During the Second World War, British commando units emerged as elite, unconventional forces trained to conduct raids, sabotage, reconnaissance, and direct action behind enemy lines. Their daring missions and adaptability made them a key asset in the Allied war effort, helping to disrupt German operations, gather intelligence, and pave the way for larger military campaigns.
In this blog post, we’ll explore:
- The origins and purpose of British commando units.
- Their tactics and training.
- Key operations and battles.
- Their overlap and cooperation with the Special Operations Executive (SOE) and Special Air Service (SAS).
- Their legacy and influence on modern special forces.
1. The Origins and Purpose of British Commando Units
The British commando units were formed in 1940, following the fall of France and the evacuation from Dunkirk. With most of Europe under Nazi occupation, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill recognized the need for highly mobile, irregular forces capable of striking deep into enemy territory.
Formation and Structure:
- In June 1940, Churchill called for the creation of “butcher and bolt” units, tasked with conducting raids against German-occupied territory.
- The first commando units were formed from volunteers drawn from the British Army, initially organized into small raiding parties.
- The Commando Basic Training Centre was established at Achnacarry Castle in Scotland.
- By 1942, there were 30 Commando units with roughly 10,000 men.
Purpose and Mission:
- The commandos were designed for:
- Covert raids on enemy installations and coastal defenses.
- Disrupting German supply lines and communications.
- Assisting larger amphibious operations by seizing key objectives.
- Conducting intelligence-gathering missions.
2. Tactics and Training of the Commandos
The British commandos underwent grueling and innovative training designed to prepare them for the physical and psychological challenges of behind-the-lines warfare.
Training Regimen:
- Fitness and Endurance:
- Commandos underwent extensive physical conditioning, including forced marches, obstacle courses, and hand-to-hand combat.
- Small-Unit Tactics:
- Emphasis on stealth, infiltration, and sabotage.
- Night navigation, demolition, and silent killing techniques were core skills.
- Amphibious and Airborne Skills:
- Many commando units trained in amphibious landings, operating from small boats and launching coastal raids.
- Some were trained in parachute insertion for airborne missions.
Weapons and Equipment:
- Commandos were equipped with:
- Sten submachine guns and Lee-Enfield rifles.
- Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knives, designed for silent killing.
- Explosives and demolition gear for sabotage missions.
- They operated in small, fast-moving teams, relying on speed and surprise rather than heavy firepower.
3. Key Operations and Battles
British commandos played a crucial role in some of the most daring and significant missions of the war. Their raids inflicted damage on German forces, disrupted supply lines, and boosted Allied morale.
1. Operation Collar (June 24–25, 1940)
- The first commando raid of the war.
- Conducted by No. 11 Independent Company, targeting German positions on the French coast near Boulogne.
- Though small in scale, it marked the beginning of commando operations.
2. Operation Claymore (March 4, 1941)
- A major raid on the Lofoten Islands in Norway.
- Conducted by No. 3 and No. 4 Commandos with Royal Navy support.
- Objectives:
- Destroy fish oil factories supplying the German war effort.
- Capture codebooks and Enigma machine parts.
- Success: The raid was a major morale boost and provided vital intelligence.
3. Operation Chariot (March 28, 1942) – The St. Nazaire Raid
- One of the most daring commando raids of the war.
- Conducted by No. 2 Commando and Royal Navy personnel.
- Objective:
- Destroy the Normandie Dock in St. Nazaire, France, which could accommodate German battleshipslike the Tirpitz.
- The commandos rammed a ship loaded with explosives into the dock, detonating it and rendering the facility unusable.
- 168 commandos died or were captured, but the raid was a strategic success, limiting German naval mobility.
4. Operation Jubilee (August 19, 1942) – Dieppe Raid
- A large-scale raid on the French port of Dieppe, involving over 6,000 troops, including Canadian forces.
- British commandos:
- No. 3 and No. 4 Commandos targeted German artillery batteries on the flanks.
- The raid ended in heavy Allied losses, but the commando missions succeeded in neutralizing coastal defenses.
5. Operation Husky (July 1943) – Invasion of Sicily
- No. 3 Commando Brigade participated in the Allied invasion of Sicily.
- The commandos conducted amphibious landings, seized key coastal positions, and secured flanks for the main Allied forces.
6. D-Day (June 6, 1944)
- British Commandos spearheaded the landings at Sword and Juno Beaches.
- No. 4 Commando fought alongside Free French forces, while No. 47 Commando seized Port-en-Bessin, securing vital fuel supplies.
- Their actions were pivotal in securing beachheads and repelling German counterattacks.
4. Overlap with the SOE and SAS
Throughout the war, British commandos frequently collaborated with other elite units, including the Special Operations Executive (SOE) and the Special Air Service (SAS).
Special Operations Executive (SOE)
- The SOE was responsible for espionage, sabotage, and resistance support in occupied Europe.
- Commandos often supported SOE missions, providing combat expertise and firepower.
- Example:
- Operation Gunnerside (1943): Commandos assisted SOE agents in sabotaging the German heavy water plant in Norway.
Special Air Service (SAS)
- The SAS, formed in 1941, specialized in long-range reconnaissance, sabotage, and guerrilla warfare.
- SAS and commando units frequently conducted joint operations in North Africa and Europe.
- Example:
- During the Italian campaign, commandos and the SAS carried out raids on German supply lines and airfields.
5. Legacy and Influence
The British commando units of the Second World War left a lasting legacy, influencing the development of modern special forces.
- The Special Air Service (SAS) and Special Boat Service (SBS) drew heavily from commando tactics and training.
- Post-war, many commando veterans joined the British Special Forces, applying their expertise to counter-insurgency and unconventional warfare.
- Their raiding tactics and small-unit operations became a model for future special operations forces around the world.
Conclusion
The British commando units were a vital part of the Allied war effort, using daring raids and unconventional warfare to strike at the heart of Axis-occupied Europe. Their resilience, adaptability, and innovation helped shape the tactics and traditions of modern special forces.
In your studies of commando history, have you come across the WW2 nickname for commandos?
I discovered it from watching in the 1943 film, “Rhythm Serenade”, starring Vera Lynn,
The film – https://ok.ru/video/10252867865294
At 9 minutes 22 seconds in – a scene in a dockyard when commandos are about to return from a mission. On the dock, a soldier tells Vera Lynn, “We’re standing by for a bunch of …”, then the WW2 nickname for commandos. This seems to be a bit of history that has been lost.
The name is a reference to the way commandos blacked their faces as did the performers in a popular form of entertainment, minstrel shows. From Wikipedia “Minstrel shows had become a long-established feature of British music halls and seaside entertainment since the success of acts such as the Virginia Minstrels in Liverpool in the 1840s and Christy’s Minstrels in London in the 1850s.”
I think it needs to be said that, at that time, the first word of that nickname was generally not considered to be racist, offensive or hateful. In Britain that is, and I back up this claim with some evidence.
Guy Gibson, of The Dambusters fame, called his dog by that name. In fact it was a fairly widely used name for any black dog. From what I know of Gibson, he was a decent person and not the sort of person who would shout an offensive word in the street or in a park when he was calling his dog.
In the 1930s, Agatha Christie wrote a novel titled “Ten Little N*****s”. Over the years the title has been changed twice as attitudes in society changed and today it is known as “And Then There Were None”.
Again, I doubt that Christie would use an offensive word and in those days no publisher would publish any work with an offensive word in the title.
I believe that in the USA it was \ is a grossly offensive and deeply hateful word, but perhaps not always if my understanding of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn is correct, but in Britain, in those days, it was generally no more offensive than calling someone a “Geordie” or a “Scouser”. Of course, even in Britain, there would always be some people who would use the word in an offensive and hateful manner.
Britain did not have racial segregation as in the USA. An outstanding example of the difference in attitude over that issue can be seen the many YouTube videos about “The Battle Of Bamber Bridge”.
This was a real-life incident that took place in World War II in the village of Bamber Bridge in Lancashire.
US troops were stationed near to the village and one of the American units was a segregated black unit. Black soldiers would visit the pubs in the village. They were widely welcomed by the British people, but white American soldiers objected to them mixing with white people and US military police told the pub landlords to introduce racial segregation on their premises.
The landlords responded by banning white American soldiers, they put up signs saying “Black troops only”.
It eventually led to trouble with white US MPs shooting black troops – their own men on the same side in WW2. The black troops fought back and a battle lasted for five hours. Obviously, this was hushed up in the USA.
There have been quite a few British films with race relations as the subject, and in the 1940s and 1950s many British films that were not primarily about race had scenes that carried an anti-racism message. “Pool Of London” was a crime thriller with light comedy thrown in.
It has a scene where Bonar Colleano threatens a man for being offensive and threatening towards his black friend. Eventually this black friend has a date with a white woman. On the date her comments show that she is not aware of the issues he faces. He explains to her the issues of being black. It is actually a lecture to the audience, but kept fairly light so that the audience wouldn’t even realise that they were being given a lecture.
I have not carried out serious study into this topic and these are just my opinions, please do correct me if I am wrong about anything.