No. 9 Commando

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No. 9 Commando
No. 9 Commando after night raid 30 December 1943.jpg
Men from No. 9 Commando the morning after Operation Partridge near the Garigliano river, 30 December 1943.
Active1940–46
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
BranchFlag of the British Army.svg  British Army
Type Commando
Role Special Forces
Size500 men all ranks
Part of 2nd Special Service Brigade
Engagements Second World War
Commanders
Notable
commanders		 Ronnie Tod
Insignia
Combined Operations Shoulder Patch British Commandos Patch.svg

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.

Contents

Background

The commandos were formed in 1940, by the order of Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister. He called for specially trained troops that would "develop a reign of terror down the enemy coast". [1] At first it was a small force of volunteers who carried out small raids against enemy occupied territory, [2] but by 1943 the unit's role had changed into lightly equipped assault Infantry which specialised in spearheading amphibious landings. [3]

The man initially selected as the overall commander of the force was Admiral Sir Roger Keyes; himself a veteran of the landings at Galipoli and the Zeebrugge raid in 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 would number around 450 men, who were commanded by a lieutenant colonel. They were sub-divided into troops of 75 men and further divided into 15-man sections. [5] Commandos were all volunteers seconded from other British Army regiments; they retained their own cap badges and remained on their regimental roll for pay. [6] All volunteers went through the six-week intensive commando course at Achnacarry. The course in the Scottish Highlands, 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 had been formed into brigades of assault infantry to spearhead future Allied landing operations. Three units were left un-brigaded to carry out smaller-scale raids. [8]

History

The men of No. 9 Commando were originally from No. 6 and No. 7 Independent Companies. They had been amalgamated in the autumn of 1940 in the 2nd Special Service Battalion, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel J.M. Saegert. After the general reorganisation of the commando units, they were re-designated No. 9 Commando and based in Criccieth in Wales. [9] [10] [11]

No. 9 Commando undertook its first raid, Operation Sunstar, on the night of 22/23 November 1941 on the French coast at Houlgate. The raid was a success; the men landed and evacuated without any loss. After this raid, leadership of the commando was taken over by Lieutenant Colonel Ronnie Tod. [11] [12]

The next operation that men from No. 9 were involved in was the St. Nazaire Raid in March 1942. The main landing force was provided by No. 2 Commando but most of the other commando units supplied demolition parties to assist in disabling the port facilities. [11]

A member of No. 9 Commando at Anzio, 5 March 1944 A member of No. 9 Commando at Anzio, equipped for a patrol with his Bren gun, 5 March 1944. NA12469.jpg
A member of No. 9 Commando at Anzio, 5 March 1944

The men were then used to reinforce the Gibraltar garrison during Operation Torch, the landings in French North Africa. They remained in Gibraltar until November 1943 when they carried out raids on the islands of Tremiti and Pianosa. [11]

During the Allied invasion of Italy, as part of the 2nd Special Service Brigade the men were involved in Operation Partridge in December 1943 in the area of the Garigliano River. This was followed by Operation Shingle, the Anzio landings and fighting at Monte Ornito before being withdrawn to Naples in March 1944. [11]

In 1944, No. 9 Commando were involved in Operation Darlington 11 in May and Operation Gradient I in August. The latter mission saw the No. 9 blowing up a bridge in the Northern Adriatic. [13] They then operated in Greece before returning to Italy and taking part Operation Roast, the crossing of Commachio Lagoon and the battle of the Argenta Gap in April 1945. The Second World War in Europe ended in May 1945 and in 1946 all the Army Commando units were disbanded. [11]

Battle honours

The following battle honours were awarded to the British Commando units during the Second World War. [14]

Recognition

Operation Gradient I became a well-known example of military demolition that is studied and taught today in the Royal Navy Commandos. [13] The Commando Comics issue "Strike Swift - Strike Sure" is based around the exploits of the No. 9 Commandos. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commandos (United Kingdom)</span> British special operations force during World War II

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, Poland, and the United States Army Rangers and US Marine Corps Raiders, Portuguese Fuzileiros Portuguese Marine Corps were modelled on the Commandos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No. 62 Commando</span> Military unit

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.

The 2nd Special Service Brigade was formed in late 1943 in the Middle East and saw service in Italy, the Adriatic, the landings at Anzio and took part in operations in Yugoslavia. On 6 December 1944 the Brigade was renamed 2nd Commando Brigade, removing the title Special Service and its association with the Schutzstaffel.

41 Commando or No. 41 Commando was a unit of the Royal Marines trained as Commandos during the Second World War. They were part of the all Royal Marine 4th Special Service Brigade that took part in the Normandy landings in June 1944 and later that served in World War II, the Korean War, and in Northern Ireland. They were disbanded in 1981.

No. 8 (Guards) Commando was a unit of the British Commandos and part of the British Army during the Second World War. The Commando was formed in June 1940 primarily from members of the Brigade of Guards. It was one of the units selected to be sent to the Middle East as part of Layforce. On arrival they became known as 'B' Battalion in an attempt at deception, not wanting the Axis forces to know there was a commando formation in the theatre of war. The commando participated in the Battle of Crete and around Tobruk before being disbanded in late 1941. After this, many of its personnel went on to serve in other commando units formed in the area, including the Special Air Service.

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.

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 Jewish and Arab volunteers from Palestine. The Commando fought against the Italians in Abyssinia and Eritrea before it was absorbed into the Middle East Commando.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Air Force Commandos</span> Military unit

Royal Air Force Commandos were formed from units of the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. They were formed in 1942 and served in the European and Far Eastern theatres of war before being disbanded in 1946. In 1944 RAF Commandos of the Second Tactical Air Force suffered very heavy casualties landing at Dog Green Sector of Omaha Beach to establish field operations in support of the American army.

No. 48 Commando was a battalion-sized formation of the British Commandos, formed in 1944 during the Second World War. No. 48 Commando was assigned to the 4th Special Service Brigade and served in North West Europe, taking part in the Normandy landings and operations around Ostend and Antwerp before being disbanded after the war in January 1946.

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.

No. 46 Commando was a battalion size formation of the Royal Marines, part of the British Commandos, formed in August 1943 during the Second World War. The Commando was assigned to the 4th Special Service Brigade and served in North-west Europe and took part in the D-Day landings, as well as operations around Ostend and Antwerp, before being disbanded after the war in January 1946.

References

Notes

  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. ↑ Chappell 1996, p. 46.
  10. ↑ Moreman 2006, p. 18.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "No. 9 Commando History". Commando Veterans Association. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  12. ↑ "No. 9 Commando". www.combinedops.com. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  13. 1 2 3 Nelson, Mathias (27 May 2022). "Bridge Busters: The Most Explosive Operation in the Second World War". Forgotten Wars. February 12, 2024
  14. ↑ Moreman, p. 94

Bibliography

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