The 4th Special Service Brigade was a

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. ...

-sized formation of the

British Commandos The Commando, Commandos, also known as the British Commandos, were formed during the World War II, Second World War in June 1940, following a request from Winston Churchill, for special forces that could carry out Raid (military), raids against ...

formed during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

in March 1944 from

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

-sized units of the

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

. Due to the success of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

Commandos' operations in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey ...

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 ...

, and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

, the Admiralty dissolved the Royal Marines Division in late 1942 and reorganized its

amphibious assault Amphibious warfare is a type of Offensive (military), offensive military operation that today uses naval ships to project ground and air power onto a hostile or potentially hostile shore at a designated landing beach. Through history the opera ...

infantry into eight additional

Commando 40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations forc ...

units. The Brigade was part of the

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

on 6 June 1944 during

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

; it subsequently participated in the Battle of the Scheldt and the assault of the Walcheren Islands.Army Commandos 1940-45 By Mike Chappell, p 31 On 6 December the same year, the Brigade was renamed 4th Commando Brigade, removing the title ''Special Service'' and its association with the German SS.

Formation

*Commander : Brigadier B. W. Leicester ** No. 41 Commando (

(RM)), Lieutenant-Colonel E. C. E. Palmer ** No. 46 Commando (RM), Lieutenant-Colonel C. R. Hardy ** No. 47 Commando (RM), Lieutenant-Colonel C. F. Phillips ** No. 48 Commando (RM), Lieutenant-Colonel J. L. Moulton ** No. 4 Commando (

) was attached for the Battle of the Scheldt in place of No. 46 Commando (RM) ** No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando, elements of non-British personnel from German-occupied Europe.

Normandy

The plan

The brigade's task was to secure the flanks of the invasion beaches, linking up the British front from the

Orne Orne (; nrf, Ôrne or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.Port-en-Bessin and the Americans on

Omaha Beach Omaha Beach was one of five beach landing sectors designated for the amphibious assault component of operation Overlord during the Second World War. On June 6, 1944, the Allies invaded German-occupied France with the Normandy landings. "Omaha" ...

. The newly raised 46 and 47 Commandos joined 41 Commando and it became apparent to the Allied planners that a fourth Commando unit was needed for the brigade's mission, so in mid-March the remaining men of the Royal Marine Division and other volunteers began training to form No. 48 Commando in time for the invasion. The Brigade was expected to be in combat for at most a week before being returned home. * No 41 Cdo (RM) to land at the far right (west) of

Sword A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed t ...

. * No 46 Cdo (RM) at Juno to scale the cliffs on the left (east) side of the Orne River estuary and to destroy a battery. * No 47 Cdo (RM) to go to the west flank of

Gold Beach Gold, commonly known as Gold Beach, was the code name for one of the five areas of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during the Second World War. Gold, the central of the five areas, was l ...

. * No 48 Cdo (RM) to go to Juno beach with the

3rd Canadian Infantry Division The 3rd Canadian Division is a formation of the Canadian Army responsible for the command and mobilization of all army units in the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, as well as all units extending westwards from th ...

and the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade.

Sword

No 41 RM Commando was the senior unit in the Brigade, it landed at Hermanville-sur-Mer and then moved west to Lion-sur-Mer. The unit's first task was to link up with their fellow commandos at

Luc-sur-Mer Luc-sur-Mer (, literally ''Luc on Sea'') is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. Population Sights * The "Maison de la Baleine" created by Jean Chabriac. On January 15, 1885 a 40-ton and 19 meter ...

. As the Commando came ashore under moderate fire, it lost several men including their

Regimental Sergeant Major Regimental sergeant major (RSM) is an appointment that may be held by warrant officers class 1 (WO1) in the British Army, the British Royal Marines and in the armies of many other Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, including Austral ...

, the Naval Forward Observation Officer and the second-in-command. Once clear of the beach defences it found itself in a relatively quiet sector. From its assembly area, it marched down the coastal road toward Lion-sur-Mer joined by three Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers (AVRE)s. As P and Y troops approached the town, a well-concealed German PaK 38 gun ambushed the tanks, knocking all three out and stalling the assault. A and B troops had been moving ahead on to their second objective at the Chateau, but were attacked on their approach and forced back. Facing overwhelming defences and artillery, the commandos dug in and awaited reinforcements. At 1330 Hours the 2nd Battalions,

Lincolnshire Regiment The Royal Lincolnshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army raised on 20 June 1685 as the Earl of Bath's Regiment for its first Colonel, John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath. In 1751, it was numbered like most other Army regiment ...

and the 2nd Battalion, Royal Ulster Rifles moved up to the commandos' position, bringing with them a replacement Naval Observation Officer. As soon as he arrived, the destroyers offshore began a one-hour-long naval bombardment, battering the strong point and chateau. It was now too late for the commandos to launch an effective assault, so they dug-in for the night. When dawn broke the German artillery fire began once again, pinning the commandos and supporting infantry down for another two hours. They were then subject to a bombing attack by German

Heinkel Heinkel Flugzeugwerke () was a German aircraft manufacturing company founded by and named after Ernst Heinkel. It is noted for producing bomber aircraft for the Luftwaffe in World War II and for important contributions to high-speed flight, with ...

bombers which dropped anti-personnel bombs onto their position, killing several men, including their royal artillery observer and severely wounding the commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Gray. Having already lost the second-in-command, Major Barclay, command fell to the

Adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

John Taplin. Under his leadership the Commando joined the Lincolnshire Regiment in the final assault on the strongpoint and chateau. Once the two units had seized the position, 41 Commando moved on alone to Luc-sur-mer. They found the town undefended and dug-in to wait for their colleagues to join them from the Canadian beach.

Juno Beach (48 Commando)

48 Commando were to land at Nan Red sector of Juno Beach with the objective of assaulting the strongpoint at

Langrune-sur-Mer Langrune-sur-Mer (, literally ''Langrune on Sea'') is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. Population International relations The commune is twinned with Fishbourne, UK since 1998. See also ...

and then to link-up with 41 Commando, sealing the breach between the

and the British 3rd Infantry Divisions. On their approach to the shore, two of their ships struck underwater obstacles and sank. Weighed down by their equipment, many of the marines drowned in the surf. Those that did get ashore faced intense German small arms fire. The combined effect of these two situations was that only fifty percent of the Commando got off the beach unscathed. Once off the beach, 48 Commando advanced to their objective, the heavily defended guns at Langrune. As they approached, the destroyer HMS ''Vigilant'' bombarded the position, with little effect due to the heavy fortifications. The commandos found the strong-point protected by snipers, mines, machine guns and a concrete wall. They were then joined by two Centaur Support Tanks from the 1st

Royal Marine Support Regiment Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...

. The first of these tanks moved toward the wall firing its 95mm howitzer and obliterated a machine-gun bunker that had been covering the crossroads. The second Centaur began to move into position, but struck a mine while approaching the wall, forcing the crew to bail out and join the commandos. With the Centaurs out of ammunition or disabled, the attack faltered. B Troop raced across the intersection to a house opposite only to discover that it had been fortified, with the windows and doors facing the strongpoint filled with concrete. The commandos had no choice but to bring down the wall. They set a charge at its base, but the fortification was too strong. The commandos then received news that the

21st Panzer Division The 21st Panzer Division was a German armoured division best known for its role in the battles of the North African Campaign from 1941–1943 during World War II when it was one of the two armoured divisions making up the Deutsches Afrikakorps ...

's counter-attack had already stopped the British advance on

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,716th Infantry Division's positions only to find that they were still manned and situated between the two units of the 4th Special Service Brigade. The next event was the glider assault landing of the 6th Airlanding Brigade of the 6th Airborne Division to the east. Seeing the gliders landing, the German commander feared he would be outflanked and ordered his force to withdraw towards Caen. Had he pushed onward and attacked the commandos, Sword would have been isolated and the entire eastern flank of the Allied invasion may have collapsed. In the morning the commandos were joined by a pair of Canadian

M10 tank destroyer The M10 tank destroyer was an American tank destroyer of World War II. After US entry into World War II and the formation of the Tank Destroyer Force, a suitable vehicle was needed to equip the new battalions. By November 1941, the Army requested ...

s, which fired anti-tank rounds at the wall; for the next hour the M10s peppered the wall with solid shot and the fortification began to disintegrate. A

Sherman tank } The M4 Sherman, officially Medium Tank, M4, was the most widely used medium tank by the United States and Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman proved to be reliable, relatively cheap to produce, and available in great numbers. It ...

of the Royal Marines Armoured Support Group then appeared and opened fire on the wall and allowed the commandos to launch an assault. Advancing behind the Sherman, covered by its guns, the commandos seized the interior of the strongpoint and spent the rest of the day silencing the remaining pockets of resistance around Langrune.

Juno Beach (46 Commando)

The brigade's reserve element, No. 46 Commando, landed on Juno beach at 0900 on 7 June and advanced on to Petit Enfer. They faced stiff German resistance, but were able to force their way through the German positions and on to Luc-sur-Mer. There they met up with 41 Commando, linking Juno and Sword.

Gold Beach

No. 47 Commando was the last British unit to land and came ashore on Gold Beach east of Le Hamel. Their task was to go inland then turn right (west) and make a twelve-mile (19.3 km) march through enemy territory to attack Port en Bessin from the rear. This small harbour, on the British far right, was well sheltered in the chalk cliffs and significant in that it was to be a prime means of supplies being brought in, including fuel by underwater pipe-line from tankers moored offshore. On 47's approach they could see the preceding units were struggling. Due to intense fire, the

Hampshire Regiment The Hampshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot and the 67th (South Hampshire) Regiment of Foot. The re ...

had landed one and a half miles further to the east than originally planned.
Ordered to avoid contact with the enemy and advance on Port en Bessin, the commanding officer, Lt. Col. Phillips, ordered his LCAs to approach the beach behind the Hampshires near Les Roquettes. The commandos landed under intense fire, five of their craft being sunk before reaching the shore and almost all the others were damaged, resulting in five officers, (including Lt. Col. Phillips, swimming to shore late in the day), 71 other ranks were reported missing. Unable to locate Phillips, the second-in-command, Major P.M. Donnell led his men off the beach and turned inland to avoid engaging the enemy. Behind the lines, the commando moved quickly to Buhot where Phillips rejoined it after his long swim. For the next several hours the Commando pushed steadily on, occasionally encountering snipers and small units of unsuspecting rear guards from whom they captured several "spandau" ( MG-34 machine guns) and other small arms. As dusk descended upon the Commando they reached Point 72, the highest point on a ridge near Escures, which they discovered was undefended. They dug-in for the night and prepared for the attack on Port-en-Bessin at dawn. Originally the attack on Port-en-Bessin was planned to be supported by American artillery, but having no working radio made this coordination impossible. The arrival of two French civilians, a replacement Forward Observation Officer and a Gendarme named Gouget, assisted the planned assault. The two civilians identified the German positions and the artillery officer repaired the unit's wireless set, allowing him to contact the navy ships off-shore.
At 1400 hours two Landing Craft Gun (Large), "LCG(L)", opened fire on the port and were joined by HMS ''Emerald'''s six-inch (152 mm) main armament an hour later. By 1600 hours the city was hit by RAF

Hawker Typhoon The Hawker Typhoon is a British single-seat fighter-bomber, produced by Hawker Aircraft. It was intended to be a medium-high altitude interceptor, as a replacement for the Hawker Hurricane, but several design problems were encountered an ...

air strikes and the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

bombarded the area with smoke in preparation for the commando's assault. Gouget guided A and B troops through ditches surrounding the town, past the outer ring of gunpits, while X Troop fixed bayonets and charged the machine-gun nests, quickly taking the positions. Once the outer ring of defences had been breached, A Troop advanced on the western feature, but were repelled when two ''

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with th ...

Flak Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

'' ships, that had moved into the port on 5 June, opened fire on the men with their rapid fire cannons.
B Troop also launched an assault on the town itself, but were pinned down by a pillbox on the heights and machine-gun positions in houses throughout the village. Philips next ordered his men to launch an assault on the ''Flak'' ships, but were repelled once again. Seeing their problem, the captains of HMS ''Ursa'' and the Polish ship ORP ''Krakowiak'' approached the port, but were unable to open fire on the ''Flak'' ships, which were behind the port's concrete and stone breakwater. The navy then formed boarding parties and launched their motorboats, which crossed the harbour net and attacked the German vessels. With the ''Flak'' ships silenced, B and Heavy weapons troops made their way up the eastern feature and assaulted the German blockhouse, forcing the defenders to surrender. Sporadic fighting continued on until dawn of 8 June when the remaining defenders on the western feature surrendered. On 9 June ''

PLUTO Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Sun. It is the largest k ...

'' (Pipe Line Under the Ocean)

he fuel pipe He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

arrived in the form of an army port company and the petrol started to flow, supplying Allied vehicles across the Normandy front.

Douvre radar station

After being rested and reinforced, the Brigade less 41 Commando moved south to the

Douvres-la-Délivrande Douvres-la-Délivrande () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. The name was simply Douvres until 1961, when it was expanded to refer to the basilica Notre-Dame de la Délivrande ("Our Lady of ...

Radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

Station. This fortified position was the primary

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...

radar station in the area. It was covered with gun pits, minefields, tunnels, bunkers, five 5 cm anti-tank guns, a 7.5 cm field gun and a ring of barbed wire in height. The Brigade was to isolate the station which would allow other Allied forces to pass by and advance on Caen. After securing the perimeter, 46, 47 and 48 Commandos were sent to support the Canadians and Airborne divisions while 41 Commando stayed behind. For the next week, the commandos continued to harass the strongpoint with occasional mortar fire, Typhoon strikes and volleys from two attached Royal Marine Support Group (RMASG) Centaurs. Although the site did not actively threaten Allied movements in the area, it did provide radar-ranging information for Luftwaffe night fighters and constantly reported on British movements. On 17 June the assault began with a bombardment from the Royal Artillery's guns and ships off-shore. Under their new commander, Lt. Col Palmer, 41 Commando and forty-four armoured engineering vehicles attacked from the north while other tanks created a diversion from the southwest. Sherman Crabs (a mine-clearing tank), cleared the way through the minefields while the AVREs battered the bunkers with their guns. The effect of such fire was devastating on the German defenders. When the commandos entered the entrenchment and opened fire, it was clear that the station could no longer be defended. The two hundred and twenty seven remaining Luftwaffe force surrendered and the last of the 4th Special Service Brigade's D-Day objectives was finally achieved.

6th Airborne Division

The Brigade less No 41 Commando moved to the Orne River, where they joined

1st Special Service Brigade The 1st Special Service Brigade was a commando brigade of the British Army. Formed during the Second World War, it consisted of elements of the British Army (including British Commandos) and the Royal Marines. The brigade's component units saw a ...

and the 6th Airborne Division, under the command of Major General Richard 'Windy' Gale. The Brigade would remain in the Orne area until mid-August while the British Second Army launched a series of assaults on Caen. In mid-August, following the capture of Caen, General Gale's forces broke out of their positions and launched a major offensive. Before sunrise on 20 August, 46 Commando launched an attack on the heights above Putot and the commandos seized the position overlooking the entire

Dozulé Dozulé () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northern France. Population The apparitions and the Glorious Cross Between 1972 and 1978, Jesus Christ is said to have appeared 49 times in Dozulé to Madeleine ...

area. For the remainder of the day, 48 Commando pushed through the

bocage Bocage (, ) is a terrain of mixed woodland and pasture characteristic of parts of Northern France, Southern England, Ireland, the Netherlands and Northern Germany, in regions where pastoral farming is the dominant land use. ''Bocage'' may ...

, without support, to Point 134 and Point 120 followed by 41 Commando. This location nearly cut the Germans escape route from the town; realizing that they had been out-flanked, they set the village ablaze and withdrew. With Dozulé captured the Commandos pushed on through Beuzeville to the

Risle River The Risle (; less common: ''Rille'') is a long river in Normandy, left tributary of the Seine. The river begins in the Orne department west of L'Aigle, crosses the western part of the department of Eure flowing from south to north and out in ...

. On many occasions the commandos and airborne troops would arrive in a village less than hour after the Germans had made a hasty withdrawal. Following the capture of

Pont-Audemer Pont-Audemer () is a commune in the Eure department in the Normandy region in northern France.49th (West Riding) Infantry Division The 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army. The division fought in the First World War in the trenches of the Western Front, in the fields of France and Flanders. During the Second World War, the divi ...

and returned to England. Leaving behind the 4th Special Service Brigade, which remained in the area for several weeks, clearing pockets of resistance between the

Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plate ...

and Valmont, they then took up the role of garrison troops in and around the shattered city of

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, ver ...

before finally moving up to positions near

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label= French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.De Haan, Belgium. It then prepared for another amphibious assault, on 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 tw ...

. The island lay at the mouth of the Scheldt River, which ran from Antwerp to the sea. Until the island and the northern banks of the river were cleared, the port could not be used to support the Allied advance. Allied bombers breached the dykes on 3 October at Westkapelle, Flushing and

Veere Veere (; zea, label=Zeelandic, Ter Veere) is a municipality with a population of 22,000 and a town with a population of 1,500 in the southwestern Netherlands, in the region of Walcheren in the province of Zeeland. History The name ''Veere'' ...

, flooding the island, leaving only a few dry areas around its perimeter and greatly restricting the Germans' freedom of movement. The 4th Special Service Brigade formed the seaborne element of the attack while British and Canadian infantry attacked overland from the mainland. This time the commandos came ashore in

Landing Vehicle Tracked The Amphibious Vehicle, Tracked (LVT) is an amphibious warfare vehicle and amphibious landing craft, introduced by the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. (The USN and USMC use "L" to designate Amphibious vessels, also c ...

, (also known as Buffaloes), which had already proven their worth in the Pacific campaign. 41 Commando was tasked with assaulting the town of Westkapelle and then to move north along the causeway to Domburg. Just to their south, 48 Commando took on a radar station and naval gun battery, while 47 completed the encirclement of the western part of the island by moving south towards Flushing. The brigade would spend the rest of the war making raids across the

Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a ...

(''Maas'') in Operations Incalculable and Bogart. After occupation duties in Germany, the Brigade returned to the United Kingdom in 1946 and was disbanded.

Battle honours

The following

Battle honour A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In European military t ...

s were awarded to the British Commandos during the Second World War:Moreman, p.94 * Adriatic * Alethangyaw *

Plunder Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. ...

(crossing the Aller) *

Anzio Anzio (, also , ) is a town and '' comune'' on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome. Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Is ...

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 Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cypru ...

Dieppe Dieppe (; Norman: ''Dgieppe'') is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newh ...

* Dives Crossing * Djebel Choucha * Flushing * Greece 1944–45 * Italy 1943–45 *

Kangaw The Battle of Hill 170 was a battle between the British 3rd Commando Brigade and the Japanese 54th Division during the Second World War. The battle was fought in January 1945, as part of the Burma Campaign. The 3rd Commando Brigade were giv ...

* 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 ...

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

* 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 The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

* North Africa 1941–43 * North-West Europe 1942, 1944–45 * Norway 1941 * Pursuit to Messina *

Rhine The Rhine ; french: Rhin ; nl, Rijn ; wa, Rén ; li, Rien; rm, label=Sursilvan, Rein, rm, label=Sutsilvan and Surmiran, Ragn, rm, label=Rumantsch Grischun, Vallader and Puter, Rain; it, Reno ; gsw, Rhi(n), including in Alsatian dialect, Al ...

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 * Termoli * Vaagso * Valli di Comacchio * Westkapelle

References

{{British Commando units of the Second World War, state=collapsed 4 Special Service 1944 establishments in the United Kingdom 1946 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Military units and formations established in 1944 Military units and formations disestablished in 1946