The 2nd Commando Battalion (, officially abbreviated to 2 Codo) is one of four airborne forces battalion unit of the

Belgian Land Component The Land Component (, ), historically and commonly still referred to as the Belgian Army (, ), is the land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land Component i ...

and part of the 'Special Operations Regiment', which specialized in air assault and airborne operations, amphibious warfare, combat patrol, commando style raids, irregular warfare, long-range penetration, special operations, and special reconnaissance. Its regimental traditions, including the name "Commando" and the green beret, were adopted from the Belgian soldiers who served in No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando during the Second World War.

History

Formation

The traditions of the 1st Commando Battalion were originally based on those of 4 Troop of 10 (Inter-allied) Commando during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, which fought in North Africa, Italy and Northern Europe. It is particularly notable for its role during

Operation Infatuate Operation Infatuate was the code name given to an Anglo-Canadian operation in November 1944 during the Second World War to open the port of Antwerp to shipping and relieve logistical constraints. The operation was part of the wider Battle of the ...

: the invasion of the Dutch island of

Walcheren Walcheren () is a region and former island in the Dutch province of Zeeland at the mouth of the Scheldt estuary. It lies between the Eastern Scheldt in the north and the Western Scheldt in the south and is roughly the shape of a rhombus. The two ...

in 1944. All Belgian soldiers in 4 Troop were trilingual (French-Dutch-English). The badge of the new unit was designed by Padre Devos, based the British Commando Fairbairn-Sykes dagger.

Belgian Congo

During the months leading up to independence of the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Repu ...

, soldiers of the 2nd Commando Battalion were positioned in

Bas-Congo Kongo Central (), formerly Bas-Congo, is one of the 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its capital is Matadi. History At the time of independence, the area now encompassing Kongo Central was part of the greater province of ...

. To cover more territory, the 4th Commando Battalion and 6th Commando Battalion (Belgium) were created from officers of the unit and new recruits in order to control the key area around Kitona and

Kamina Kamina is the capital city of Haut-Lomami Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Transport Kamina is known as an important railway node; three lines of the DRC railways run from Kamina toward the north, west, and south-east. The m ...

. In 1959, 2nd Commando Battalion was moved to

Léopoldville Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-growing megacities, with an estimated population of 17 million ...

to maintain order during

the riots ''The Riots'' is a play created by Gillian Slovo from spoken evidence, which explains and evaluates the events that took place during the 2011 England riots. The play is written in the style of verbatim theatre using interviews from politician ...

. In 1964, a company from 2nd Commando was included in

Operation Dragon Rouge Operation Dragon Rouge (, , meaning "Operation Red Dragon") was a hostage rescue operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo conducted jointly by Belgium and the United States in 1964. The operation was led by the Belgian Paracommando Re ...

for the drop on Stanleyville to recover hostages. The company was mentioned in dispatches.

Rwandan Genocide

In March 1994, the 2nd Commando Battalion (with elements from the

3rd Parachute Battalion The 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment (3 PARA), is a battalion sized formation of the British Army's Parachute Regiment and is a subordinate unit within 16 Air Assault Brigade. Roled as an Airborne light infantry unit, the battalion is capable ...

) took over from the 1st Parachute Battalion in the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

UNAMIR mission in Rwanda. On 6 April 1994, following the downing of Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana's plane, the RTLM radio station accused the Belgian peacekeepers of having shot down–or of helping to shoot down – the aircraft. The 10 Belgian soldiers who had been assigned to protect the Prime Minister,

Agathe Uwilingiyimana Agathe Uwilingiyimana (; 23 May 1953 – 7 April 1994), sometimes known as Madame Agathe, was a Rwandan political figure. She served as Prime Minister of Rwanda from 18 July 1993 until her assassination on 7 April 1994, during the opening stages ...

, as well as five Ghanaians, were captured by an overwhelming number of Rwandan soldiers, and beaten to death. According to the UNKIBAT-01 Tab 241 of the Prosecution Case File, "The bodies showed signs of fighting, some had rifle-but or bayonet injuries, some showed signs of having been struck by machetes or bullet wounds." The Belgian contingent was deliberately targeted in this way in order to provoke the Belgian contingent to withdraw from UNAMIR (which it did several days later), critically weakening the remaining UN force. UNAMIR Belgian soldiers memorial

The names of the peacekeepers who died were: * Lt. Thierry Lottin (aged 29) * 1Sgt. Yannick Leroy (aged 29) * Cpl. Bruno Bassinne (aged 27) * Cpl. Stephane Lhoir (aged 28) * Cpl. Bruno Meaux (aged 28) * Cpl. Louis Plescia (aged 32) * Cpl. Christophe Renwa (aged 26) * Cpl. Marc Uyttebroek (aged 26) * Cpl. Christophe Dupont (aged 25) * Cpl. Alain Debatty (aged 29) The murder of the 10 soldiers was the biggest single loss of Belgian personnel since the

and provoked outrage in Belgium. On 19 April all Belgian personnel were evacuated from the country. The murder was subject of an investigation, under the title of ''"Qui a tué nos paras?"'' (''"Who killed our paras?"''). The withdrawal and fatal weakening of the UN force was viewed as a catastrophe in Belgian military circles: Gaston Francsson, a decorated Belgian veteran of the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

returned the UN medals he had won to the United Nations in protest at the decision. A Rwandan Major, Bernard Ntuyahaga, was later arrested and convicted of the killings.

Composition

The battalion was bilingual (French-Dutch) from its creation until 1982, but is now Francophone only. The 2nd Commando Battalion and the 3rd Paratroopers Battalion personnel are all trained identically, and are designated as a Paracommando on completion of their training, Personnel allocated to the 2nd Commando Battalion are awarded the Sherwood Green Beret, and wear the Parachute Qualification Brevet above the right side chest Pocket and Belgian "Commando Dagger" brevet on the upper right sleeve

Organisation

The 2nd Commando Battalion comprises: * HQ staff * 12th commando company * 13th commando company * 16th commando company *

service Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a ...

company

Standard

In a ceremony on 26 October 1946 in Brussels,

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

awarded the unit's standard to lieutenant-colonel Danloy, carrying the following citations inherited from 4 (Belgian) Troop of No. 10 (Inter-allied) Commando during World War II: *Italy *Yugoslavia *Walcheren The standard also carried the fourragère of the

Belgian croix de guerre The ( French) or ''Oorlogskruis'' ( Dutch) is a military decoration of the Kingdom of Belgium established by royal decree on 25 October 1915. It was primarily awarded for bravery or other military virtue on the battlefield. The award was reesta ...

References

External links

* {{Belgian Paracommando Units Battalions of Belgium Military units and formations established in 1945 1945 establishments in Belgium Airborne units and formations of Belgium