The raiding forces continued to operate in the Aegean and Adriatic islands with the three caiques of the Levant Schooner Squadron, an RAF launch, and naval coastal forces. They landed on 13 islands in the Aegean, on 22 in the Cyclades (between the Aegean and the Sea of Crete) and on 7 in the Dodecanese Islands running north from Rhodes, with over 380 separate small and large operations. In April 1944 a party of nine (British and Cretans) captured the German General commanding Crete bringing him out on 14 May. Some units of this force later operated in North Italy at Comacchio where SBS and other raidiang units worked with 2 Commando Brigade.
RM Detachment 385
This Royal Marine Detachment was formed in the UK during summer of 1944 and completed their training with SOG becoming operational in January 1945 in south east Asia. In their first operation Nos. 1 and 2 Troops both lost their commanders and 4 marines were killed, No.1 were landed by inflatables from a Catalina flying boat to create a diversion on Biluyen Island but strong tides caused casualties. A section of No.2 Troop landed on Phuket Island with COPP No.3 in the unsuccessful operation described in Chapter 12, but most of ‘385’s’ 14 independent operations were successful during the early summer of 1945. These included deception raids to the Thailand coast and the Nicobars, elsewhere they landed agents and stores for guerrillas.
In August 1945 Nos.1 and 3 Troops were aboard HMS Princess Beatrix and No.2 Troop at Madras, preparing for further raids that were cancelled when the War ended.
Small Operations Group
(SOG)
Lieutenant-Colonel H.G. Hasler, DSO, OBE, RM of the RMBPD had coordinated and trained the small-scale raiding forces in south-east Asia during the spring of 1944, when Detachment 385 was formed to strengthen these forces. Officially SOG was not formed until 12 June with a base staff and training unit. Commanded by Colonel H.T. Tollemache the Group carried out 19 independent operations mounted by SOG and 154 on the Arakan coast and Burma rivers by the Group’s units attached to specific forces—known as Force Commanders’ Operations.
The Group’s maximum strength was four COPPs (several parties being relieved by others). Group A, B and C of the SBS, the three Troops of Detachment 385, and the SRU’s four Sections. The organisation of these units with a parent base and adequate staff to provide back-up facilities and intelligence, proved successful. In over 170 operations they had only 27 casualties, a remarkable record in such hazardous work.
RN Beach Commandos
In December 1941 eight Beach Parties were planned and during the next few months they trained with Army Beach Groups. The name Beach Parties was changed to RN Commandos, with their training school on Loch Long (HMS Armadillo). The Beach Commandos came in early in any operation, for example: the Principal Beach Masters landing in the 5th Wave (H + 25) at Normandy, at Flushing in 1944 the Beach Master landed in the first of LCAs.
Combined Operations Scout Units
(COSUs)
These Units, formerly known as ‘Camouflage B’, created ‘some diversions at the time of assault, simulating a landing away from the main assault’. Their training began in October 1943 at the Army’s Light Scout Car Training Centre (Ballantrae, Ayrshire). Divisions of this type were used in Sicily, Salerno and Comacchio operations, but in Normandy the naval units were not apparently used. They trained for the Far East, where not only diversion noises were to be used but also cover the terror noises.
Four Combined Operations units had the equivalent capacity to one army (land) unit and by 6 April 1944 four COSUs had been trained. However, American developments in this field led to the suspension of further work although units’ equipment had been tested in various craft of which coastal forces’ vessels proved most suitable.
RAF Servicing Commandos
These commandos serviced aircraft on advanced airfields often taking over fields still under artillery or even small arms fire. They brought in petrol, ammunition and replacement parts, and serviced engines, guns and airframes from the roll of tools for their trades that each man carried in an assault landing. The units had one mobile workshop that was brought ashore as early as practical, their other vehicles and tankers usually landing arrived for the build-up of a beach-head.
They wore Combined Operations flashes (AMO-29 October 1942).
Their unit histories are full of such comments as those for ‘3207’ at Meiktila (200 miles due east of Maungdaw, Burma) in March 1945 ‘23 March 1130 hours—Beachcraft lands …immediately takes off with battle casualties … 1400 hours two Dakotas of No.238 Squadron land to take off casualties … port engine of second aircraft refused to start … Sergeant Brown promptly ran to the strip … shells were falling extremely close … one or two within 50ft of him … the aircraft was hit … another Beachcraft, attempting to land was hit … and completely burnt out. Sergeant Brown … warned [other] aircraft to take off immediately … 1730 hours: CO and Sergeant Brown … removed equipment from damaged Dakota’. Throughout the day the men were under fire and held 50 yards (45m) of the perimeter of the defensive box that night. Next day the CO rescued a wounded soldier from outside the wire, in fighting at one corner of the box. The CO of the RAF Regiment’s defence force was killed at this time.
3201 Commando was formed in 1942, landed in North Africa on D-day at about H + 60 mins, and reached Maison Blanch airfield at 0910. They served in North Africa and like many Service Commando operated with aircraft recovery units when not required for assault landings. They were in Sicily in 1943 and moved to Corsica in January 1944. Their CO for the 2½ years was Flight-Lieutenant E.H. Webster who has written; ‘the Unit was misused after Sicily because no-one on the staff knew its capabilities.’
3202 Commando served in North Africa and southern Italy disbanded at Taranto December 1943.
3203 Commando served in North Africa, Sicily, and at Salerno where they serviced Taylorcraft of Air OP etc. Disbanded at Portici (Italy) February 1944.
3204 Commando landed Sicily July 1943, disbanded at Catania 3 February 1944.
3205 Commando landed D + 1 (7 June 1944) Normandy, two men were killed as one vehicle hit a mine on leaving their LCT; the Unit serviced Spitfires during June—each Commando had fitters trained to work on the types of planes likely to use their airstrips. They arrived in India 5 December 1944 and from LCMs on Akyab in January 1945; and operated in Arakan, Malaya, and Java before being disbanded in February 1946.
3206 Commandok landed D + 10 in Normandy, June 1944, and operated through France to Belgium spending December under canvas. Returned to UK and disbanded in April 1945.
3207 Commando arrived in India in December 1944 and after helping No.3 R & SU with major rebuilding, flown into Meiktila—see above. They were withdrawn on 29 April and later serviced planes including those repatriating ex-prisoners until disbanded in April 1946.
3208 Commando landed in Normandy on D + 10, servicing Mustangs among other aircraft, they moved forward to advanced airfields including those flying off Mosquitoes covering the Rhinek crossing. Disbanded in March 1945.
3209 Commando landed in Bombay, January 1945, intended for airfields captured/built on Phuket Island they worked mainly on recovery. Disbanded about December 1946 when A Squadron was serving in Bangkok and B Squadron in Saigon.
3210 Commando landed in India in spring of 1945 and in Malaya over Morib beaches on 17 September, for work on Kuala Lumpur’s Kelanang airfield. Disbanded about October 1945 in Java.
3225 Commando formed in UK in July 1942, served in Egypt before being disbanded in December (?) 1943.
3226 Commandok formed in July 1942, served in Sicily, and at Salerno where strip under fire but petrol brought up from beach area. After further service in Italy, disbanded January 1944.
3230 and 3231 Commandos formed in Egypt in March/April 1943, landed in Sicily and Toe of Italy before being disbanded in November 1943 and January 1944 respectively.
Various
A number of other units had Commando titles or were forces made up of Commandos. The Burma II Commando of 30 me
n under Mike Calvert destroyed installations at Henzada on the Irrawaddy in March 1942. 142 Commando formed from men of the Burma Rifles, served with parachutist Brigadier Wingate’s forces on their 1943 march into Burma. The Raiding Support Regiment’s gunners firing anti-aircraft, and support weapons, used great ingenuity in getting these weapons on to Adriatic islands. They provide one of many examples of artillery support the Special Forces of all nationalities enjoyed in later years of the War. The 34th Amphibian Support Regiment typifies many of the units whose personnel had special skills used in support of commandos, although the same individuals might be formed into different units from time to time—most of the marines of the 34th Regiment had served in the tanks of the RM Armoured Support Regiment, landing in the assault waves at Normandy.
There were many units especially among airborne forces that from to time carried out commando-style raids while acting as ground troops, most notable of the British Units in this role was the SAS.
Special Air Service
The 1st SAS was formed from 62 Commando in February 1943, under Lieutenant-Colonel A. David Stirling (who had formed ‘No.62’). He was captured in the sfax-Gabes area and later Lieutenant-Colonel R.B. (Paddy) Mayne—credited with more aircraft destroyed than any fighter pilot in the desert war—became CO of the 1st SAS. The 2nd SAS was formed as a unit of the First Army and served among the Mediterranean Islands as the 1st Special Raiding Squadron.
The work of the SAS involved more clandestine activities than in commando work; parachuting into Sicily, for example, ahead of the Allied advance on D + 2 (12 July). 12 men dropped but Major Geoffrey Appleyard’s plane was lost with his party and its crew. By January 1944 there were five SAS regiments—2 British, 2 French and 1 Belgian, who played an undercover role on many occasions in their 42 operations in North West Europe.
Force code names
The grouping of British commandos in various forces from time to time included the following:
Layforce—7, 8 and 11 Commandos sailed to Middle East early in 1942 and joined by 50 and 52 Commandos to form a brigade of the Eighth Army, disbanded after Crete operations in May 1942.
Northforce—drew on men of 12 and 14 Commandos for operations in Norway, including the long reconnaissance at the end of February 1943 to Sognefjord.
Timberforce—formed in late summer of 1943 but by February and March 1944 found raiders could seldom surprise German defenders in Norway.
Fynnforce—men of 12 Commando serving in Northforce.
Forfarforce—parties of about 10 men raiding across the Channel to identify enemy coastal units and capture technical information in the summer of 1943. Men drawn from 12 Commando, SBS. etc.
Layforce II—took over cross-Channel raiding from Forfarforce in November 1943, men from 10(I-A) Commando, 4 Commando and an airborne Troop.
Hiltforce—men of 10(I-A) Commando and RE specialists for May 1944 reconnaissance across the Channel looking for element-C obstacles.
Bibliography
Histories
*James Altieri, The Spearheaders (Bobbs-Merrill, 1960); American Forces in Action, series (US Army, Office of History) including: Omaha Beach-head 6-13 June 1944;
J.E. Appleyard, Geoffrey; being the story of Apple of the Commandos (Blandford, 1947);
*Robert B. Asprey, War in the Shadows (Macdonald & Jane’s, 1976);
Alan Baker, Merrill’s Marauders (Ballantine, 1972); Roger A. Beaumont, Military Elites (Hale, 1976);
Christopher Buckley, Norway—Commandos—Dieppe (HMSO, 1951);
Robert D. Burhans, The First Special Service Force: a History of the North Americans (Washington Infantry Journal Press, 1947);
Bernard J. Callinan, DSO, MC, Independent Company: the 2/2 and 2/4 Independent Companies in Portuguese Timor (Heinemann, Melbourne, 1953);
*Michael Calvert, Chindits: Long Range Penetration (Ballantine, 1973);
Maurice Chauvet, D-Day, 1er B.F.M. Commando (Amicale des Anciens Parachutistes S.A.S. & Commando, 1974);
Joseph H. Devins, The vaagsö Raid; the Commando attack that changed the course of World War II (Hale, 1967);
Eisenhower Foundation, D-day—the Normandy Invasion in Retrospect (University Press of Kansas, 1971);
Sir Bernard Fergusson, The Watery Maze (Collins 1961);
O.A.Gillespie. The Pacific (Owen, Wellington, 1952);
Henry S. Glassman, Lead the Way Rangers: a history of the Fifth Ranger Battalion (published privatey, Bruckmann, 1945);
Harold W. Gunther, ‘E’ Company 2nd Ranger Battalion (published privately, c. 1946);
A.Cecil Hampshire, On Hazardous Service (Kimber, 1974);
History of the Second World War series and allied books (HMSO) including: I.F. Ellis, Victory in the West (1962);*M.R.D. Foot, S.O.E. in France; *S. W. Kirby, The War Against Japan; C.J.C. Molony, The Mediterranean and Middle East (Vol V, 1973);
Gordon Holman, Commando Attack (Hodder, 1942);
*Jeter A. Isley and Philip A. Crowl, The US Marines and Amphibious War: its theory and its practice in the Pacific (Princeton University Press, 1951;
P.K.W. Johnson, The Story of 46 Commando Royal Marines (Gale & Polden, 1946);
Vincent Jones, Operation Torch (Ballantine, 1972);
John Laffin, Anzacs at War (Abelard Schuman, 1965);
Gordon Landsborough, Tobruk Commando (Cassell, 1956);
Collin R. Larsen, Pacific Commando (Reed, Wellington, 1946);
Sir Robert Bruce Lockhart, The Marines Were There (Putnam, 1950);
George Millar, The Bruneval Raid (Bodley Head, 1974);
*J.L. Moulton, Haste to Battle (Cassell, 1963);
*Ross Munro, Gauntlet to Overlord: The Story of the Canadian Army (Macmillan, Toronto, 1946);
C.E. Lucas Phillips, The Cockleshell Heroes (Heinemann, 1957);
*C.E. Lucas Phillips, The Greatest Raid of All: St Nazaire 1942 (Heinemann, 1958):
C.E. Lucas Phillips, The Raiders of the Arakan (Heinemann, 1976);
Hugh Pond, Sicily (Kimber, 1962);
Patrick Pringle, Fighting Marines (Evans, 1966);
Raiding Forces, the Story of an Independent Command in the Aegean (No.1 Public Relations Service. M.E.F. 1945);
Ranger—a short history (US Army Infantry School, Fort Benning, Georgia, 1962);
*Hilary St George Saunders, The Green Beret: the Story of the Commandos 1940-45 (Michael Joseph, 1949);
*Sir William Slim, Defeat into Victory (Cassell, 1956);
C.P. Stacey, The Canadian Army 1939-45 (Ministry of Defence, Ottowa, 1948);
Bill Stutton and Michael Pearson, The Secret Invaders (Hodder, 1958);
R.W. Thompson, The Eighty-Five Days, the story of the Battle of the Scheldt (Hutchinson, 1957);
The United States Army in World War II series (United States Army Office of History) including: M. Hamlin Cannor, Leyte the return to the Philippines; R. Ross Smith, Triumph in the Philippines;
*Charles L. Updegraph, Jr Special Marine Corps Units of the World War II (Historical Division, USMC, 1972);
Peter Young, Commando (Macdonald, 1970);
48 Royal Marine Commando, The Story 1944-6 (published privately, 1946) The 81st Infantry (Wildcat) Division in World War II (Washington Infantry Journal Press, 1948).
Memoirs and biographies
*Michael Davie, editor, The Evelyn Diaries (Weidenfield, 1976);
*John Durnford-Slater, War Commando (Kimber, 1953);
Donald Gilchrist, Castle Commando (Oliver & Boyd, 1960);
*Murdock C. McDougall, Swiftly They Struck: story of No.4 Commando (Odhams, 1954);
*Derek Mills-Roberts, Clash by Night (Kimber, 1956);
*Suzanne lassen, Anders Lassen VC (Muller, 1965);
Ralph Neville, Survey by Starlight (Hodder, 1949);
*Eric Newby, Love and War in the Apennines (Hodder, 1971);
George Talbot, COPPs, Ten’s Boxes (unpublished typescript in the care of the Imperial War Museum);
Bruce S. Wright, The Frogmen of Burma (Kimber, 1968);<
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Peter Young, Storm from the sea (Kimber, 1956).
Articles, references and other papers
The Army Commandos (Ranger Bn Association newsletter, 1971);
The Arctic Front (anon, Norseman Vol 1. No.6, 1944);
Army Training Mermoranda (British) Nos, 34-7 (1940); British Commando (Military Intelligence, Special Series 1, US War Dept, 1942);
*Evans F. Carlson, Report of the Operations of thi Battalion (2nd Raiders) on Guadalcanal 4 November to 4 December 1942 (operation report, 1942);
Diary notes of a commando officer (manuscript in the care of the Imperial War Museum);
Dunlop Digest of Technical and Commercial Information for Dunlop Executives (February, 1946);
John M. Haines, Report of Marine-Submarine Raider Expedition (operational report, 1942);
Julian S. Hatcher, Book of the Garand Rifle (National Rifle Association, USA, 1948);
Fact Files (Macdonald & Jane’s, various dates in 1970s);
The Independent Companies (On Service, Vol III No. 8);
Sapper Jack, Beach Clearance Party (RE Journal Vol LXVI, No.2);
*Sir Martin Lindsay Bt, The Battery (British Army Review No.50, 1975);
Henry A, Mucci, Rescue at Cabanatuan (US Army press release, 1945);
Ranger Battalions—various action reports;
Report on amphibious vehicles (Borg Warner, 1957);
Small Unit Actions (United States War Dept, 1946);
J.P. O’Brien Twohig, Are Commandos really necessary? (Army Quarterly, 1948);
E.J.D Turner-Correspondence with RN Submarine museum, describing Welman one-man submarine;
T.J. Walden and James Gleeson, The Frogman: the story of wartime underwater operations (Evans, 1950);
*S.C. Waters, Anzio (Canadian Army Journal Vol 2 Nos. 5&6, 1948);
30th Assault Unit (notes in the care of the Royal Marines Museum);
‘385’ (diary notes in the care of the Royal Marines Museum).
*Note:
Commandos and Rangers of World War II Page 46