WWII Special Forces – Long Range Desert Group

Ralph Bagnold formed the Special Forces Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) during WWII.  This elite group, combined with the British Special Air Service, made significant contributions, not only to World War II, but to the new direction the military would begin to explore – Special Forces.

 The LRDG Is Established

After Bagnold received approval to organize a specialized group, he received 150 volunteers from New Zealand – most with a farming background.  He felt their background would be an asset, making them more adept should vehicle maintenance and repair become necessary in the challenging environments of North Africa.

He broke the group of 150 into three smaller units.  Each unit received various armaments – including machine guns, anti-tank rifles, anti-aircraft guns, Bren guns and Thompson machine guns.  They were given wireless headsets for maintaining communication with base.  The Long Range Desert Group chose the Chevrolet 30-cwt truck for transportation and the commander for each unit was permitted to modify his vehicle if he felt it beneficial.  Each truck was capable of carrying a three week supply of food and water and had a range of 1,100 miles.

 Roles of the LRDG

One of the roles assigned to the Long Range Desert Group during the war took them to North Africa.  Here, the group was to position themselves behind enemy lines so they could scout and gather intelligence information to relay back to British military headquarters.  Their success warranted expansion and Bagnold acquired an additional 150 men from three armies – British, Indian and Rhodesian.  This World War II Special Forces group began targeting oases being held by the enemy, slipping in quickly and disappearing equally as fast, confusing the Italian commanders.

 The WWII Special Forces – Long Range Desert Group – disbanded in August of 1945, but not before leaving its mark on military history.

Source

 

The History of the 10th Special Forces Group

YouTube user MH6M posted a video explaining the long and prestigious history of the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne). Oh, you’ve never heard of them? They’re only the first ever special forces group in the US Army. No big deal. 

The origin of the unit can be traced back to the Lodge-Philbin Act of 1950, which allowed the US military to recruit foreign nationals. Half of the members of the 10SFG would be American, and the other half would be anti-communist foreign nationals. In theory, this diversity would give the group an edge if they ever needed to conduct partisan warfare behind Soviet lines. 

Luckily, the Cold War remained cold, but the 10SFG persisted as the US military’s most elite group of soldiers. They continued training both at home and abroad, exchanging unconventional combat tactics with allies such as the UK, Germany, France, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Norway. 

In the ‘60s, they saw action as they evacuated civilians from the newly-independent Congo, safely moving 239 civilians without a single casualty in just nine days. From there, individual soldiers worked alongside other special forces groups in the Vietnam War.

Budget cuts hit the military after the Vietnam War ended, but that didn’t slow down the 10SFG one bit. They continued to train abroad with NATO allies, and they deployed 17 mobile training teams to support the Lebanese Army. They’re also credited by General John Galvin as saving half a million Kurdish people from death at the hands of Saddam Hussein. 

In 1995, members of the 10SFG were among the first US soldiers to cross the border into Bosnia. Shortly after that, they provided reconnaissance and completed search-and-rescue missions for seven years in Kosovo. As you might expect, they also has a powerful presence in Iraq -- they were the first to enter Iraq prior to the invasion. Under the exceptional leadership of Col. Charles Cleveland, they executed Operation Viking Hammer, overcoming a lack of surveillance and a shortage of vehicles to accomplish the mission without a single loss of us service member. 

Are you impressed by their extensive resumé, yet? That’s barely the half of it. Watch the video for a complete run-down of this incredible special forces unit. The motto of the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) is simply, “The Best.” Yeah, we’d have to agree.

Πηγή

Octave Fusion (2012)

In a mission codenamed Octave Fusion, on January 24, 2012, SEAL Team Six successfully rescued an American woman and a Danish man who had been detained by Somali bandits in north-central Somalia. 

Jessica Buchanan, 32, and Poul Hagen Thisted, 60, had been abducted around the area of Galkayo three months earlier while working as aid workers helping to remove land mines. Officials stated said plans for a rescue operation had been under development for weeks, but acted after discovering that Buchanan's health was deteriorating due to an undisclosed illness.

The special operations forces were prepared to capture the hostage takers but this proved unfeasible as nine "heavily armed" kidnappers were killed. The SEALs parachuted at night before advancing two miles to the enemy compound on foot. After securing the safety of Thisted and Buchanan the team, which suffered no injuries, was extracted by helicopter.

Πηγή

Man of War

Meadows family collection

Meadows writing to his family from Vietnam.

Since the death of Osama bin Laden,  journalists have with varying success attempted to piece together the details of the raid on his compound in Abbottabad. But the tale of the Navy SEALs' success actually begins on a cold desert runway in Iran some 30 years earlier, when a planned military rescue of the U.S. hostages held in Tehran ended in flames and ignominy. In the wake of the disaster, the U.S. military set about creating the task force—the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC)—that infiltrated into Pakistan last May, killed the world's most wanted criminal, and returned with his body and no U.S. casualties.

JSOC, like most of our special-operations forces, is shrouded in secrecy. Episodes such as the Abbottabad raid or the events documented in "Black Hawk Down" get plenty of the attention, but there is very little public knowledge of how special-operations forces carry out their work or of the half-century effort to develop a joint doctrine of special-operations tactics and techniques. It is an important story, and few men loom as large in it as Maj. Richard J. Meadows.

Meadows (1931-95) enlisted in the Army at 15 with the help of a forged birth certificate. He fought in Korea as a preposterously young master sergeant and in 1953 volunteered for a new unit being raised for long-range penetration operations, the Special Forces. He would go on to be involved in some of the most audacious acts of the Vietnam War, including the revered 1972 Son Tay raid where 56 Special Forces soldiers sought to rescue prisoners of war held in Hanoi—it failed only because the POWs had been moved shortly before the mission kicked off. Like most such operations of the day, it was carried out not by a permanent command but by an ad hoc task force.

Yet for all the daring of events like the Son Tay raid, Meadows spent most of his career in the "schoolhouse." When he wasn't taking part in the months of preparation and rehearsals that precede the execution of a single special-operations raid (and the many that never went beyond the planning stage), he was training the next generation of "Green Berets" and Rangers.

The Quiet Professional

By Alan Hoe

Kentucky, 253 pages, $29.95

Meadows retired in 1977 but was instrumental in the establishment of Delta Force—intended to be the world's pre-eminent counterterror force—serving for two years as its first training adviser. Then, in an incredible denouement, despite having no training in clandestine operations, he lived under cover as an Irish businessman in Tehran and coordinated the attempted rescue of the U.S. hostages in Iran. (The story of his escape after the operation went awry is a case study in coolness under a different kind of fire.) Meadows went on to help train Latin American militaries before dying of leukemia in 1995.

One could almost tell the entire story of the development of America's special-operations forces through Meadows's life. Alan Hoe, a former British commando and close friend of Meadows, unfortunately misses this opportunity. He prefers relating stories of Meadows's exploits to examining his place in military history. He lets his sources fill page after page with unedited testimony. Describing the development of free-fall parachuting, for example, he simply reproduces a six-page first-person account written by a contemporary of Meadows.

Mr. Hoe also rarely provides the reader with the context for the stories he is narrating. He notes, for example, that John F. Kennedy's death was deeply mourned within the special-operations community. How many readers will know that Kennedy, prescient about the future character of warfare in the post-colonial era, was instrumental in founding the Navy SEAL teams and gave the Special Forces their iconic green berets?

"The Quiet Professional" includes a lot of detail on specific missions but few insights into how special-operations forces are employed strategically. The book shows how remarkable a man Meadows was—and how he popped up, Zelig-like, at every critical junction in the development of special-operations forces—but not what purpose such men serve in modern warfare. Peter Schoomaker, who rose from special-forces officer to Chief of Staff of the Army, called Meadows "the bravest man I have ever known." But bravery is not the reason Dick Meadows deserves a biography. There is a larger story to be written.

—Mr. Exum, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, led Army Rangers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Source

Black Hawk Down’ Commander Speaks at UFOR-A

KABUL, Afghanistan – Retired Army Col. Danny McKnight, commander of the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment during the “Black Hawk Down” incident in 1993, discussed his life and faith Wednesday, Feb. 1, at the New Kabul Compound’s National Prayer Luncheon.

In his talk, called “God Promises a Safe Landing, Not a Calm Passage,” he said he could have been killed that day in Mogadishu, Somalia, but it was God’s will that he survived, and that his continued survival may ultimately have saved more troops.

The incident, he added, made him a better Christian in the long run. 

“Everything that you do has his (God’s) hand upon it, one way or another, and I know that,” he said.

Speaking to a packed room, he told the crowd that the incident in Somalia, which became a first-run movie, tested his faith, but one thought, “God’s will be done,” helped him press on.

“I know that without a doubt, in my mind, I should not be here with you today,” he said. “I should be dead.”

McKnight, now a motivational speaker, called his time in the military “an incredible journey I can’t put words to,” but later in his speech focused primarily on his life since retirement. 

His faith began to grow after he returned to his hometown of Rockledge, Fla.

“I, today, am very simply the best Christian I have been in my life,” he said. 

He called his marriage to his wife Linda, a woman baptized in the same church he was and who he grew up with, “God’s will.” McKnight met her in 2004, following his retirement and return home before attending, for the first time, his high school reunion. 

“Those things don’t happen accidentally,” he said, noting that the connections between the couple made an “interesting circle.”

McKnight received a standing ovation after the speech, which capped an event that included readings from the New and Old testaments, prayers and music. 

After his talk, McKnight chatted, shook hands and took pictures with a steady stream of troops. 

Navy Capt. Jim Muir, Afghan Hands Management Element director, praised McKnight’s speech. He said he understood what it was like to live through harrowing situations, having survived a suicide bombing in 2006 in Afghanistan, and that he agreed God had a role in directing events.

“You can do everything you can do, but you don’t have control over the plan,” Muir said. “His talk put things into perspective.” 

Army Col. Doug Berry, J-8 director for U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, noted that the dining facility was jammed for the event.

“I think it’s an overwhelming testimony of our service members’ faith,” he said. “This place, it was packed.”

McKnight later discussed the “Black Hawk Down” film, as well as the incident itself. Actor Tom Sizemore portrayed McKnight in the movie. 

McKnight called the film well done, and maintained that if the deployed troops had access to an AC-130 gunship, a weapon system they trained with before deploying, but which was withheld when they arrived in Somalia, then the Americans who died that day still would be alive. The gunship was not used for fear of collateral damage.

“That cost people their lives,” he said of the decision.

He also discussed the Defense Department’s latest budget, which includes plans to reduce conventional forces while putting more of an emphasis on special operations.

‘Special operators can do it,” he said. “The problem is, are they going to be stretched too thin?” 

He noted that a Ranger battalion has been deployed every day since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. 

“If we’re going to make it more important, we better create another Ranger battalion,” he said.

Πηγή

Secrets of SEALS on display

FORT PIERCE, Fla. -- It sounded like a single gunshot. From the stern of the USS Bainbridge, three rifles spat simultaneously. On a small boat 30 metres away, three Somali pirates died.

The drama off the east coast of Africa is recalled vividly in a museum here. It began on April 9, 2009, when the pirates tried to hijack the cargo ship Maersk Alabama. They were repulsed but as they fled in the ship's lifeboat they took the captain, Richard Phillips, as a hostage.

U.S. warships sped to the scene but there was little they could do as long as Phillips was a captive. Most of the time they couldn't even see the pirates inside the covered lifeboat.

Then, on April 12, for one brief moment the three pirates came in view. But that moment was enough. Three U.S. Navy SEAL snipers on the stern of the Bainbridge instantly had them in their sights and three shots rang out as one.

Tom Juliano points to a 762 mm Mark 11 sniper rifle on a rack in the Navy SEALS museum here.

"Three rifles just like that took down the pirates," he says.

Then he takes visitors to an orange-painted lifeboat nearby.

"That's the actual lifeboat where the pirates held Captain Phillips," he says. "The Maersk shipping company donated it to the museum."

The Maersk Alabama rescue was the SEALS' most spectacular mission this century, up until the slaying of Osama Bin Laden by SEAL Team 6 last May.

The museum's full name is the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum. UDT stands for Underwater Demolition Teams (the "frogmen"); SEAL is an acronym for Sea, Air and Land units). And while both branches get their fair share of notice, it's the SEAL commandos' exploits that fascinate visitors most.

Juliano, a volunteer guide and former Navy landing craft officer in Vietnam, explains the location of the museum, on the Atlantic shore of North Hutchinson Island, off Fort Pierce.

"This was where men were trained for amphibious operations, beginning in 1943," he says. "We had to train to get men on to the beaches in France and dozens of Pacific Islands in World War II.

"The SEALS really came into their own in Vietnam, with operations in the rivers and jungles. That's where they made a name for themselves."

(Amphibious warfare training moved away from Fort Pierce after the war; it is now centred in San Diego, Calif.)

To anyone who asks why the Maersk Alabama drama hasn't been turned into a movie, guide Juliano has the answer: "We've been told filming will begin in May. Tom Hanks will play Captain Phillips. The Hollywood people have been here to look over the lifeboat."

The museum explains the evolution of naval specialist warfare over nearly 70 years. There are displays of firearms, knives, scuba gear and watercraft, and dioramas, photos and story-boards.

An idea of the units' attitude is written on a photograph of an oil platform destroyed by a SEAL team in the first Persian Gulf war: "To err is human. To forgive is not our policy."

Actress Jane Fonda is pictured, sheet by sheet, on a roll of toilet paper on display, hinting broadly at how she was viewed by the military because of her Vietnam War activities.

Around the grounds, visitors wander among mini-submarines, a helicopter, training craft and speedboats.

MORE INFORMATION

Visit the website navysealmuseum.com. Tourist information on Florida is available at visitflorida.com.

Πηγή

Last veteran of Special Air Service Regiment 'originals' passes away at the age of 92

THE last veteran of the original SAS unit who ­parachuted deep behind enemy lines to battle Hitler has died at the age of 92.

Jimmy Storie was one of just 65 men recruited by Scottish war hero David Stirling for his crack Special Air Service regiment during the deadly desert campaign in North Africa.

Jimmy died at his home in Aberdeenshire last Sunday.

His funeral will be held in Aberdeen on Thursday, where a collection will be taken for the SAS Hereford Military Charity.

A family tribute said: “Forever in our hearts, a brave soldier and a wonderful family man.”

A spokesman for the SAS Regimental Association said: “It is a very sad day for the whole SAS regiment.

“We are deeply saddened that Mr Storie has passed away.

“He was the last surviving member of L Detachment, which was formed by Sir David Stirling in 1941.

“I had the pleasure of meeting Mr Storie several times at functions and he was a very warm, friendly and unassuming man.

“He never boasted of his exploits, was very modest and a great family man. We have lost a piece of history and a link with the regiment’s past.”

Jimmy – a sergeant during World War II – was a central part of the SAS’s first mission on November 17, 1941, when he parachuted behind German lines in North Africa before meeting up with a crack Army raiding unit, the Long Range Desert Group.

Stirling led Jimmy and 64 othermen as they parachuted into a fierce storm. Their equipment, weapons and explosives were lost before a massive rainstorm swept the desert. Only 22 men survived.

Jimmy also saw active service in Sicily, behind the lines in France before D-Day and in the final push through Germany.

His exploits featured in a £975 book detailing the history of the SAS throughout World War II.

The 600-page tome was authorised to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Who Dares Wins regiment.

The book features rare photos, top secret orders and reports of missions, including a daring raid to capture one of Hitler’s top generals – Erwin Rommel, the Desert Fox.

Πηγή

Goose Green

Operation Chavín de Huantar (1997)

The Japanese embassy hostage crisis began on December 17, 1996 in Lima, Peru, when 14 members of the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) took hostage hundreds of high-level diplomats, government and military officials andbusiness executives who were attending a party at the official residence of Japan's ambassador to Peru, Morihisha Aoki, in celebration of Emperor Akihito's 63rd birthday. Although strictly speaking the crisis took place at the Ambassadorial residence in the upscale district of San Isidro rather than at theembassy proper, the media and others referred to it as the "Japanese embassy" hostage crisis, and that is how it is conventionally known.

Most of the hostages were soon released. After being held hostage for 126 days, the remaining dignitaries were freed on 22 April 1997, in a raid by Peruvian Armed Forces commandos, during which one hostage, two commandos, and all the MRTA militants died. The operation was perceived by most Peruvians to be a great success, and it gained worldwide media attention. President Alberto Fujimori initially received much credit for saving the lives of the hostages.

Reports have since emerged suggesting that a number of the insurgents had been summarily executed after surrendering. These findings have prompted civil suits against military officers by relatives of dead militants. In 2005, the Attorney General's office in Peru allowed the charges and hearings were ordered.

The Siege

The surprise ambush and seizure of the Japanese ambassador's residency was the highest profile operation of the MRTA in its 15-year history. The attack propelled Peru in general, and the MRTA in particular, into the world spotlight for the duration of the crisis. Guests reported that the guerrillas blasted a hole in the garden wall of the ambassador's residence at around 8:20 p.m. the night of the 17 of December. The complex had been guarded by over 300 heavily armed police officers and bodyguards.

The Japanese ambassador's residence had been converted into a fortress by the Japanese government. It was surrounded by a 12-foot wall, and had grates on all windows, bullet-proof glass in many windows, and doors built to withstand the impact of a grenade. It was, therefore, an easy site to defend from the inside.

The news of the MRTA's daring assault on the ambassador's residence caused the Lima Stock Exchange to close three hours early, as domestic stocks plummeted. One newspaper political columnist commented, "It is a setback of at least four years. We've returned to being a country subject to terror." The news came during a period of low popularity for President Fujimori (down to 40% from a 1996 high of 75%), who had until then been credited with restoring peace to the country after terrorist activity largely ceased through the country during his first presidential term.

Preparations

In preparation for the raid, one of the hostages, Peruvian Navy Admiral Luis Giampietri (later elected Vice President of Peru for the term 2006-2011), who was an expert on intelligence and command operations, was secretly provided with a miniature two-way radio set and given encrypted instructions instructing him to warn the hostages ten minutes before the military operation began, telling them to stay as far away as possible from the MRTA members.

Light-colored clothes were systematically ferried in to the hostages, so that they could be distinguished easily from the dark-clad insurgents during the planned raid. Cerpa himself unwittingly helped with this part of the project when, hearing noise that made him suspect that a tunnel was being dug, he ordered all the hostages placed on the second floor.

In addition, sophisticated miniature microphones and video cameras had been smuggled into the residence, concealed in books, water bottles, and table games. Giampetri and other military officers among the hostages were given the responsibility for placing these devices in secure locations around the house. Eavesdropping on the MRTA commandos with the help of these high-tech devices, military planners observed that the insurgents had organized their security carefully, and were particularly alert during the night hours. However, early every afternoon, eight of the MRTA members, including the four leaders, played indoor football for about one hour.

Fujimori later unveiled a scale model of the building that was especially built to prepare for the rescue operation, which included the tunnels from adjacent houses used by commandos to enter the building.

Special Forces Raid

On 22 April 1997, more than four months after the beginning of the siege, a team of 140 Peruvian commandos, assembled into a secret ad-hoc unit given the name Chavín de Huantar (in reference to a Peruvian archeological site famous for its underground passageways), mounted a dramatic raid on the residence. At 15:23 that afternoon, Operation Chavín de Huántar began.

Three explosive charges exploded almost simultaneously in three different rooms on the first floor. The first explosion hit in the middle of the room where the soccer game was taking place, killing three of the hostage-takers immediately — two of the men involved in the game, and one of the women watching from the sidelines. Through the hole created by that blast and the other two explosions, 30 commandos stormed into the building, chasing the surviving MRTA members in order to stop them before they could reach the second floor.

Two other moves were made simultaneously with the explosions. In the first, 20 commandos launched a direct assault at the front door in order to join their comrades inside the waiting room, where the main staircase to the second floor was located. On their way in, they found the two other female MRTA militants guarding the front door. Behind the first wave of commandos storming the door came another group of soldiers carrying ladders, which they placed against the rear walls of the building.

In the final prong of the coordinated attack, another group of commandos emerged from two tunnels that had reached the back yard of the residence. These soldiers quickly scaled the ladders that had been placed for them. Their tasks were to blow out a grenade-proof door on the second floor, through which the hostages would be evacuated, and to make two openings in the roof so that they could kill the MRTA members upstairs before they had time to execute the hostages.

At the end, all 14 MRTA guerrillas, one hostage (Dr. Carlos Giusti Acuña, member of the Supreme Court, who had pre-existing heart health problems) and two soldiers (Lieutenant Colonel Juan Valer Sandoval and Lieutenant Raúl Jiménez Chávez) died in the assault.

According to the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), MRTA member Roli Rojas was discovered attempting to walk out of the residency mixed with the hostages. A commando spotted him, took him to the back of the house, and executed him with a burst that blew off Rojas' head. The DIA cable says that the commando's intent had been to shoot just a single round into Rojas' head, and due to the mistake the commando had to partially hide Roja's body under that of Nestor Cerpa. The cable also says that another (female) MRTA member was executed after the raid.

Military and Judicial System

On 7 June, at a ceremony organized by the army to commemorate loyalty to the national flag, the commandos were honored and decorated, including those whom the judicial branch had under investigation for alleged involvement in the extrajudicial executions. On 29 July, the Chavín de Huántar commando squad was selected to lead the independence day military parade. This appeared to have been done to exert more pressure on the Supreme Court justices who had to decide the jurisdiction question raised by the military court, in order to make certain that it would be the military court that investigated the extrajudicial executions.

On 16 August, the Supreme Court convened to hear the oral arguments of the parties to the jurisdictional challenge brought by the military tribunal. The military prosecutor heading up the parallel inquiry being conducted in the military court, who had to bring the charges and prove them, was the person arguing the military's challenge. However, in his arguments he made a defense for the commandos, stating that "heroes must not be treated like villains." The Supreme Court subsequently ruled that the military court system had jurisdiction over the 19 officers, thus declining jurisdiction in favor of the military tribunal. It held that the events had occurred in a district that at the time was under a state of emergency, and were part of a military operation conducted on orders from above. It further held that any crimes that the 19 officers may have committed were the jurisdiction of the military courts. It also ruled that the civilian criminal courts should retain jurisdiction over anyone other than the commandos who may have violated civilian laws.

Chronology

December 17, 1996: MRTA members take the Japanese ambassador’s residence in Peru with more than 600 hostages. They soon release about half of the hostages.

December 20 (day 3): Another 38 hostages are released.

December 21 (day 4): Fujimori declares that there will be no talks.

December 22 (day 5): 255 hostages are released.

December 26 (day 9): An explosion is heard in the residence. Police say that an animal detonated a mine.

December 28 (day 11): 20 hostages released.

December 31 (day 14): A group of reporters are allowed into the mansion.

January 21 (day 35): Police and MRTA members exchange shots.

March 2 (day 75): MRTA members refused asylum to Cuba and Dominican Republic

April 22 (day 126): Peruvian special forces storm the residence. One hostage, two commandos and all 14 MRTA members died.

Πηγή

Black Ops (SOG)

Operation Frankton (1942)

Operation Frankton was a commando raid on shipping in the German occupied French port of Bordeaux during the Second World War. The raid was carried out by a small unit of Royal Marines known as the Royal Marines Boom Patrol Detachment (RMBPD).

The plan was for six canoes to be taken to the area of the Gironde estuary by submarine. They would then paddle by night to Bordeaux. On arrival they would attack the docked cargo ships with limpet mines and then escape overland to Spain. Twelve men were from no.1 section were selected for the raid; including the C.O. Blondie Hasler and the reserve Colley the total of the team numbered thirteen. One 'cockle' failed to launch which meant three men returned home to the UK on the submarine. Two men survived the raid: Hasler, and his no.2 in the canoe, Sparks.Of the other eight, six were executed by the Germans while two died from hypothermia.The British Prime Minister Winston Churchill believed the mission shortened the Second World War by six months and Admiral Louis Mountbatten, the commander of Combined Operations, deemed the raid "the most courageous and imaginative of all the raids ever carried out by the men of Combined Operations."

The Royal Marines Boom Patrol Detachment (RMBPD) was formed on 6 July 1942, and based at Southsea, Portsmouth. The RMBPD was under the command of Royal Marines Major Herbert 'Blondie' Hasler with Captain J.D. Stewart as second in command. The detachment consisted of 34 men and was based at Lumps fort, and often exercised in the Portsmouth harbour and patrolled the boom at nights.

Background

The port of Bordeaux was a major destination for goods to support the German war effort. In the 12 months from June 1941–1942 vegetable and animal oils, other raw materials, and 25,000 tons of crude rubber had arrived at the port.Hasler submitted a plan of attack on 21 September 1942. The INITIAL plan called for a force of THREE canoes to be transported to the Gironde Estuary by submarine then paddle by night and hide by day until they reached Bordeaux 60 miles (97 km) from the sea., thus hoping to avoid the 32 mixed German navy ships, that patrolled or used the port.

On arrival they hoped to sink between six and 12 cargo ships then escape overland to Spain. Permission for the raid was granted on 13 October 1942, but Admiral Louis Mountbatten Chief of Combined operations increased the number of canoes to be taken to six. Mountbatten had originally ordered that Hasler could not take part in the raid, because of his experience as the chief canoeing specialist, but changed his mind after Hasler formally submitted his reasons for inclusion. The RMBPD started training for the raid on 20 October 1942, which included canoe handling, submarine rehearsals, limpet mine handling and escape and evasion exercises. The RMBPD practised for the raid with a simulated attack against Deptford, starting from Margate and canoeing up the Swale.

Mark II canoes, which were given the codename of Cockle, were selected for the raid . The Mark II was a semi rigid two man canoe, with the sides made of canvas, a flat bottom, and 15 feet (4.6 m) in length. When collapsed it had to be capable of getting in and out of the 24 inches (610 mm) wide submarine hatch. During the raid each canoe's load would be two men, eight limpet mines, three sets of paddles, a compass, a depth sounding reel, repair bag, torch, camouflage net, waterproof watch, fishing line, two hand grenades, rations and water for six days, a spanner to activate the mines and a magnet to hold the canoe against the side of cargo ships. The men also carried a .45 Colt pistol and a Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife.

The men selected to go on the raid were divided into two divisions each having their own targets.

A Division: Major Hasler and Marine Bill Sparks in canoe Catfish.Corporal AF Laver and Marine WH Mills in canoe Crayfish.Corporal CJ Sheard and Marine D Moffatt in canoe Conger.

B Division: Lieutenant J W Mackinnon and Marine J Conway in canoe Cuttlefish.Sergeant S Wallace and Marine R Ewart in canoe Coalfish.Marine W A Ellery and Marine E Fisher in canoe Cachalot.

A thirteenth man was taken as a reserve, Marine N Colley.

Mission

On 30 November 1942 the Royal Navy submarine HMS Tuna (N94) sailed from Holy Loch in Scotland with the six canoes and raiders on board. The submarine was supposed to reach the Gironde estuary and the mission was scheduled to start on 6 December 1942. This was delayed because of bad weather on route and the need to negotiate a minefield. By 7 December 1942 the submarine had reached the Gironde estuary and surfaced some 10 miles (16 km) from the mouth of the estuary. One canoe Cachalot's hull was damaged while being passed out of the submarine hatch, leaving just five canoes to start the raid. The reserve member of the team Marine Colley, was not needed so he remained aboard the submarine with the Cachalot crew Marine Ellery and Marine Fisher.

The five remaining canoes were disembarked at 1730 hours 7 December. The plan was for the crews to paddle and rest for five minutes in every hour. The first night 7/8 December fighting against strong cross tides and cross winds, one canoe Conger had disappeared. Further on the surviving crews encountered 5 feet (1.5 m) high waves and another canoe Cuttlefish capsized and was lost. The crew consisting of Lieutenant Mackinnon and Marine Conway held on to two of the remaining canoes, which were carried to safety and left ashore.

Carrying on with the raid the canoes approached a major checkpoint in the river and come upon three German frigates. Lying flat on the canoes and paddling silently they managed to get by without being discovered. On the first night the three remaining canoes Catfish, Crayfish and Coalfish covered 20 miles (32 km) in five hours and landed near St Vivien du Medoc.

While they were hiding during the day and unknown to the others, Sergeant Wallace and Marine Ewart in Coalfish had been captured at daybreak beside the Pointe de Grave lighthouse where they had come ashore. By the end of the second night 8/9 December, the two remaining canoes Catfish and Cuttlefish had paddled a further 22 miles (35 km) in six hours. The third night 9/10 December they paddled 15 miles (24 km) and on the fourth night 10/11 December because of the strong ebb tide they only managed to cover 9 miles (14 km).

The original plan had called for the raid to be carried out on 10 December, but Hasler now changed the plan. Because of the strength of the ebb tide they still had a short distance to paddle, so Hasler ordered they hide for another day and set off to and reach Bordeaux on the night of 11/12 December. After a night's rest the men spent the day preparing their equipment and limpet mines which were set to detonate at 21:00 hours. Hasler decided that Catfish would cover the western side of the docks and Crayfish the eastern side.

Bordeaux

The two remaining canoes reached Bordeaux on the fifth night 11/12 December the river was flat calm and there was a clear sky. The attack started at 21;00 hours 11 December, Hasler and Sparks in Catfish attacking shipping on the western side of the dock, placed eight limpet mines on four vessels including the fast patrol boat Sperrbrecher. A sentry on the deck of the Sperrbrecher had spotted something and shone his torch down but the darkness and the camouflaged canoe evaded being seen. They had planted all their mines and left the harbour with the ebb tide at 00:45 hours. At the same time Laver and Mills in Crayfish had reached the eastern side of the dock without finding any targets, so returned to deal with the ships lying near the South Basin. They placed eight limpet mines on two vessels, five on a large cargo ship and three on a small liner.

On their way downriver the two canoes met by chance on the Isle de Caseau. They continued down river together until 06:00 hours when they beached their canoes near St Genes de Blaye and tried to hide them by sinking them. The two crews then set out separately on foot, for the Spanish border. Laver and Mills after two days were picked up at Montlieu-la-Garde by the Gendarmerie and handed over to the Germans. Hasler and Sparks arrived at the French town of Ruffec 100 miles (160 km) from where they had beached their canoe, on 18 December 1942, and tried to make contact with someone from the French resistance at the Hotel de la Toque Blance and were then taken to a local farm and spent the next 18 days in hiding.

They were then guided across the Pyrenees into Spain. It was not until 23 February 1943, that Combined Operations Headquarters, heard via a secret message sent via Mary Lindell to the War Office, that Hasler and Sparks were safe. On 2 April 1943 Hasler arrived back in Britain by air from Gibraltar having passed through the French Resistance escape organisation. Sparks was sent back by sea and arrived much later.

Aftermath

On 10 December the Germans announced that a sabotage squad had been caught on 8th dec near the mouth of the Gironde and 'finished off in combat'. It was not until Jan 1943 in the absence of other information all 10 men on the raid were posted missing, until news arrived of two of them. Later it was confirmed that five ships had been damaged in Bordeaux by mysterious explosions. This information remained until new research of 2010 revealed that a six ship had been damaged even more extensively than any of the other five reported. This research also revealed that the other five ships holed were back in service very shortly afterwards.

For their part in the raid Major Hasler was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and Marine Sparks the Distinguished Service Medal (DSM). Corporal Laver and Marine Mills were also recommended for the DSM which at the time could not be awarded posthumously, so instead they were mentioned in dispatches.

Of men who never returned Sergeant Wallace and Marine Ewart were captured on the 8 December at the Pointe de Grave (near Le Verdon) and revealed only certain information during their interrogation, and were executed under the Commando Order, on the night 11 December in a sandpit in a wood north of Bordeaux and not at Chateau Magnol, Blanquefort. Unfortunately (seemingly to encourage tourist traffic) a plaque has been erected on the bullet marked wall at the Chateau as to evidence this, but this can be unquestionably proved this is not the case. This account shows the Blanquefort reference is false and this should be noted lest the reader be misled, despite a French Website quoting this as fact. A small memorial can also be seen at the Pointe de Grave, where they were captured. In March 2011 a major c.100,000 euro memorial is to be unveiled at this same spot.

After having been set ashore, Lieutenant MacKinnon and Marine Conway managed to evade capture for four days, but they were betrayed and arrested by the Gendarmerie and handed over to the Germans at La Reole hospital 30 miles (48 km) south east of Bordeaux, attempting to make their way to the Spanish border. Mackinnon had been admitted to the hospital for treatment for an infected knee. The exact date of their execution is not known. New evidence shows that Lieutenant Mackinnon, Corporal Laver, Marine Mills and Marine Conway were not executed in Paris in 1942 but in the same location as Wallace and Ewart under the Commando Order.

Corporal Sheard and Marine Moffatt were not drowned on the first night but died of the cold. The body of Marine Moffatt was found on the Ile de Ré on 14 December but Corporal Sheard’s body is believed to have been recovered and buried elsewhere further up the coastline Corporal Sheard is remembered on the Hero's Stone at his place of birth, North Corner, Devonport.

In 1955 a fictionalised version of the story was told in the film The Cockleshell Heroes made by Warwick Films, and starring Anthony Newley, Trevor Howard, David Lodge and Jose Ferrer who was also the Director.

In June 2002, the Frankton Trail was opened, a walking path which traces the 100 miles (160 km) route taken through occupied France, on foot, by Hasler and Sparks. The Frankton Souvenir is an Anglo-French organisation, set up to keep alive the story of the raid. It plans to develop the trail, and install explanatory plaques at key points.

On March 31, 2011 a memorial to the Cockleshell Heroes and three French individuals is dedicated. Made from Portland Stone it was transported across care of Brittany Ferries. The memorial cost c.80,000£. Full Story of this in ref given.

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SAS Heroes: Last Stand In Oman

Nine soldiers, part of a secret SAS operation, are stationed deep in enemy territory in the Persian Gulf. They are looking forward to returning home after four months of fighting. What they don't know is that 300 enemy troops are about to launch a devastating attack.

The stakes are high: the enemy want to kill them and then foment revolution throughout the Gulf. If Dhofar fell the communists would have a stranglehold on the supplies to the Western world.

This is the story of a battle fought against colossal odds, in which two men make the greatest sacrifice of all.

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Operation Jaywick (1943)

Operation Jaywick was a special operation undertaken in World War II. In September 1943, 14 commandos and sailors from the Z Special Unit raided Japanese shipping in Singapore Harbour, sinking seven ships.

Background

Special Operations Australia (SOA), a joint Allied military intelligence organisation, was established in March 1942. SOA operated under the cover name Inter-Allied Services Department (IASD). It contained several British SOE officers who had escaped from Japanese occupied Singapore, and they formed the nucleus of the IASD, which was based in Melbourne. In June 1942, a commando arm was organised as Z Special Unit (which was later commonly known as Z Force). It drew its personnel primarily from the Australian Army and Royal Australian Navy.

In 1943, a 28-year-old British officer, Captain Ivan Lyon (of the Allied Intelligence Bureau and Gordon Highlanders), and a 61-year-old Australian civilian, Bill Reynolds, devised a plan to attack Japanese shipping in Singapore Harbour. Commandos would travel to the harbour in a vessel disguised as an Asian fishing boat. They would then use collapsible canoes to attach limpet mines to Japanese ships.

Reynolds was in possession of a 21.3 metres (70 ft) Japanese coastal fishing boat, the Kofuku Maru, which he had used to evacuate refugees out of Singapore. Lyon ordered that the boat be shipped from India to Australia. Upon its arrival, he renamed the vessel MV Krait, after the small but deadly Asian snake.

The Attack

In mid-1943, the Krait travelled from a training camp at Broken Bay, New South Wales to Thursday Island. Aboard was a complement from Z Special Unit of three British and eleven Australian personnel, comprising:

• Major Ivan Lyon (Mission Commander)
• Lieutenant Hubert Edward Carse (Krait's Captain)
• Lieutenant Donald Montague Noel Davidson
• Lieutenant Robert Charles Page
• Corporal Andrew Anthony Crilley
• Corporal R.G. Morris
• Leading Seaman Kevin Patrick Cain
• Leading Stoker James Patrick McDowell
• Leading Telegraphist Horace Stewart Young
• Able Seaman Walter Gordon Falls
• Able Seaman Mostyn Berryman
• Able Seaman Frederick Walter Lota Marsh
• Able Seaman Arthur Walter Jones
• Able Seaman Andrew William George Huston

On 13 August 1943, the Krait left Thursday Island for the U.S. Naval Base at Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia where it was refuelled and repairs were undertaken.

On 2 September 1943, the Krait left Exmouth Gulf and departed for Singapore. The team's safety depended on maintaining the disguise of a local fishing boat. The men stained their skin brown with dye to appear more Asiatic and were meticulous in what sort of rubbish they threw overboard, lest a trail of European garbage lead arouse suspicion. After a relatively uneventful voyage the Krait arrived off Singapore on September 24. That night six men left the boat and paddled 50 kilometres (31 mi) to establish a forward base in a cave on a small island near the harbour. On the night of 26 September 1943, they paddled into the harbour and placed limpet mines on several Japanese ships before returning to their hiding spot.

In the resulting explosions, the limpet mines sank or seriously damaged seven Japanese ships, comprising over 39,000 tons between them. The commandos waited until the commotion over the attack had subsided and then returned to the Krait, which they reached on 2 October. Their return to Australia was mostly uneventful, except for a tense incident in the Lombok Strait when the ship was closely approached by a Japanese patrol boat; however the Krait was not challenged. On October 19, the ship and crew arrived safely back at Exmouth Gulf.

Raid Repercussions

The Japanese authorities in Singapore were completely surprised by the raid. Never suspecting such an attack could be mounted from Australia, they assumed it had been carried out by local saboteurs, most probably pro-Communist Chinese guerillas. In their efforts to uncover the perpetrators, a wave of arrests, torture and executions began. Local Chinese and Malays, as well as interned POWs and European civilians were targeted in this program. The incident became known as the Double Tenth, for 10 October, the day that Japanese secret police began the mass arrests.

Given the misery visited upon the local population by the Japanese, criticism has arisen as to whetherOperation Jaywick was justified, especially with its relatively limited strategic results. In the aftermath of the raid, the Allies never claimed responsibility for the attack on shipping, most likely because they wanted to preserve the secret of the Krait for future similar missions. Therefore the Japanese did not divert significant military resources to defending against such attacks, instead just using their secret police to enact reprisals against civilians.

Operation Jaywick was followed by Operation Rimau. Three ships were sunk, but the participants, including Lyon, were killed or captured and executed.


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Operation Devon (1943)

Operation Devon was thecodeword given to a British Commando raid during theSecond World War. The operation an amphibious landing at Termoli on the Adriatic coast of Italy was carried out on 3 October 1943 by elements of the 2nd Special Service Brigade, No. 2 Commando and No. 40 (Royal Marine) Commando.

In the early hours of 3 October 1943, Nos 2 and 40 (Royal Marine) Commandos elements of the Special Raiding Squadronlanded behind the German lines under cover of darkness at Termoli, a seaport town on the Adriatic coast, north of theBifurno River, 40 Commando penetrated well into the town before the Germans were alerted and brisk close-quarter fighting with German parachute troops ensued. By 08:00 hours, 40 Commando had captured the town and controlled the approaches. So complete was the surprise that German vehicles and motor cyclists still drove into a Commando ambush position until noon.

 The Germans counter attacked in strength and 2 Commando with 40 Commando, the Special Raiding Squadron and some reinforcements from the 78th Division, held off repeated and heavy infantry and armoured counter-attacks by the26th Panzer Division until eventually the 8th Army linked up with them on 6 October. The operation was an outstanding success. 

They had overcome all attempts, by a force vastly superior in numbers and armament, to dislodge them and in so doing, won a valuable harbour; they caused the enemy to withdraw from the natural defence line on the Bifurno and denied them the use of the important lateral road from Naples, thereby forcing them to retreat further northwards.

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