No. 62 Commando

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No. 62 Commando
British Commandos Patch.svg
Active1941–43
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
BranchFlag of the British Army.svg  British Army
Type Commando
Role Amphibious warfare
Close-quarters combat
Desert warfare
Direct action
Raiding
Size55 men maximum
Part of Combined Operations
Special Operations Executive
Garrison/HQ Anderson Manor, Poole
Nickname(s)Small Scale Raiding Force
Engagements Second World War

No. 62 Commando or the Small Scale Raiding Force (SSRF) was a British Commando unit of the British Army during the Second World War. The unit was formed around a small group of commandos under the command of the Special Operations Executive (SOE). They carried out a number of raids before being disbanded in 1943.

Contents

Background

The commandos were formed in 1940 by order of Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister. He called for specially trained troops who would "develop a reign of terror down the enemy coast". [1] At first they were a small force of volunteers who carried out small raids in enemy-occupied territory, [2] but by 1943 their role had changed and they had become lightly equipped assault infantry specialising in spearheading amphibious landings. [3]

The man initially selected as the commander of the force was Admiral Sir Roger Keyes, himself a veteran of the landings at Galipoli and the Zeebrugge raid during the First World War. [4] Keyes resigned in October 1941 and was replaced by Admiral Louis Mountbatten. [5]

By the autumn of 1940 more than 2,000 men had volunteered for commando training and what became known as the Special Service Brigade was formed into 12 units called commandos. [5] Each commando numbered about 450 men and was commanded by a lieutenant colonel. Each was divided into troops of 75 men and further divided into sections of 15 men. [5] Commandos were all volunteers seconded from other British Army regiments, and retained their own cap badges and remained on their regimental rolls for pay. [6] All volunteers went through a six-week intensive commando course at Achnacarry in the Scottish Highlands, which concentrated on fitness, speed marches, weapons training, map reading, climbing, small boat operations, and demolitions both by day and by night. [7]

By 1943 the commandos had moved away from small raiding operations and most of them had been formed into brigades of assault infantry to spearhead future Allied landing operations. Three units were left unbrigaded to carry out smaller-scale raids. [8]

Operations

No. 62 Commando, formed in 1941, consisted of a small group of 55 commando-trained personnel working under the Special Operations Executive (SOE), where it was also known as the Small Scale Raiding Force (SSRF). [9] Under the operational control of Combined Operations Headquarters, No. 62 Commando was commanded by Major Gustavus Henry March-Phillipps. [10] Its first operation, Operation Postmaster, was in January 1942, when March-Phillipps led the seizure of an Italian liner, a German tanker and a yacht from Fernando Po. [9] [11] The SSRF used HM MTB 344, a motor torpedo boat nicknamed The Little Pisser because of its outstanding turn of speed. The SSRF carried out a number of cross-channel operations, but had mixed fortunes. Operation Barricade and Operation Dryad were complete successes, but Operation Aquatint, on 12/13 September 1942 at Sainte-Honorine on the coast of Normandy, resulted in the loss of all the men involved, including March-Phillipps. [9] One member of the raiding party, Captain Graham Hayes MC, managed to reach France and eventually made his way to Spain, but was betrayed by a French double agent and handed to the Germans. [12] After nine months' solitary confinement in Fresnes Prison he was executed on 13 July 1943. [13]

With the loss of March-Phillipps, Major Geoffrey Appleyard was given command. [14] On 3/4 October 1942 the SSRF carried out a raid on the Channel Island of Sark, codenamed Operation Basalt, with men from No. 12 Commando attached. After the raid a number of dead and wounded Germans were found tied up (they had been shot while trying to escape), which resulted in the prisoners captured in the Dieppe raid being tied up and the Nazi German Commando Order dictating the execution of all captured commandos. [9]

In early 1943 No. 62 Commando was disbanded and its members were dispersed among other formations. A number went to the Middle East and served in the Special Boat Squadron, most notably Major Anders Lassen, the only member of the Special Air Service awarded the Victoria Cross during the war. [9] [15] Appleyard also went to the Middle East and helped to form the 2nd Special Air Service from a detachment of No. 62 Commando under the command of Bill Stirling, elder brother of David Stirling. Neither Lassen nor Appleyard survived the war. [14]

Battle honours

The following battle honours were awarded to the British Commandos during the Second World War. [16]

Related Research Articles

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The Commandos, also known as the British Commandos, were formed during the Second World War in June 1940, following a request from Winston Churchill, for special forces that could carry out raids against German-occupied Europe. Initially drawn from within the British Army from soldiers who volunteered for the Special Service Brigade, the Commandos' ranks would eventually be filled by members of all branches of the British Armed Forces and a number of foreign volunteers from German-occupied countries. By the end of the war 25,000 men had passed through the Commando course at Achnacarry. This total includes not only the British volunteers, but volunteers from Greece, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Canada, Norway and Poland. The United States Army Rangers and US Marine Corps Raiders, Portuguese Fuzileiros Portuguese Marine Corps were modelled on the Commandos.

No. 7 Commando was a unit of the British Commandos and part of the British Army during the Second World War. The commando was formed in August 1940 in the United Kingdom. No. 7 Commando was transferred to the Middle East as part of Layforce. Committed to the Battle of Crete, it suffered heavy casualties, after which it was disbanded.

No. 11 (Scottish) Commando was a battalion-sized commando unit of the British Army during the Second World War. Formed in Scotland, members of No. 11 (Scottish) Commando adopted the Tam o'shanter as their official headdress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No. 12 Commando</span> Military unit

No. 12 Commando was a battalion-sized commando unit of the British Army during the Second World War. Formed in 1940 in Northern Ireland, they carried out a number of small-scale raids in Norway and France between 1941 and 1943 before being disbanded and its personnel dispersed to other commando units.

No. 5 Commando was a battalion-sized commando unit of the British Army during the Second World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No. 9 Commando</span> Military unit

No. 9 Commando was a battalion-sized British Commando unit raised by the British Army during the Second World War. It took part in raids across the English Channel and in the Mediterranean, ending the war in Italy as part of the 2nd Special Service Brigade. Like all Army commando units it was disbanded in 1946.

The No. 1 Commando was a unit of the British Commandos and part of the British Army during the Second World War. It was raised in 1940 from the ranks of the existing independent companies. Operationally they carried out a series of small scale cross channel raids and spearheaded the Operation Torch landings in North Africa. They were then sent to the India as part of the 3rd Commando Brigade and took part in operations in the Burma Campaign. During the Second World War, only eight commandos were recipients of the Victoria Cross; two of the eight were from No. 1 Commando. After the war they were sent to reoccupy Hong Kong before being amalgamated with No. 5 Commando to form No. 1/5 Commando. The amalgamated No. 1/5 Commando was disbanded in 1947.

No. 2 Commando was a battalion-sized British Commando unit of the British Army during the Second World War. The first No.2 Commando was formed on 22 June 1940 for a parachuting role at Cambrai Barracks, Perham Down, near Tidworth, Hants. The unit at the time consisted of four troops: 'A', 'B', 'C' and 'D'. Eventually 11 troops were raised. On 21 November, it was re-designated as the 11th Special Air Service (SAS) Battalion and eventually re-designated 1st Parachute Battalion. After their re-designation as the 11th SAS Battalion, a second No. 2 Commando was formed. This No. 2 Commando was the leading commando unit in the St Nazaire Raid and suffered heavy casualties. Those who made it back from St Nazaire rejoined the few who had not gone on the raid, and the commando was reinforced by the first intake of volunteers from the new Commando Basic Training Centre at Achnacarry. No. 2 Commando then went on to serve in the Mediterranean, Sicily, Yugoslavia, and Albania, before being disbanded in 1946.

No. 44 Commando was a battalion size formation in the British Commandos, formed during the Second World War. The Commando was assigned to the 3rd Special Service Brigade and served in the Burma Campaign.

No. 50 Commando was a battalion-sized British Commando unit of the British Army during the Second World War. The commando was formed in 1940, from volunteers in Egypt and Palestine. Shortly after formation it was amalgamated with No. 52 Commando and became 'D' Battalion, Layforce.

No. 52 Commando was a battalion-sized British Commando unit of the British Army during the Second World War. The commando was formed in 1940, from volunteers in Egypt and Palestine. Shortly after formation it was amalgamated with No. 50 Commando and became 'D' Battalion, Layforce.

No. 51 Commando was a battalion-sized British Commando unit of the British Army during the Second World War. The commando was formed in 1940, from a combination of Jewish and Arab volunteers in Palestine. The Commando fought against the Italians in Abyssinia and Eritrea before it was absorbed into the Middle East Commando.

The Special Service Brigade was a formation of the British Army during the Second World War. It was formed in 1940, after the call for volunteers for Special Service who eventually became the British Commandos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Postmaster</span> Naval operation during the Second World War

Operation Postmaster was a British special operation conducted on the Spanish island of Fernando Po, now known as Bioko, off West Africa in the Gulf of Guinea, during the Second World War. The mission was carried out by the Small Scale Raiding Force (SSRF) and the Special Operations Executive (SOE) in January 1942. Their objective was to board the Italian and German ships in the harbour and sail them to Lagos. The SSRF under the command of Major Gus March-Phillipps left Britain in August 1941 and sailed the Brixham trawler, Maid Honor, to the Spanish colony.

No. 14 (Arctic) Commando sometimes also called the Special Commando Boating Group, was a 60-man Commando unit of the British Army during the Second World War. The commando was formed in 1942 for service in the Arctic and was disbanded in 1943.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Aquatint</span> 1942 Second World War British raid in France

Operation Aquatint was the codename for a failed raid by British Commandos on the coast of occupied France during the Second World War. The raid was undertaken in September 1942 on part of what later became Omaha Beach by No. 62 Commando, also known as the Small Scale Raiding Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gus March-Phillipps</span> British Army officer

Gustavus Henry March-Phillipps, was the founder of the British Army's No. 62 Commando, also known as Small Scale Raiding Force (SSRF), one of the forerunners of the Special Air Service (SAS). He was also noteworthy as being one of Ian Fleming's main inspirations for the character of James Bond.

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Chappell, p.5
  2. ↑ Chappell, p.3
  3. ↑ Moreman, p.8
  4. ↑ Chappell, p.6
  5. 1 2 3 Haskew, p.48
  6. ↑ Moreman, p.12
  7. ↑ van der Bijl, p.12
  8. ↑ Moreman, pp.84–85
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Chappell, p.48
  10. ↑ Foot, p.167
  11. ↑ Hastings, Max (27 March 2005). "Shall We Have a Bash, Chaps?". Daily Telegraph . London. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
  12. ↑ Gerard Fournier and Andre Heintz, If I Must Die, p. 212 ISBN   978-2-915762-05-1
  13. ↑ Brown, p.62.
  14. 1 2 Howarth, p.33
  15. ↑ Langley, Mike (1988). Anders Lassen, V.C., M.C., of the S.A.S. New English Library. ISBN   978-0450424922.
  16. ↑ Moreman, p.94

Bibliography

  • Brown, Gordon (2009). Wartime Courage. Bloomsbury. ISBN   978-0-7475-9607-3.
  • Chappell, Mike (1996). Army Commandos 1940–45. London: Osprey Publishing. ISBN   1-85532-579-9.
  • Foot, Michael (2004). SOE in France: An Account of the Work of the British Special Operations. Routledge. ISBN   0-7146-5528-7.
  • Haskew, Michael E (2007). Encyclopaedia of Elite Forces in the Second World War. Pen and Sword. ISBN   978-1-84415-577-4.
  • Howarth, Patrick (1980). Undercover: The Men and Women of the Special Operations Executive. Routledge. ISBN   0-7100-0573-3.
  • Moreman, Timothy (2006). British Commandos 1940–46. Osprey Publishing. ISBN   1-84176-986-X.
  • Owen, James (2012). Commando . London: Little, Brown. ISBN   978-1-4087-0302-1.

Further reading

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