Commandos. Special Operations Executive. Long Range Desert Group. Special Air Service. Special Boat Service. These are some-but by no means all-of the forces the British raised for special operations or unconventional warfare.

World War II was the war for special forces and unconventional warfare. World War I had seen little unconventional warfare-and almost none in Europe itself. Lettow-Vorbeck in East Africa and Lawrence of Arabia were virtually the only exceptions to an otherwise conventional war, and even guerrilla actions in lands occupied by the enemy were rare and unorganized.

Things changed after the First World War. First, as political extremism-communism and fascismspread, so did the idea that any action undertaken in the political or military sphere that advanced the cause was justified. This led to assassinations, the concentration camps, slave labor, and genocide. Militarily, it meant "fifth columns," emphasis on guerrilla warfare, political troops, and unconventional warfare. Not surprisingly, the Soviet Union under the communists and Germany under the Nazis were among the first to develop unconventional warfare units: the Soviet Spetznaz and the German Brandenburgers, both of which existed by the start of World War II.

Technological change also made unconventional warfare more possible than ever before, through improvements in communications and mobility. Light, reliable radios could link and coordinate scattered units, while transport aircraft, high-speed boats, and dependable motor vehicles could allow elite small forces to strike without warning and then escape without taking excessive losses.

For Britain, its first special operations troops were formed in the spring of 1940. Ten "independent companies," each with 290 men, were raised as guerrilla warfare troops. Four companies went to Norway, where they were used as blocking infantry in an attempt to hinder the German advance up the coast of central Norway.

The idea of special operations took hold in Britain in June 1940, as France surrendered and as Britain faced the prospect of fighting on alone against Germany and Italy. Churchill realized that years would pass before British conventional forces would engage the Axis armies in battle on the continent. It was thus important for Britain to constantly strike back at the Axis by any means available, and this included unconventional warfare.

Churchill had had direct experience with irregular warfare-during the Boer War, he observed how the Boer commandos, through guerrilla operations, tied down large numbers of troops. Churchill, together with Dudley Clarke and John Dill, developed the idea that British . special service" battalions, or "commandos" would raid and harass the Axis throughout Europe.

First Action

The first action occurred on 23 June. 11th Independent Company was formed with 115 men from the other independent companies, and it raided locations on the French coast around Boulogne. Meanwhile, ten commandos were being raised from the independent companies and from the various regional commands throughout Britain. All were volunteers-and the commandos remained an all-voiunteer organization until the mid-war creation of 41 through 48 Commandos from existing Royal Marine battalions. Originally, a commando was to have 500 men organized in ten 50-man troops. In practice, commando establishments ranged from 459 to 630 men.

In July 1940, 3 Commando and 11 Independent Company raided Guernsey Island in the English Channel. This was the last raid of 1940, and the commandos went into extensive training for the rest of the year. The commandos were trained and used as amphibious troops-a perfect choice, given that Britain had control of the sea and that the Axis had long Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts to defend.

Commando operations began in earnest in 1941. Norway, with its long, rugged coast, was a natural target, and the commandos raided Norway many times, helping to tie down considerable German forces in the theater. In 1942- 43, the commandos conducted some of the most daring and successful raids of the war, such as the capture of a German radar station at Bruneval and the destruction of the dry docks at St. Nazaire. In 1943-44, as Britain and the US invaded Axis-held Europe, the commandos were in the forefront of almost every amphibious landing.

While the commandos specialized in amphibious operations, the British did not neglect the potential of airborne operations for unconventional warfarethat became the reason for forming the Special Air Service (SAS). 11 SAS Battalion was formed from commandos in late 1940 to become a parachute unit; in 1941 it left the SAS to become the 1st Parachute Battalion of the 1st Parachute Brigade. In the desert in 1941, commandos from Layforce/62 Commando formed L Detachment of the SAS and underwent airborne training. L Detachment operated with the Long Range Desert Group, both as airborne and ground raiding forces. L Detachment later became 1 SAS, and eventually five battalions of the SAS (1-5) were raised (two British, two French, and one Belgian; in Europa, the French and Belgian SAS units are shown as part of their national armies in exile). The SAS specialized in all sorts of raiding operations, from amphibious raids in the Mediterranean to airborne landings behind German lines in Normandy.

The SAS also controlled the Special Boat Service (SBS). Originally the Special Boat Section, the SBS was a small (50-100 men) elite unit specializing in seaborne operations.

The British Special Operations Executive (SOE) organized, coordinated, and supplied anti-Axis guerrillas throughout Europe (excluding the Soviet Union). The SOE is outside the scope of this order of battle.

The British also organized various other special operations units. These are covered in notes in the following order of battle.

A Draft Europa Order of Battle