structure to concentrate on smaller scale raids.[33] The increased tempo of operations, together with a shortage of volunteers and the need to provide replacements for casualties, forced their disbandment by the end of 1943.[23][34] The small scale raiding role was then given to the two French troops of No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando.[35]
From 1944 the Operational Holding Commando Headquarters was formed. It was responsible for two sub-units: the Army and Royal Marines Holding Commando Wings. Both units had an establishment of five troops and a heavy weapons troop of fully trained commandos. The men in these troops were to provide individual or complete troop replacements for the Commando units in the field.[36] In December 1944, the four Special Service brigades were re-designated as Commando brigades.[37]
When the Commando units were originally formed in 1940, training was the responsibility of the unit commanding officers.[38] Training was hampered by the general shortage of equipment throughout the British Army at this time, as most arms and equipment had been left behind at Dunkirk. In December 1940 a Middle East Commando depot was formed with the responsibility of training and supplying reinforcements for the Commando units in that theatre.[39] In February 1942 the Commando training depot at Achnacarry in the Scottish Highlands was established by Brigadier Charles Haydon under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Vaughan, the Commando depot was responsible for training complete units and individual replacements.[40] The training regime was for the time innovative and physically demanding, and far in advance of normal British Army training.[41] The depot staff were all hand picked, with the ability to outperform any of the volunteers. Training and assessment started immediately on arrival, with the volunteers having to complete an 8-mile (13 km) march with all their equipment from the Spean Bridge railway station to the commando depot. When they arrived they were met by Vaughan, who stressed the physical demands of the course and that any man who failed to live up to the requirements would be 'returned to unit' (RTU).[42]
Exercises were conducted using live ammunition and explosives to make training as realistic as possible. Physical fitness was a prerequisite, with cross country runs and boxing matches to improve fitness. Speed and endurance marches were conducted up and down the nearby mountain ranges and over assault courses that included a zip-line over Loch Arkaig, all while carrying arms and full equipment. Training continued by day and night with river crossings, mountain climbing, weapons training, unarmed combat, map reading, and small boat operations on the syllabus.Living conditions were primitive in the camp, with trainees housed either under canvas in tents or in Nissen huts and they were responsible for cooking their own meals. Correct military protocols were enforced: Officers were saluted and uniforms had to be clean, with brasses and boots shining on parade. At the end of each course the final exercise was a simulated night beach landing using live ammunition.[42][43]
Another smaller Commando depot, known as the Commando Mountain and Snow Warfare training camp, was established at Braemar. This camp was run by two famous mountaineers: the depot commander Squadron Leader Frank Smythe and chief instructor Major John Hunt. The depot provided training for operations in Arctic conditions, with instruction in climbing snow-covered mountains, cliff climbing, and small boat and canoe handling. Training was conducted in how to live, fight, and move on foot or on skis in snowy conditions.[1]
A major change in the training programme occurred in 1943. From that point on training concentrated more on the assault infantry role and less on raiding operations. Training now included how to call for fire support from artillery and naval gunfire, and how to obtain tactical air support from the Allied air forces. More emphasis was put on joint training, with two or more Commando units working together in brigades.[44]By the end of the war 25,000 men had passed through the Commando course at Achnacarry. This total includes not only the British volunteers, but volunteers from Belgium, France, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, and the United States Army Rangers, which were modelled on the Commandos.[1]
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