History of the Special Forces and Special Operation Forces
 
World War II

In June 1940, Colonel Dudley Clarke of the British General Staff, renamed the "Independent Companies" to Army Commandos. The name taken from the Boer horse soldiers from the South African War (1899-1902) during Churchill's youth.
It didn't take long before out of the Army Commandos came offspring. No.2 Commando, for instance, was dispatched in July 1940 and became the first British Parachute Unit.

Meanwhile, the need for wartime commandos made the War Office in London look also outside the Army. Their eye gazed upon the Royal Marines. During and between 1942 and 1944 there were 9 commando units. Their heroism during the Raid on Dieppe in 1942 gave them the sole right to wear their distinctive "Green Beret". Although the US entered late during WW II, the US was quick to exploit the concept of Special Forces.

paratropper of the 101st, E Co. 501 EASY (Band of Brothers)On December 7 1941, the US had only 1 operational parachute battalion. After eight months, the US had two divisions. The 82nd (All American) and the 101st (Screaming Eagles). Only these two divisions saw heavy combat in Northern Africa, Sicily (Both Africa & Sicily partly), France, Market Garden and the "Battle of the Bulge".
Alongside the airborne forces, the US created also three other commando type units; The Rangers, the U.S. Marine Corps Raider Battalions and the 5307th Composite Unit. (Merrill's Marauders).

A somber fact is, that only three of these Special Forces created during WWII, survived the war and the peacetime aftermath: The British Royal Marine Commandos, the British SAS and the Belgian SAS.

 

The Assault on Saint Nazaire

The assault on Saint Nazaire, by British Army Commandos, on the coast of France (Atlantic coast) is to be considered to be the greatest sea borne raid of World War II.

The port lies in the mouth of the Loire and had been a major target for the British, since the occupation of France. It did not only contain the largest dry dock (at that time) of the world, it was also one of the ,most important U-Boat bases for the battle of the Atlantic.

On 23 March 1942, a raid was mounted on the dry dock at Saint Nazaire. Before the Tirpitz, and other German capital ships, could be deployed against the Allied shipping life-line to the USA and Canada, they needed dry-dock facilities on the Atlantic coast. The only port capable of handling these large ships was St. Nazaire on the River Loire estuary. Denying the Germans the use of the dry-dock at St. Nazaire would effectively neutralize the threat posed by these formidable fighting ships. In the raid HMS Cambeltown was packed with high explosives, ran the gauntlet of intensive German gun fire and rammed into the gates of the dry dock. The losses from those on board, and in accompanying vessels, was high but it was a supremely successful operation. The damage to the dry dock was not made good until after the war. No.4 Commando provided volunteers for the demolition parties.

. . read further . . [ click here ]

 

 

 

History  Guestbook