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| Commandos (World War II) | |
|---|---|
| Unit name | Commandos (World War II) |
| Dates | 1940–1946 |
| Country | United Kingdom and Allied nations |
| Branch | British Army, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force |
| Type | Special forces, raiding force |
| Role | Raids, reconnaissance, sabotage |
| Size | Battalion, company, troop cadres |
| Garrison | United Kingdom, Mediterranean, Middle East |
| Notable commanders | Winston Churchill, Dudley Clarke, Louis Mountbatten |
Commandos (World War II) were specially formed assault troops raised by the United Kingdom in 1940 to conduct amphibious raids, reconnaissance, sabotage, and irregular warfare against Nazi Germany, the Axis powers, and associated forces during World War II. Inspired by strategic imperatives following the Battle of France and the evacuation at Dunkirk, Commandos operated alongside formations from the United States Army, Free French Forces, Norwegian Army, Polish Armed Forces in the West, Belgian Army, Dutch Army and Greek Armed Forces in the Middle East in theaters including the North African Campaign, the Mediterranean Theatre, the Italian Campaign, the Burma Campaign and the Western Front (1944–1945). Their creation reflected priorities articulated by wartime leaders such as Winston Churchill, operational planners like Louis Mountbatten and intelligence officers including Dudley Clarke.
The decision to establish specialized raiding forces followed public and political pressure after the Fall of France and the evacuation at Dunkirk when advocates such as Winston Churchill pressed for offensive action against Nazi Germany. Early experiments drew on experiences from the Royal Marine Artillery and irregular units of the British Empire including cadres from the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, the Canadian Army, and the Australian Imperial Force. Formation was shaped by precedent in the First World War by small raiding parties on the Western Front and by interwar innovations from figures associated with the Special Operations Executive and the Intelligence Corps. Proposals by staff officers at Downing Street and the Admiralty led to formal authorization, recruitment of volunteers across the British Army and other services, and establishment of training centers near Achnacarry and on the Isle of Wight.
Training regimes combined fieldcraft from the Royal Marines and demolition techniques used by the Royal Engineers with marksmanship from units like the Parachute Regiment and navigation taught by Coastwatchers and Royal Navy instructors. Commandos were organized into numbered units such as No. 1 Commando, No. 2 Commando and composite formations grouped into brigades attached to formations like the Special Service Brigade and the 1st Special Service Brigade (United Kingdom). Command structures integrated liaison with the Royal Air Force for close air support, with the Royal Navy for amphibious insertion, and with intelligence services including the Special Operations Executive and the Soviet GRU in select cooperation. Universal training included small-unit tactics, cliff assaults, demolition, signals, map reading tied to doctrine from the British Expeditionary Force (World War II), and clandestine insertion methods developed in collaboration with the Combined Operations Headquarters.
Commandos conducted raids such as the early Operation Collar, the cross-Channel strike of Dieppe Raid precursors, and interventions in the Norwegian Campaign including actions around Lofoten Islands and Stamsund. In the Mediterranean, they participated in Operation Husky landings during the Sicily Campaign and operations along the Italian Campaign coastline. In the North African Campaign Commandos supported efforts in Operation Torch and raids against Axis shipping in the Tunisian Campaign. On the Eastern Front indirect cooperation occurred via liaison with the Soviet Red Army over partisan support. In the Burma Campaign units fought alongside the Chindits and elements of the Indian Army in jungle raids and long-range penetration operations. On the Western Front (1944–1945) Commandos took part in the Normandy landings, the Siege of Walcheren, and river-crossing operations in the Low Countries supporting the Second British Army and the 21st Army Group.
Commandos employed specialized equipment drawn from the Royal Navy and British Army inventories including rigid-hulled inflatable craft designed by Combined Operations engineers, Fairmile launches, and folding kayaks inspired by earlier use in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve. Small arms included the Lee–Enfield rifle, Bren gun, Sten gun, Thompson submachine gun supplied through lend-lease with United States support, and captured German arms such as the MP 40 when available. Demolition tactics used charges and plastic explosives from Royal Engineers stores and influenced by techniques trialed by Special Air Service units and Z Special Unit counterparts. Tactics emphasized speed, surprise, reconnaissance-in-force, close cooperation with naval gunfire from units like HMS Liverpool or HMS Warspite, and air cover coordinated with the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces.
Prominent leaders and units included figures drawn from across the British Isles and the Empire: officers such as Lord Lovat who led men in the Normandy landings, the leadership of Laycock in the Italian Campaign, and others who later joined the Special Air Service. Units of note encompassed numbered commandos (No. 1 Commando through No. 46 Commando), the Royal Marine Commandos, the No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando composed of multinational volunteers from France, Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, Norway, Czechoslovakia and other occupied nations, and specialized detachments like the No. 62 Commando ("Small Scale Raiding Force"). Allied counterparts and parallel formations included the United States Army Rangers, the Free French Naval Commandos (Commandos Marine), the Norwegian Independent Company 1, and the Z Special Unit operating in the Pacific.
Commandos influenced postwar doctrine across NATO and Commonwealth forces, informing the establishment of units such as the Special Air Service expansion, the United States Navy SEALs, and postwar Royal Marines commando formations integrated into NATO planning. Their operations impacted strategic thinking in amphibious warfare, raids, and joint operations, contributing lessons adopted by institutions like the Allied Expeditionary Force staff and military academies associated with the Imperial Defence College. Commemoration includes regimental histories, museums tied to the Imperial War Museum and memorials in locations such as Normandy and the Isle of Wight. The legacy endures in doctrines codified within NATO manuals and in the lineage of modern special operations units across the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Norway, and Commonwealth militaries.
Category:Special forces of the United Kingdom Category:Military units and formations of World War II