British Commandos

'The original Special Ops troops'

In mid-1940, after the disaster of the British evacuation of Dunkirk, Churchill called for the formation of a special force that could carry out raids against German-occupied Europe. Reaching a wartime strength of over 30 units and four assault brigades, the Commandos served in all theatres of war from the Arctic Circle to Europe and from the Mediterranean and Middle East to South-East Asia. Their operations ranged from small groups of men landing from the sea or by parachute, to a brigade of assault troops spearheading the Allied invasions of Europe and Asia.



This 1942 U.S. War Dept. 'Special Series' report outlines the organization and unique training regimen of the British Commandos in great detail. Including course outlines, field exercises, weapon and tactics training, and even clothing/equipment and a special commando rations/diet section as well.



Next is an extremely detailed after-action report on the Vaagso Raid in Norway ('Operation Archery'), which features timelines of the preparation and attack, narratives of the land, naval, and air operations in a blow-by-blow fashion, and a 'Lessons learned' section too. Another report on Operation Gauntlet, the Spitsbergen island raid, tells of the destruction of coal mining operations to deny their usage by the Germans.

Keywords: raid,Norway,training,Fairbairn,raider,sabotage,unit