| Special Forces Operations in December 1943 |
| December 24th, 1943 |
| Operation Hardtack 1 |
| Commandos |
| Team of Commandos. Their mission is a beach reconnaissance at Gravelines, France. |
| December 25th, 1943 |
| Operation Hardtack 2. |
| Commandos |
| Team of Commandos. Their mission is a beach reconnaissance at Gravelines, France. |
| December 25th, 1943 |
| Operation Hardtack 3 |
| Commandos |
| Team of Commandos. Their mission is a beach reconnaissance at Quinéville on the east side of the Cotentin peninsula, France. |
| December 26th, 1943 – December 27th, 1943 |
| Operation Hardtack 4 |
| No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando |
| Ten men of No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando. Their mission is a beach reconnaissance by tat Biville (actually Criel sur Mer) in the Dieppe area, France. The raiders were forced to withdraw in the face of German patrol activity. |
| December 26th, 1943 – December 27th, 1943 |
| Operation Hardtack 5 |
| No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando |
| Ten men of No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando. Their mission is a beach reconnaissance at Onival near Le Tréport, France. One commando is injured by an anti-personnel mine during the landing. The rest of the reconnaissance party spends four and a half hours ashore. They observe some unoccupied strongpoints but do not see any German troops. |
| December 25th, 1943 – December 26th, 1943 |
| Operation Hardtack 6 |
| No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando, Commandos |
| Seven men of No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando and No. 12 Commando, Motor Gun Boat 322 and a Dory known as Force 114, protected by units of the 1st Motor Torpedo Boat Flotilla and the 10 Air Group. This mission would take place together with Operation Hardtack 28. Their mission is a to capture a prisoner and perform a reconnaissance of the enemy coast and defences on Sark one of the Channel Islands, France. The raiders are unable to scale the cliff below which they land. They are therefore forced to retreat to the Great Britain. |
| December 26th, 1943 – December 27th, 1943 |
| Operation Hardtack 7 |
| No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando, Commandos |
| Operation Hardtack 7. Seven men of No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando and No. 12 Commando, Motor Gun Boat 322 and a Dory known as Force 114, protected by units of the 1st Motor Torpedo Boat Flotilla and the 10 Air Group. This mission would take place together with Operation Hardtack 28. Their mission is a to capture a prisoner and perform a reconnaissance of the enemy coast and defences on Sark one of the Channel Islands, France. Two men are killed, and three men wounded when they end up in a minefield. The force retreats. |
| December 26th, 1943 |
| Operation Hardtack 8 |
| Commandos |
| Team of Commandos. Their mission is a beach reconnaissance on Jersey one of the Channel Islands, Great Britain. |
| December 24th, 1943 – December 25th, 1943 |
| Operation Hardtack 11 |
| No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando |
| Seven men of No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando. Their mission is a beach reconnaissance on Gravelines, France. The motor torpedo boat transporting the raiding party diverts to attack a convoy. While trying to land, the raiding party’s dory then sinks with the death of one man. The other six men reach the shore and join the French resistance. |
| December 24th, 1943 – December 25th, 1943 |
| Operation Hardtack 13 |
| No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando, Special Boat Service |
| Ten men of No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando and the Special Boat Service. Their mission is a beach reconnaissance at Bénouville, France. The raid is generally a success, The reconnaissance team do not capture any German soldiers for interrogation. |
| December 26th, 1943 – December 27th, 1943 |
| Operation Hardtack 21 |
| No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando |
| Ten men of No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando. Their mission is a beach reconnaissance in the vicinity of the St Marcouf Isles and Quinéville, France. The raiders gather information on the defensive obstacles on what would become Utah Beach in Operation Neptune of Operation Overlord. |
| December 27th, 1943 – December 28th, 1943 |
| Operation Hardtack 23 |
| No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando |
| Ten men of No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando. This is an unrealised beach reconnaissance near Ostend, Belgium (). The raid was called off after the motor torpedo boat being used to deliver the raiding party ran aground. |
| December 25th, 1943 – December 26th, 1943 |
| Operation Hardtack 28 |
| No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando |
| Operation Hardtack 28. Six men of No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando (Captain P. Ayton, Lieutenant L. Hulot, Sergeant D. Roberts, Corporal J. Hourcourighary, Corporal M. Roux, and Corporal Allain), Motor Gun Boat 329 and a Dory known as Force 114, protected by units of the 1st Motor Torpedo Boat Flotilla and the 10 Air Group. This mission would take place together with Operation Hardtack 7. Their mission is a beach reconnaissance in the area of Gifford Bay and bring home a German soldier for interrogation on the island of Jersey, one of the Channel Islands, Great Britain. The Force gets ashore unopposed, reconnoitre the beach and several German defences. The get valuable information from two French brother before retreating. In the proces Captain Ayton steps on a mine is mortally wounded. They reembark the Motor Gun Boat. |
| December 24th, 1943 – December 25th, 1943 |
| Operation Hardtack 36 |
| No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando |
| Ten men of No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando. Their mission is a beach reconnaissance near Wassenaar, Netherlands. The raiding team lands but all the men are killed by the Germans. |
| December 29th, 1943 – December 30th, 1943 |
| Operation Partridge |
| Commandos |
| 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 using DUKW’s. Troop No. 4 and Troop No. 6 swim across the river 2,500 metres upriver. 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. |