| Page Created |
| August 26th, 2022 |
| Last Updated |
| February 17th, 2024 |
| Great Britain |
 |
| Additional Information |
| Commandos Order of Battle Commanders Operations Equipment Multimedia Sources Biographies |
| Operations |
| Northwest Europe |
June 2nd, 1940 – June 10th, 1940
MI(R) carries out a sabotage operation on the French coast. Three officers sailing on a trawler made available by the Royal Navy are put ashore between Boulogne and Etaples. They set fire to 200,000 tons of fuel and return safely after rowing almost twenty kilometres with a German prisoner of war.
June 24th, 1940 – June 25th, 1940
Operation Collar. 115 men from No.11 Independent Company land in four raiding parties, at Neufchâtel Hardelot, Stella Plage, Berck and Le Touquet in France. Their mission is to test the German defences and to bring back prisoners along the coast in the region of Boulogne in Vrance.
The raiding group that lands at Hardelot moves a few hundred meters hundred metres inland and then return to their launch without meeting any Germans.
The raiding party which lands at Berck discovers a German seaplane anchorage before the coast. The plane is too heavily defended for the group to attack, and they decide to pull back to the beach.
The raiding party which lands at Le Touquet had the Merlimont Plage Hotel as its objective. Intelligence suggested that the Germans were using the hotel as a barracks. When the group reaches the hotel, they discover it was empty and boarded up. Unable to find another target, the group returns to the beach, only to discover that their launch had pulled back to sea. While waiting, two German sentries come close to the group and killed quietly with bayonets. When another German patrol approaches, the group abandons its weapons and to swim to the launch, taking the bodies of the death Germans with them. After reembarking, the corpses of both Germans are tied behind the crowded Motor Launch and towed. The bodies are lost during the voyage back.
The fourth party, after nearly blundering into Boulogne harbour, eventually lands at their landing area of Stella Plage. Here, they encounter a patrol of German cyclists. An officer, attempting to shoot at them, drops the magazine of his Thompson Sub Machine-gun and alerts the Germans. In the hail of German fire that follows a bullet hits the ear of Colonel Dudley Clarke, who accompanies the patrol as an observer. The British reembark under enemy fire. Colonel Dudley Clarke ear is sewn back on during the return journey.
The men in one boat ‘spliced the mainbrace’ and drank the rum carried aboard. Disembarking unsteadily at an English port they were nearly arrested by the military police, who suspected them of being deserters.
July 7th, 1940 – July 11th, 1940
Lieutenant Hubert Nicolle, an officer in the Hampshire Regiment who was originally from Guernsey conducts a reconnaissance operation for Operation Ambassador.
Nicolle Lands on the island by the submarine H 43 and is recovered three days later He provides valuable information. It becomes clear that the Guernsey garrison comprises of 469 German soldiers, concentrated around Saint Peter Port. The machine gun posts along the coast, are sited in a manner that it would take at least twenty minutes between the raising of the alarm and the despatch of reinforcements.
July 14th, 1940 – July 15th, 1940
Operation Ambassador. One hundred and thirty-nine men of No. 11 Independent Company and H Troop of No. 3 Commando. Their mission is to destroy an airfield on the island of Guernsey, one of the British Channel Islands.
Only forty manage to land on the Island of Guernsey. Due to the heavy weather, they have to wade through the heavy surf. They encounter no Germans and inflict only minor damage to the installations they had intended to destroy. Returning to the beach they discover that the weather had worsened, and their Motor Launches are forced to stay offshore. The raiding force swims for it and is forced to leave three men behind who were non-swimmers.
March 3rd, 1941 – March 4th, 1941
Operation Claymore. Five hundred men from No. 3 Commando and No. 4 Commando, 52 Norwegians of the Norwegian Independent Company 1 and a Royal Engineers section. Their mission is to destroy the fish oil industry on the Lofoten Islands, Norway.
July 28th, 1941 – July 28th, 1941
Operation Chess. Sixteen men from No. 12 Commando. Their mission is reconnoitring and capture prisoners in the Ambleteuse area in France.
The men come ashore without a problem and stay there for one hour. They recon the area but prisoners are taken. They leave without taking casualties.
August 30th, 1941 – August 31st, 1941
Operation Acid Drop. Fifteen men of No. 3 Commando. Their Mission is to reconnoitre and capture prisoners in the Neufchâtel-Hardelot – Merlimont area in France.
The men come ashore without a problem and spent thirty minutes ashore to recon the area. They do not encounter any Germans and leave without any prisoners and casualties.
Operation Cartoon (Cancelled)
September 27th, 1941 – September 28th, 1941
Operation Chopper. Twelve men of No. 2 section of No. 5 Troop of No. 1 Commando. Their Mission is to reconnoitre and capture prisoners in the Saint-Aubin-d’Arquenay area in France.
While approaching the landing area the assault party realises that they are heading for the wrong beach. Time is short so they carry on in the hope of seizing a prisoner. While landing they are immediately under German machine gun fire. They try to attack the position but while they are overcoming the beach defences, two more machine guns open fire. The men realise they are outnumbered and retreat. They suffer one injured man and two of them are reported missing. Reports indicate later they died on the beach.
September 27th, 1941 – September 28th, 1941
Operation Deep Cut. Twelve men of No. 1 section of No. 5 Troop of No. 1 Commando. Their Mission is to reconnoitre and capture prisoners in the Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue area, East of Cherbourg in France.
The men land in Saint Vaast Bay. Shortly after landing the run into a German bicycle patrol. They shoot three of them and disperse the others. Being discovered the men return to their landing craft under fire of machine gun fire. They miss the rendezvous with their motor gun boat and their transport Prince Leopold but make it back on their own way to Portsmouth. They suffer two injuries.
November 12th, 1941 – November 13th, 1941
Operation Astrakan. Four men of the No. 101 (Folbot) Troop from No. 6 Commando. Their Mission is a beach reconnaissance near Houlgate and Les Hemmes on the North coast in France for Operation Sunstar, a few weeks later.
The men gather vital information on the suitability of the beach for use by Landing craft. They do not encounter any Germans.
November 22nd, 1941 – November 23rd, 1941
Operation Sunstar. Ninety men from No. 9 Commando. Their mission is to take prisoners for interrogation and to attack the four-gun coastal artillery emplacement of the Batterie de Tournebride to the east of Houlgate, in France.
The raiding party lands at Vaches Noires, a short distance from their intended landing beach, and could not press home their attack because of an intervening clay cliff. As the landing party approaches the beach one of the four Landing Craft Assault (LCA) is taken by the waves and is towed off only with difficulty. At first there is no sign of any Germans, but soon the area starts to be illuminated by flares and searchlights. They hear trucks approaching, so the raiders, move off the beach, after exchanging torch signals with the cover party. The LCA gunners withhold their fire in order not to reveal their position. While waiting for the raiding party a Junkers Ju 87 dive-bomber attacks the waiting LCAs. One of the LCA’s is hit but the crews manage to put two bursts into the aircraft and chase it away. On land one of raiding parties runs into two-men German Bicycle Patrol. They are able to take them out but now being compromised both on sea and land the raiding parties retreat to the beach. The raiders fail to destroy the battery or take any prisoners, but they do obtain documents and other information. They take no casualties.
December 26th, 1941 – December 28th, 1941
Operation Anklet. Three hundred men from No. 12 Commando and the Norwegian Independent Company 1. Their mission is to capture prisoners and destroy radio stations around Florø in Norway.
The men land unopposed on the western side of the island of Moskenesøya. They occupy the villages of Reine and Moskenes, they also capture the small German garrison and a number of Norwegian Quislings at the radio station at Glåpen. The raiding force was attacked on December 27th, 1941, by a German seaplane that bombed the cruiser H.M.S. Arethusa. Although the ship is not hit, it is damaged by the shockwave. Besides the captured Germans and Quislings on the Island, the raiders also destroy two radio transmitters, and they capture or sink several small German boats. The most valuable prise of the raid is the capture of an Enigma coding machine, with its associated wheels and settings, from one of the patrol ships they had sunk.
With no air support of their own, the commander of the raid, Admiral Hamilton, decides to pull out and head back on December 28th, 1941. Over two hundred Norwegians volunteer to serve in the Free Norwegian Forces and leave with the force. The raiding force suffers no casualties.
December 27th, 1941
Operation Archery. Diversion for Operation Anklet. Eight hundred men from No. 2 Commando, No. 3 Commando, a medical detachment of No. 4 Commando a demolition party from 101 Troop (canoe) No. 6 Commando and Norwegian Independent Company 1. Their mission is the destruction of the German shipping, German personnel, and Norwegian harbour installations in Vågsøy in Norway.
Five raiding groups attack the area after a Naval bombardment. In the raid they destroy four fish oil factories and storage buildings. They kill at least 120 German military personnel and take ninety-eight Germans and four Norwegian Quislings prisoner. They also capture a complete copy of the most recent version of the German naval code book. When they embark, seventy-seven Norwegian volunteers return with them to Great Britain. The raiding force suffers seventeen killed troops and fifty-three wounded. The Royal Navy suffers four killed men and another four wounded. The Royal Air Force Coastal Command lose thirty-one men killed and two Handley Page Hampden, seven Bristol Blenheim and two Bristol Beaufighters.
January 17th, 1942 – January 18th, 1942
Operation Curlew. One hundred men from V Corps School of Raiding. Their mission is reconnaissance of beach defences in the Saint Laurent area in France.
Little is known about this recon. The recon party lands unopposed. The party attempts a reconnaissance of the beach defences of the target area, but this not successful. They retreat to the vessels of the Royal Navy to return home. There are no casualties.
February 27th, 1942 – February, 28th 1942
Operation Biting. Recovery party from No. 12 Commando. Their mission is to protect the retreating paratroopers so they can embark the Landing Craft Assault at Bruneval, France.
March 27th, 1942 – March 28th, 1942
Operation Chariot. Six hundred twelve men from No. 2 Commando, the Royal Navy, and detachments from No’s. 1, 3, 4, 5, 9 and 12 Commando. Their mission is the destruction of the Normandie dry dock, the dock pumping machinery and other installations associated with the dry dock at Saint-Nazaire in France.
March 31st, 1942 – April 5th, 1942
Operation Myrmidon. No. 1 Commando, No. 6 Commando, One and a half Royal Marine battalion, Armoured Regiment, Motor Battalion, Landing Ship, Infantry (Medium) H.M.S. Princess Beatrix and H.M.S. Queen Emma. Their mission is to attack the coast defence guns at the entrance to the river, a T.N.T. factory, and a small aircraft factory, in addition to the the port facilities and to disrupt road and rail transport between France and Spain, at the Adour Estuary, France.
The Commando assault force embark the two Landing Ship, Infantry (Medium) H.M.S. Queen Emma and H.M.S. Princess Beatrix on March 31st, 1942. The convoy spends a few days off the French coast disguised as Spanish merchant ships. On April 5th, 1942, the ships approach the mouth of the Adour estuary, where the assault force would land. However, amid severe weather, they encounter a sandbar that is not expected, and the convoy is unable to pass it. The commander decides to call off the raid and the convoy returns to Great Britain.
April 11th, 1942 – April 12th, 1942
Operation JV. Captain Gerald Montanaro and Trooper Preece of 101 (Folbot) Troop of No. 6 Commando. Their mission is destroying German Shipping in Boulogne-sur-Mer in France.
The men succeed in planting a Limpet mine on a German Tanker and escape without being seen.
April 19th, 1942
Operation Abercrombie.100 men from B and C troops of No. 4 Commando and a detachment of fifty men from the Carleton and York Regiment. Their mission is to reconnoitre the beaches off the village of Hardelot, capture German prisoners and destroy a searchlight battery at Neufchâtel-Hardelot area in France. The mission is more or less a practice mission for Operation Jubilee.
The convoy of Motor Gun Boats and Landing Craft Assaults sets off on the evening but after two hours, one Landing Craft Assault starts taking on water and sinks. The two crewmen are recovered but two commandos who are manning the Bren guns are lost. The convoy aborts and heads home.
April 21st, 1942 – April 22nd, 1942
Operation Abercrombie.100 men from B and C troops of No. 4 Commando and a detachment of fifty men from the Carleton and York Regiment. Their mission is to reconnoitre the beaches off the village of Hardelot, capture German prisoners and destroy a searchlight battery at Neufchâtel-Hardelot area in France. The mission is more or less a practice mission for Operation Jubilee.
The ships carrying the Canadian Carleton and York Regiment experience navigational problems and become separated from the rest of the Landing Force., Wandering along the shore they attract tracer fire from the shore which is returned by their accompanying Motor Gun Boats. Because of this the Canadian troops fail to disembark.
The Commandos land unopposed further to the north than intended. They escape detection until they move into the deep sand dunes and wire entanglements. Support fire from the Landing Craft Supports partially suppressed moderate German tracer fire from the flanks and the commandos can progress.
The defences are light and/or abandoned as they advance. They encounter only three Germans who withdrew immediately. A twelve-men patrol sent to destroy the searchlights reaches their objective but retreats before they can attack due to the lack of time remaining as signalled by the re-call rocket.
The only Allied casualty was a commando who is shot through the ankles after failing to respond to a beachhead sentry’s challenge quickly enough. Supporting Navy craft encounter and engage enemy vessels, including E Boats, sinking at least one and damaging others. The Navy suffers three casualties. Enemy casualties were unknown.
May 31st, 1942 – June 1st, 1942
Operation Foxrock. Hundred men of No. 12 Commando. Their mission is to destroy the entrance to the Somme Canal and other installations at St Valéry sur Somme, France.
This operation is planned after the success of Operation Chariot against the Normandie Dock in Saint Nazaire, France. The operation is abandoned when the convoy taking the assault force to France is spotted by a German patrol vessel.
June 3rd, 1942 – June 4th, 1942
Operation Bristle. 250 men from No. 1 Commando. Their mission is performing a beach reconnaissance, to remove or destroy the Radio Direction Finding apparatus and bring parts of it back along with captured enemy technical personnel, in the area North of Plage Saint Cecily in France.
August 19th, 1942
Operation Jubilee. Canadian 2nd Infantry Division, 14th Army Tank Regiment (The Calgary Regiment (Tank)) and British No. 3 Commando, No. 4 Commando (50 US Army Rangers), No. 10 Commando, No. 30 Commando, No. 40 Commando. Their mission is to capture and occupy for a brief period the port town of Dieppe, to test the feasibility of a landing and to gather intelligence. Before leaving, the invasion force, must destroy the German coastal defences, port structures and important buildings.
August 19th, 1942
Operation Cauldron. No. 4 Commando. Operation within Operation Jubilee. Their mission is to attack and destroy the Hess Battery at Varengeville.
August 19th, 1942
Operation Flodden. No 3 Commando. Operation within Operation Jubilee. Their mission is to attack and destroy the coastal battery near Berneval.
September 11th, 1942 – September 21st, 1942
Operation Musketoon. Ten men from No. 2 Commando and two men of the Norwegian Independent Company 1 of the Special Operations Executive and the Minerve-class submarine, Junon. Their mission is to destroy the Glomfjord power plant, south of Narvik, which supplies an aluminium plant in the area. The men succeed and get away. One is wounded during the escape toSweden and dies of his wounds in hospital, three days after the raid. Seven others are captured and send to Germany seven as prisoners. These men are executed on October 13rd, 1942 at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in Germany as part of Hitler’s infamous Kommando Befehl. Four men make it to Sweden and are repatriated by aircraft to RAF Leuchars.
September 18th,1942 – September 19th, 1942
Operation Basalt. Twelve men from the Small Scale Raiding Force, No. 62 Commando and No. 12 Commando, Motor Torpedo Boat 344. Cancelled due to bad weather.
October 3rd – 4th, 1942
Operation Basalt. Twelve men from the Small Scale Raiding Force, No. 62 Commando and No. 12 Commando, Motor Torpedo Boat 344. Their mission is an offensive reconnaissance of the island Sark, one of the British Channel Islands and to capture German soldiers for integration.
With the help of the locals the Commandos manage to get some valuable information and capture five German soldiers. While trying to capture some officers in the nearby hotel, one German escapes. In the fight that follows three Germans are killed. The Commandos decide to retreat to the Motor Torpedo Boat and return to Great Britain with one German prisoner.
November 11th – 12th, 1942
Operation Fahrenheit. Ten men from No. 12 Commando and the Small Scale Raiding Force, No. 62 Commando, Motor Torpedo Boat 344. Their mission is to capture German servicemen for interrogation by attacking a signals station at Pointe de Plouezec on the North Brittany coast, France.
After a frontal assault on the Signal Station and killing several Germans, the raiding party comes under fire from the Signals Station. They decide to retreat before reinforcements arrive. The raiding party successfully re-embarks and returns to Dartmouth.
November 15th – 16th, 1942
Operation Batman. Ten men from No. 12 Commando and the Small Scale Raiding Force, No. 62 Commando, Motor Torpedo Boat 344. Their mission is situated near Cherbourg, France.
The operation is cancelled due to high seas.
November 18th – 23rd, 1942
Operation Freshman. Thirty-two sappers from the Royal Engineer units attached to 1st Airborne Division, two Horsa Gliders and two Handley Page Halifax Tug Aircraft of No. 38 Wing RAF. Their mission was to destroy the Vemork Norsk hydro hydrogen electrolysis plant in Telemark, Norway which produced heavy water that could be used to support the German Nuclear Bomb program.
After Borne-borne landing on the frozen lake Møsvatn, the raiding party are to rendezvous with the ‘Grouse’ team and move to the Vemork Norsk hydro hydrogen electrolysis plant in Telemark. The operation fails when the troop-carrying gliders and one of their Handley Page Halifax tugs crash short of their destination. Except for the crew of one Halifax bomber, all the participants are killed in the crashes or captured. The captured men are first interrogated and then executed by the Gestapo as a result of Hitler’s Kommando Befehl.
November 22nd – 29th, 1942
Operation. Five men of No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando. Their mission is to conduct a reconnaissance and capture prisoners in the Bergen area, Norway.
There were three attempts at this operation. The first one is abandoned after being spotted by German aircraft. The second succeeds in landing and gather some intelligence from Norwegian fishermen. After which they retreat. The third was abandoned due to harsh weather.
January 23rd, 1943 – January 24th, 1943
Operation Cartoon. Fifty-three men of No. 12 Commando, ten men from the No. 5 (Norwegian) Troop, No. 10 (Iinter-Allied) Commando under Captain Harald Risnes, No. 18 Group RAF, seven Royal Norwegian Navy Motor Torpedo Boats of 30th MTB Flotilla. Their mission is the destruction of the Stordø Kisgruber Pyrite mine on the island of Stord near Leirvik in Vestland, Norway.
On arrival, half the commandos land at Sagvåg quay to engage the German defensive positions there. The other half lands on the opposite side of the bay. Carrying 25 kg of explosives it takes the Commandos 25 minutes to cover the distance to the Pyrite mine, 3.2 km away. The explosive charges put the mine out of action for a year. As they depart, the Motor Torpedo Boats attack a German steamer, leaving the ship sinking. The commandos capture three German prisoners, valuable papers, and equipment. One is commando killed, while two commandos and eight sailors are injured.
February 9th, 1943 – February 10th, 1943
Operation Huckaback. Forty-two men from the Small Scale Raiding Force of No. 62 Commando and No. 4 Commando. Their mission is to take prisoners and gain information during a simultaneous raid about the situation on the occupied Channel Islands, Herm, Jethou and Brecqhou.
The mission is cancelled due to severe weather.
February 24th, 1943 – March 1st, 1943
Operation Crackers. Sixteen men from No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando, No. 12 Commando No. 14 (Arctic) Commando (five men) and No. 30 Commando. Their mission is to attack an observation post, take prisoners and reconnoitre another observation post at Sognefjord in Norway.
After landing it becomes clear that rough seas prevent the men from completing their mission. Instead, an unmanned observation post is taken over for a week undetected, gathering information. No casualties are suffered.
February 27th, 1943 – February 28th, 1943
Operation Huckaback. Ten officers and men of No. 4 Commando and the Small Scale Raiding Force of No. 62 Commando under Captain Patrick Anthony Porteous VC, Captain W. Hewitt of No. 1 Bombardment Unit and Motor Torpedo Boat 344. Their mission is to take prisoners and gain information about the situation in the occupied Channel Island of Herm and assess the potential to land and use artillery on the island.
The raiding force land two hundred metres to the north-west of Selle Rocque on a shingle beach from MTB 344. After three unsuccessful attempts to scale the cliff, Porteous finally manages to climb up the bed of a stream and pulls the others up using toggle ropes the men wear.
On reaching Belvoir House, the raiding force finds it had been broken into and abandoned. During continued reconnaissance they also find the Old Tower of Herm and the Château deserted. The raid does not find any signs of the German occupation troop or the island’s population. The caretaker of Belvoir house was aware of people on the island but locks the door. Leaflets are left for the Germans to find. The commandos retreat to the beach and return to England.
March 19th, 1943
Operation Roundabout. A total of ten men from which four soldiers of the Norwegian troop of No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando, four men from the 29th Ranger Battalion and two men of No. 12 Commando under command of Captain Gilchrist. Their mission is to destroy a bridge over a Fjord at Stad, Norway.
The raiding team lands unopposed and makes it to the target. Here one of the Norwegians of No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando drops a magazine for his weapon, alerting the German guards. The team retreats to the extraction zone.
April 12th, 1943 – April 14th, 1943
Operation Carey. Northforce section of No. 12 Commando. They performed several operations in the Norwegian Fjords.
April 29th, 1943 – May 15th, 1943
Operation Checkmate. Seven men from No. 14 (Arctic) Commando of which one is attached from No. 12 Commando, two Cockle Mk.2 Canoes, one Coble and one Motor Torpedo Boat. Their mission is to attack German shipping in the harbour of Haugesund, Norway.
The Commandos are transported across the by Motor Torpedo Boat. On arrival in Norwegian waters, they set up their patrol base on the island of Bokn, before the Motor Torpedo Boat leaves them. The intention is that the Motor Torpedo Boat returns later and transports them back to the Great Britain.
The commandos prepare their canoes. Lieutenant Godwin and Able Seaman Burgess make one crew and the other crew consists of Able Seamen Mayor and West. They use the coble to move within striking distance of their targets and then use the canoes to get in closer and plant their Limpet mines. They manage to sink the minesweeper, M 5207. The two canoes then return to the location where the coble had been. However, it been moved by the three remaining soldiers, with the assistance of Norwegian civilians, to a safer location further inland. Not finding the coble, the two canoes then move westward, towards the Urter islands, where they waited for the Motor Torpedo Boat. The coble moves further inland to make contact with the canoeists but are eventually forced to abandon the coble.
The three men are captured on May 14th, 1943, after an extensive search by the German Army, police, and Norwegian civilians. The day after, the four men on Urter are also captured. They are held at the Grini concentration camp and interrogated, before they are handed over to the Sicherheitsdienst (SD) and transported to concentration camp Sachsenhausen in Germany. Here six of them are executed under the Kommando Befehl, one of them dies earlier of typhus.
July 3rd, 1943 – September 4th,1943
Operation Starkey. Raiding parties of around ten men, drawn from No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando, No. 12 Commando and the Special Boat Squadron known as Operation Forfar. Their mission is to simulate the preparations of an invasion in the Pas de Calais area in France by the end of September. The raiding party’s objective within operation Starkey is reconnaissance for a simulated invasion and draw the attention of the Germans. To that end the raiders leave behind letters for the enemy to pick up. The overall intention of Operation Starkey is drawing the Luftwaffe into an air battle with the simulated invasion threat.
The Germans fail to respond to the operation.
July 3rd, 1943 – September 4th, 1943
Operation Forfar. Between thirteen and fourteen raiding operations are planned but only six raiding operations are confirmed to have taken place. Some sources speak of eight operations that would have taken place. The confirmed operations are, Operation Forfar Easy, Operation Forfar Dog, Operation Forfar How, Operation Forfar Beer and Operation Forfar Item. Some of these operations are aborted several times due to various circumstances.
The Forfar raids are something of a failure. The objective of alerting the enemy to the presence of reconnaissance raids on the coastline is hardly met. The raiding neither manages to contact the Germans nor bring back prisoners. However, the last two Forfar operations, while not being totally successful, at least it shows the planners and those involved what could be achieved with luck and guts.
October 3rd, 1943
Operation Devon.
November 24th, 1943 – January 1944
Operation Hardtack. Men from No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando, No. 12 Commando, the Special Boat Service, and the 2nd U.S. Ranger Battalion. Their mission is to gather intelligence and assess proposed landing areas of German-occupied Northern France in preparation for Operation Neptune during Operation Overlord.
The raids are ended by order of Major General R. E. Laycock, the Chief of Combined Operations. The reason was that intelligence had shown that the raids made the Germans bring in extra reinforcements. Especially into the areas in which Operation Overlord would take place.
June 6th, 1944
Operation Overlord.
November 1st, 1944 – November 8th, 1944
Operation Infatuate. No. 2 (Dutch) Troop, No. 1 (French) Troop and No. 8 (French) Troop of No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando attached to No. 4 Commando. No. 4 (Belgian) and No. 5 (Norwegian) troops of No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando attached to No. 41 (RM) Commando, No. 47 (RM) Commando and No. 48 (RM) Commando.
The three Royal Marine Commandos of 4th Special Service Brigade, along with the No. 4 (Belgian) and No. 5 (Norwegian) troops of No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando, land at Westkapelle on the western side of the island. No. 4 Commando, with No. 1 (French) Troop, No. 2 (Dutch) Troop and No. 8 (French) Troop under command, cross from Breskens and land at Flushing. The landings at Flushing are successful and by 16:00 all resistance is overcome. The landings at Westkapelle meet stiff resistance from the German coastal defences. However, by the end of the day the Commandos are in the positions they want to be. By November 8th, 1944, the Germans are tied down are encircled and at 08:15 that same day forty thousand German soldiers offer their surrender. The Commandos have lost 103 killed, 325 wounded and 68 missing during the operation.
March 23rd, 1945
Operation Plunder.
| North Africa |
April 15th, 1941
Operation Addition I. Brigade HQ, together with A Battalion (No. 7 Commando (Lieutenant Colonel Colvin)), C Battalion (No. 11 Commando (Lieutenant Colonel Pedder)), Layforce in the two Glen Landing Ships. Their mission is to disrupt enemy lines of communication and damage installations and equipment in Bardia, Libia. Four Troops of B Battalion (No 8 Commando (Lieutenant Colonel Daly)), Layforce in a destroyer. Submarine H.M.S. Triumph.
On arrival in the landing areas the following night, the sea swell is too great to safely allow the folbots to disembark from their submarine and for the Commandos to re-embark from the beaches. The action is, therefore, called off.
April 19th, 1941 – April 20th, 1941
Operation Addition II. A Battalion (No. 7 Commando (Lieutenant Colonel Colvin)) Layforce, Landing Ship, Infantry (Large) H.M.S. Glengyle and Submarine H.M.S. Triumph. Their mission is to disrupt enemy lines of communication and damage installations and equipment in Bardia, Lybia.
One Armoured Landing Craft cannot be lowered and there are difficulties with the release gear on the other craft. Nonetheless, the approaches to the beaches on the night are smoothly but there is no sign of the expected guiding lights from the shore. The placing of these lights is the responsibility of Layforce’s folbot section, under Roger Courtney. Later it becomes clear that the submarine carrying Courtney and his men, H.M.S. Triumph, is forced to take evasive actions when they come under friendly fire, causing the delay.
Despite these setbacks, the detachments are only 15 minutes behind schedule when they land on the beaches. However, without the benefit of the guiding navigational lights, some Armoured Landing Crafts land on the wrong beaches. Fortunately, the landings are unopposed, and the men move inland to locate and destroy their various targets. In some cases, the task proves more difficult than expected, due to inaccurate or incomplete intelligence. Some targets do not exist or are found in unexpected locations.
June 7th, 1941 – June 8th, 1941
Operation Exporter. Litani River Raid I. C Battalion (No. 11 Commando (Lieutenant Colonel Pedder), Landing Ship, Infantry (Large) H.M.S. Glengyle, light cruiser H.M.S. Coventry, destroyers H.M.S. Ilex and H.M.S. Hotspur. Their mission is to seize and hold the Qasmiye bridge, Syria until relieved by the 21st Australian Infantry Brigade.
23:50. The Battalion embarks in Assault Landing Craft (ALC) 00:38. The Landing force arrives off the mouth of the River Litani.
01:00. The Assault Landing Craft are lowered into the water. 01:30. The operation is cancelled by Captain Petrie, Royal Navy. He had received information from Lieutenant Potter, Royal Navy (Senior Beachmaster) and Sub-Lieutenant Colenut, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, a Palestinian Policeman from Haifa. The two men had reconnoitred the landing beaches on June 7th, 1941, and their observations, together with Colenut’s local knowledge of the coast, gave rise to concerns about the troops landing safely. With the current weather and tidal conditions, there is a substantial risk of the Assault Landing Craft would broach or even capsize. Despite the fierce resistance of C Battalion’s officers against the cancellation the Convoy returns to Port Said, Egypt.
June 9th, 1941 – June 10th, 1941
Operation Exporter. Litani River Raid II. C Battalion (No. 11 Commando (Lieutenant Colonel Pedder), Landing Ship, Infantry (Large) H.M.S. Glengyle, light cruiser H.M.S. Coventry, destroyers H.M.S. Ilex and H.M.S. Hotspur. Their mission is to seize and hold the Qasmiye bridge until relieved by the 21st Australian Infantry Brigade.
03:00. The Assault Landing Craft are lowered and start approaching the landing area.
04:20 – 04:50. C Battalion lands in three separate places, the initial landing is almost unopposed due to the defenders being in combat against the Australian troops.
Since the Commandos land late the Vichy French defenders have enough time to destroy the bridge. In the days that the unit is involved in the fighting and take heavy casualties. One of them is Lieutenant Colonel Pedder, the battalion commander. He is killed in an assault on the French barracks. He is succeeded in command by Lieutenant Colonel Geoffrey Keyes, under which command the Commandos are able to secure the river crossing. They do this by crossing the river in canvas boats with the help of the Australian troops.
A Vichy counterattack using armoured cars is drive repelled and a pontoon bridge across the river is constructed.
Even though the unit is equipped with ammunition and food to last eight hours they eventually are involved in 29 hours of fighting. At the end of the battle 130 Commandos are killed or wounded.
November 10th, 1941 – November 19th, 1941
Operation Flipper. Fifty men from Layforce under command of Lieutenant Colonel Robert Laycock, two men from Special Boat Section, Long Range Desert group, Submarines H.M.S. Torbay and H.M.S. Talisman, foldbots. Their mission is to attack the German and Italian Headquarters and disturb their communications. There are indications that the real intention of the operation is to kill or capture the German Marshall Erwin Rommel.
The operations fails due to several difficulties and the fact that Erwin Rommel is not at the presumed Headquarters. Three men make it back behind the Allied lines. Of the raiding force who made it ashore, twenty-eight are captured of which three are wounded. Only Lieutenant Colonel Keyes is killed by the Germans, one other man drowns during the landing. The German suffer four killed and three wounded.
November 8th, 1942
Operation Torch. No. 1 Commando, No. 6 Commando, U.S. 168th Regimental Combat Team of the 34th Infantry Division, 36th Brigade Group of the British 78th Infantry Division. Their mission is to land from the sea, overcome the French Defences and move land inward.
Both Commandos are part of the landings of the U.S. 34th Infantry Division under the overall command of Major-General Charles W. Ryder on three landing beaches around Algiers, Algeria. Two beaches are situated west of Algiers and one east. The Commandos land with the U.S. 168th Regimental Combat Team of the 34th Infantry Division on the Middle Beach. The 36th Brigade Group of the British 78th Infantry Division serves as a (floating) Reserve unit.
The landings are a complete succes. Even though some units land on the wrong beaches, they land almost unopposed. The coastal batteries have already been neutralised by the French Resistance and one French commander defects to the Allies.
November 30th, 1942 – December 5th, 1942
Operation Bizerte. No. 1 Commando (6 troops), 1st Battalion U.S. Army Rangers (4 companies), eight donkeys (mortars), nine Landing Craft Mechanised and four Landing Craft Assault. Their mission is to seize and hold two Road Junctions, deny the road between these junctions to the enemy, destroy the enemy transport and delay and harass the enemy forces withdrawing before the advance of 36th Infantry Brigade in Garaet Achkel, Douar Faroudja area in Tunesia.
After landing the Commandos and US. Army Rangers move towards their objectives. They succeed in capturing both road junctions and the road in between. The enemy is denied from using the road for three days. The British suffer 4 Officers and 56 Other Ranks as casualties, while the Americans loose 2 Officers and 72 Other Ranks.
| Mediterranean |
February 24th, 1941 – February 28th, 1941
Operation Abstention. Two-hundred men from No. 50 Commando, 24-man detachment of Royal Marines, one company of Sherwood Foresters, the destroyers H.M.S. Decoy and H.M.S. Hereward, the gunboat H.M.S. Ladybird, armed yacht H.M.S. Rosaura, light cruisers H.M.A.S. Perth and H.M.S. Bonaventure, submarine H.M.S. Parthian. Their mission is to establish a motor torpedo-boat base to challenge the Italian naval and air supremacy on the Greek Dodecanese islands.
The Commandos and Royal Marines land unopposed and complete their objectives. The Italians react fast with air and naval support and reinforcements. The British lack these forms of support and are forced to retreat in the following days.
May 26th, 1941 – May 31st, 1941
Rear-guard actions on Crete. A Battalion (No. 7 Commando (Lieutenant Colonel Colvin)) D Battalion (No. 50 (Middle East) and No. 52 (Middle East) Commando (Lieutenant Colonel G.A.D. Young Royal Engineers), Layforce. Their mission is to cover the retreat of the Commonwealth troops on Crete as a rear-guard.
The commandos land in Crete at Suda Bay. The retreat from the island has already been decided upon. The Commandos are tasked together with 2/8 Australian Infantry Battalion, to cover the withdrawal of the New Zealand Division from the area Canea, Suda Bay area, to an embarkation port at Sphakhia, on the south coast of the island. The route followed the road from Suda Bay on the north coast through Stylos – Babali Hani and Askifou to Sphakia on the south some sixty-five kilometres by road.
During the withdrawal, the main Commando actions both take place on May 28th, 1941. Early in the morning, near Stylos, counter attacks by No. 7 Commando beat off determined German attempts to cut the road of retreat and allow the tail of the main body to get clear.
Later at Babali Hani, some 7,5 kilometres further south, the Commandos take up a defensive position astride the main road, repulse two separate German attacks at noon and later about 15.00 hours. They hold this position until dark, before withdrawing under orders about 20.00.
August 19th, 1941 – September 2nd, 1941
Raid railway bridge. Thirteen Commandos of No. 12 Commando, under command of Lieutenant Dudley Schofield, Submarine Triumph (Commander. W.J.W. Woods, Royal Navy) of the 10th Submarine Flotilla, nine canoes in total (one single canoe and four towing canoes, four others with demolitions and stores). Their mission is to destroy the railway bridge near Torrente Furiano that leads from Messina to Palermo, Sicily.
The mission is successful, and the bridge is blown however eight commandos including Lieutenant Schofield are captured by the Italians. Four Commandos make it back to the H.M.S. Triumph.
July 10th, 1943
Operation Husky. No. 2 Commando, No. 3 Commando, No. 40 (RM) Commando, No. 41 (RM) Commando and Royal Naval Beach Commandos, Special Raiding Squadron, 1st U.S. Ranger Battalion, 3rd U.S. Ranger Battalion, 4th U.S. Ranger Battalion. The Allied invasion of Sicily.
August 15th, 1943 – August 16th, 1943
Operation Blackcock. No. 2 Commando. Their mission is part of a pair of Allied operations to cut off the last elements of the German forces trying to fall back to their evacuation point at Messina in north-eastern Sicily.
No. 2 Commando lands a bit off the intended spot, at Scaletta a small coastal town, behind the German lines, about twenty-five kilometres south of Messina. When they move inland, they quickly engage the tail-end of the German rear-guard who are heading at top speed towards their evacuation point at Messina. The vehicle and their passengers have not much of a chance and the fight is over a short while.
The following morning it becomes clear that several soldiers of the German rear-guard are hiding in houses and other buildings in Scaletta. The Commandos move in, and heavy street fighting follows during the morning of August 16th, 1943, resulting in casualties on both sides.
After the conclusion of the fight at Scaletta, the commander of No. 2 Commando Lieutenant Colonel “Mad Jack” Churchill and a few officers get into a vehicle and head for Messina. Driving at high-speed while brushing off other British groups who try to join them to reach Messina first, they discover when they arrive there, that the Americans arrived there first during the previous night.
September 8th, 1943 – September 9th, 1943
Operation Ferdy. No. 40 (RM) Commando and two troops of No. 3 Commando. Their mission is to interfere with enemy withdrawal, prevent demolition of roads and bridges and thus aid the advance of the British 8th Army.
The Assault Force performs an amphibious landing at dawn at Vibo Valentia, known at the time as Porto San Venere, on the southern tip of Italy. After a first day of heavy fighting, the following day X troop of No. 40 (RM) Commando enters the neighbouring town of Pizzo.
September 9th, 1943
Operation Avalanche. No. 2 Commando, No. 41 (RM) Commando, Royal Naval Beach Commandos, 1st U.S. Army Ranger Battalion, 3rd U.S. Army Ranger Battalion 4th U.S. Army Ranger Battalion. The Allied invasion of Italy.
October 3rd, 1943 – October 8th, 1943
Operation Devon. No. 3 Army Commando, No. 40 (RM) Commando, Special Raiding Squadron. Their mission is to capture Termoli, and with it unhinging the German defensive position along the river Bifurno.
The Commandos of the 1st Special Service Brigade complete their objective on the first day and hold the town of Termoli for another five days against heavy attacks of the Germans until reinforcements arrive. The 1st Special Service Brigade alone suffers three officers and twenty-nine other ranks killed, seven officers and seventy-eight other ranks are wounded, and one officer and twenty-two other ranks are missing.
December 29th, 1943 – December 30th, 1943
Operation Partridge. No. 9 Commando. Their mission is to perform a diversionary raid behind the German lines, to cover the withdrawal of the X Corps in preparation for its proposed assault across the Garigliano river.
During the night, No. 9 Commando lands 85 minutes late on the north shore of the estuary about one kilometre away from their correct landing beach. The commandos attack several German positions before withdrawing across the river in DUKW’s. Troop No. 4 and Troop No. 6 cross the river 2,500 metres upriver swimming and by using ropes.
No. 9 Commando loses nine men while twenty-one are wounded in this operation. They kill sixteen Germans, and twenty-eight others were taken prisoner.
January 22nd, 1943
Operation Shingle. No. 9 Commando and No. 43 (RM) Commando of the 2nd Special Service Brigade under command of Brigadier R.J.F. Tod.
February 1944
Eight officers of No. 2 Commando and No. 43 RM Commando, the Office of Strategic Services accompanied by Petar Vidan, commander of the Šolta flotilla, Yugoslav boat NB-2. Their mission is to reconnoitre the Island of Šolta, for Operation Detained.
Since the Garrison rarely leave the town Grohote on the the Island of Šolta, the Allied Reconnaissance Team can move freely around the island. After completion of the reconnaissance U.S. Army First Lieutenant Walter F. Ruthowski makes a report which puts the German strength at 150-160 soldiers of which at least twenty-five are Polish soldiers. Of the latter the locals say that they are willing to surrender to Western Allies. Local population also provide detailed information about the armament of the German garrison.
March 3rd, 1944
Battle for Anzio. No. 9 Commando.
March 17th, 1944 – March 20th, 1944
Operation Detained. No. 2 Commando, Yugoslavian/American Operational Group, Office of Strategic Services (OSS), Greek/American Operational Group, Office of Strategic Services (OSS), three Landing Ship Infantry, three Landing Craft Assault. Their mission is to capture or destroy enemy garrison concentrated in town of Grohote, Island of Šolta.
The assault force lands unopposed and after moving into their objective area they offer the German garrison to surrender. The Germans refuse and the assault force hits them with everything they have. After some heavy bombing by British aircraft the German garrison surrenders. By 12:30 all actions have seized and the Assault Force reembarks. Another convoy sails to the Island to evacuate every civilian that wants to leave the island. By March 20th, 1944, the operation is ended.
March 19th, 1944
Operation X, No. 9 Commando. Their mission is to clear three Wadis about a kilometre from the perimeter of the beachhead which the Germans are using as a forming up point for counter attacks.
Lieutenant Colonel Tod reforms No. 9 Commando into three squadrons for the operation. Due to their heavy casualties during the recent operations around Monte Ornito, the strength of No. 9 Commando is reduced to fourteen officers and just 255 Other Ranks. He then looks at the operational area. The wadis are U shaped with a small hill in the centre and some further high ground below the base of the U. Therefor Tod divides the operation into three phases codenamed Haydon, Charles, and Laycock. The first phase, Haydon, starts under cover of the darkness against the left-hand arm of the U. The second phase, Charles, is to attack at first light and clears the enemy off the base of the U. The third phase, Laycock, is to clear the enemy off the right-hand arm of the U.
When the operation starts the battle that evolves is brutal. Consisting of a lot of fighting at close quarter and attacks and counter attacks from both sides. No. 9 Commando succeeds in taking the objective but is denied the immediate reinforcements and supplies they need. Eventually they are ordered by Brigade Headquarters to withdraw to the positions they had started from.
No. 9 Commando suffers seventy-three casualties, killed wounded or missing, during the action.
April 1st, 1945 – April 3rd, 1945
Operation Roast.
| East Africa |
May 5th, 1942 – October 1942
Operation Ironclad. No. 5 Commando. Their mission is to land ahead of the main force and carry out a raid on a French coastal artillery battery near Courrier and Ambarata Bays on the northern tip of the island eighteen kilometres to the west of Diego Suarez, Madagascar. After that they have to stand by for further assignments.
The Commandos complete their missions successfully and stay in Madagascar until October, after which the unit returns to Great Britain.
| Burma |
March 11th, 1944 – March 23rd, 1944
No. 5 Commando, No. 44 (RM) Commando, Royal Navy Beach Commandos, Hotel. Their mission is patrolling behind enemy lines near Alethangaw, Burma.
No. 5 Commando lands behind the Japanese lines near Alethangaw. For a couple of weeks they carry out patrols in the Japanese rear. They capture Buthidaung and the Japanese stronghold of Razabil after which No. 5 Commando returns to the coast at Maungdaw to be followed later by No. 44 (RM) Commando. Two troops of this commando suffer heavy casualties on March 23rd, 1944 when they are ambushed in a narrow defile on their way back after being called out to help extricate an artillery battery from an exposed defile.
March 23rd, 1944 – April 11th, 1944
No. 5 Commando, No. 44 (RM) Commando. Their mission is to perform long-range patrols in the Maungdaw area, Burma.
The Commandos are pulled back to the Maungdaw area. For almost three weeks the Commandos carry out a number of long-range patrols on key terrain in the Maungdaw area.
April 11th, 1944 – August 1944
Operation Silchar. No. 5 Commando, No. 44 (RM) Commando. Their mission is to perform long-range patrols in the Silchar area, Burma.
In April, after the Japanese launched Operation U-Go (the invasion of India through northern Burma and Assam) No. 5 Commando and No. 44 (RM) Commando are withdrawn from Maungdaw and moved to Silchar. This area is an important communications and logistics hub in southern Assam. For four months they are stationed there, carrying out 3/4-day long-range patrols into the surrounding hills and wait for the Japanese to arrive. They never make it that far, having been defeated around Imphal and Kohima.
November 22nd, 1944 –
Operation Bean. No. 1 Commando No. 5 Commando. Their mission is