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. No. 11 (Scottish) Commando was sent to the Mediterranean as 'C' Battalion

Layforce Layforce was an ad hoc military formation of the British Army consisting of a number of commando units during the Second World War. Formed in February 1941 under the command of Colonel Robert Laycock, after whom the force was named, it consisted o ...

. It took part in operations in

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

and then garrison duties in Cyprus. Its final raid was Operation Flipper the attempt to capture the German commander

Erwin Rommel Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel () (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) was a German field marshal during World War II. Popularly known as the Desert Fox (, ), he served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of Nazi Germany, as well as servi ...

. After the failure of this raid the commando was disbanded.

Background

The commandos were formed in 1940, by the order of

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

the British Prime Minister. He called for specially trained troops that would "develop a reign of terror down the enemy coast". At first they were a small force of volunteers who carried out small raids against enemy occupied territory, but by 1943 their role had changed into lightly equipped assault Infantry which specialised in spearheading amphibious landings. The man initially selected as the overall commander of the force was

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Sir Roger Keyes himself a veteran of the landings at

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

and the Zeebrugge raid in the First World War. Keyes resigned in October 1941 and was replaced by Admiral

Louis Mountbatten Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of German ...

. 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.Haskew, p.48 Each commando would number around 450 men commanded by a

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. They were sub divided into troops of 75 men and further divided into 15-man

sections Section, Sectioning or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

. Commandos were all volunteers seconded from other British Army regiments and retained their own

cap badge A cap badge, also known as head badge or hat badge, is a badge worn on uniform headgear and distinguishes the wearer's nationality and/or organisation. The wearing of cap badges is a convention commonly found among military and police forces, as w ...

s and remained on their regimental roll for pay.Moreman, p.12 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. 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.

History

Formed in June 1940 from volunteers from Scottish regiments under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Richard Pedder; in February 1941, it became part of

and adopted the designation of 'C' Battalion. Deploying to the Middle East, they were sent to Cyprus to garrison the island before being sent to

, where they participated in Operation Exporter. After suffering heavy casualties in the Battle of the Litani River, fighting against the Vichy French, to secure a crossing over the Litani River, the unit returned to Cyprus before it was disbanded along with the rest of Layforce. Afterwards many of its men were transferred to

Middle East Commando Middle East Commando was a battalion sized British Commando unit of the British Army during the Second World War. The Commando was formed in the Middle East from the survivors of the Layforce Commando unit partly to placate Winston Churchill ...

, where they formed No. 3 Troop under Lieutenant Colonel Geoffrey Keyes. In November 1941, these men carried out a raid on Beda Littoria, in Libya as part of Operation Flipper, with the purpose of capturing

in his headquarters. The raid was a failure, Keyes was killed in a fire fight at Sidi Rafa and only a handful of the men managed to escape to British lines. For his part in the raid, Keyes received the Victoria Cross posthumously. After this raid the commando role changed and No. 11 Commando along with Layforce was disbanded, due mainly to a shortage of manpower.

Battle honours

The following Battle honours were awarded to the British Commandos during the Second World War.Moreman, p.94 *

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...

* Alethangyaw *

Aller Aller may refer to: Places Rivers * Aller (Germany), a major river in North Germany *Aller (Asturian river), a river in Asturias, Spain *River Aller, a small river on Exmoor in Somerset, England Inhabited places in the United Kingdom *Aller, Devo ...

* Anzio *

Argenta Gap The Battle of the Argenta Gap was an engagement which formed part of the Allied spring 1945 offensive during the Italian campaign in the final stages of the Second World War. It took place in northern Italy from 12 to 19 April 1945 between tr ...

* Burma 1943–45 * Crete * Dieppe * Dives Crossing * Djebel Choucha * Flushing * Greece 1944–45 * Italy 1943–45 * Kangaw * Landing at Porto San Venere * Landing in Sicily *

Leese Leese may refer to: People * The Leese family, an English aristocratic family * Arnold Leese, a late British fascist politician * Joseph Leese, a late British politician * Oliver Leese Lieutenant-General Sir Oliver William Hargreaves Leese, 3rd ...

* Litani * Madagascar * Middle East 1941, 1942, 1944 *

Monte Ornito Monte may refer to: Places Argentina * Argentine Monte, an ecoregion * Monte Desert * Monte Partido, a ''partido'' in Buenos Aires Province Italy * Monte Bregagno * Monte Cassino * Montecorvino (disambiguation) * Montefalcione Portugal * Monte ...

* Myebon * Normandy Landing * North Africa 1941–43 * North-West Europe 1942, 1944–1945 * Norway 1941 * Pursuit to Messina * Rhine *

St. Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; Gallo: ''Saint-Nazère/Saint-Nazaer'') is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean. T ...

Salerno Salerno (, , ; nap, label= Salernitano, Saliernë, ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' in Campania (southwestern Italy) and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after ...

* Sedjenane 1 * Sicily 1943 * Steamroller Farm *

Syria 1941 Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

* Termoli * Vaagso * Valli di Comacchio * Westkapelle

References

Notes Bibliography * * * * {{British Commando units of the Second World War, state=collapsed Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1941 11 1940 establishments in the United Kingdom 1941 disestablishments in the United Kingdom