WWII British Commandos

[Ravage]

The British Commandos were formed during the Second World War in June 1940, following a request from the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, for a force that could carry out raids against German-occupied Europe. Initially drawn from within the British Army from soldiers who volunteered for special service, the Commandos' ranks would eventually be filled by members of all branches of the United Kingdom's armed forces and a number of foreign volunteers from German-occupied countries.

Reaching a wartime strength of over 30 individual units and four assault brigades, the Commandos served in all theatres of war from the Arctic circle to Europe and from the 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.

After the war most Commando units were disbanded, leaving just the Royal Marines 3 Commando Brigade. However, the present day British Royal Marine Commandos, Parachute Regiment, Special Air Service, and Special Boat Service trace their origins to the original Commandos. The Second World War Commando legacy also extends to mainland Europe and the United States: the French Naval commandos, Dutch Korps Commandotroepen, Belgian Paracommando Brigade and United States Army Rangers were all influenced to some degree by the British Commandos.

 

[pardus]

Quite true, the Brit Commandos were the start/basis of all modern SOF units.

Ironically they were named after the South African Commandos of the two Boer wars in the late 19th and early 20th century.

 

[SpitfireV]

You can trace a lot of the Western intel departments/agencies back to the early war British equivalents too; SOE to OSS to CIA for one. It's quite interesting stuff.

 

[Ravage]

Our guys also trace their lineage back to the WWII era units. Some of which were based on, others were part of, British Commandos.

 

[pardus]

You can trace a lot of the Western intel departments/agencies back to the early war British equivalents too; SOE to OSS to CIA for one. It's quite interesting stuff.

I recently read this while digging around the web.

Fleming also worked with Colonel "Wild Bill" Donovan, President Franklin D. Roosevelt's special representative on intelligence co-operation between London and Washington. In May 1941 Fleming accompanied Godfrey to the United States, where he assisted in writing a blueprint for the Office of the Coordinator of Information, the department which turned into the Office of Strategic Services and eventually became the CIA.

 

[SpitfireV]

There you go!