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No. 7 Commando - Wikipedia

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No. 7 Commando
Active	1940–1941
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
Type	Commando
Role	Raiding
Size	~ 500 officers and men
Part of	Layforce
Engagements	Second World War Raid on Bardia Battle of Crete
Insignia
Combined Operations Shoulder Patch

No. 7 Commando was a unit of the British Commandos and part of the British Army during the Second World War. The commando was formed in August 1940 in the United Kingdom. No. 7 Commando was transferred to the Middle East as part of Layforce. Committed to the Battle of Crete, it suffered heavy casualties, after which it was disbanded.

Background

The commandos were formed in 1940, by the order of Winston Churchill the British prime minister. He called for specially trained troops that would "develop a reign of terror down the enemy coast".^[1] At first they were a small force of volunteers who carried out small raids against enemy occupied territory,^[2] but by 1943 their role had changed into lightly equipped assault Infantry which specialised in spearheading amphibious landings.^[3]

The man initially selected as the overall commander of the force was Admiral Sir Roger Keyes himself a veteran of the landings at Galipoli and the Zeebrugge raid in the First World War.^[4] Keyes resigned in October 1941 and was replaced by Admiral Louis Mountbatten.^[5]

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.^[5] Each commando would number around 450 men commanded by a lieutenant colonel. They were sub divided into troops of 75 men and further divided into 15-man sections.^[5] Commandos were all volunteers seconded from other British Army regiments and retained their own cap badges and remained on their regimental roll for pay.^[6] 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.^[7]

History

No. 7 Commando was formed in Felixstowe in July 1940 and in October 1940 were sent to Scotland for boat training. They were then re-designated 3rd Special Service Battalion on 24 October 1940 and sent to the Middle East on the 31st January 1941. On arrival in Alexandria they were assigned to Layforce – a commando formation commanded by Robert Laycock – as 'A' Battalion.^[8]^[9]

Their first planned operation was the invasion of Rhodes, which was later cancelled. This was followed by the raid on Bardia on 19 April 1941, which was a fiasco later publicised by Evelyn Waugh. They were next sent to take part in the Battle of Crete, assisting in the evacuation of the Allied forces who were subjected to aerial bombardment by German forces, most of the men of the commando were taken prisoner. After Crete the commando was disbanded and its personnel sent to other commando units in the theatre or returned to their previous units.^[10]^[11]^[12]^[13]

Battle honours

The following Battle honours were awarded to the British Commandos during the Second World War.^[14]

References

Notes

^ Chappell, p.5
^ Chappell, p.3
^ Moreman, p.8
^ Chappell, p.6
^ ^a ^b ^c Haskew, p.48
^ Moreman, p.12
^ van der Bijl, p.12
^ Saunders 1959, p. 52.
^ Chappell 1996, pp. 15–16.
^ Chappell 1996, p. 46.
^ Saunders 1959, pp. 52–67.
^ Moreman 2006, p. 19.
^ "No. 7 Commando history". Commando Veterans Association. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
^ Moreman, p.94

Bibliography

Chappell, Mike (1996). Army Commandos 1940–1945. Elite Series # 64. London: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-85532-579-9.
Haskew, Michael E (2007). Encyclopaedia of Elite Forces in the Second World War. Pen and Sword. ISBN 978-1-84415-577-4.
Moreman, Tim (2006). British Commandos 1940–46. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84176-986-8.
Saunders, Hilary St. George (1959) [1949]. The Green Beret: The Commandos at War. London: Four Square Books. OCLC 1260659.

v t e British Commando units of the Second World War
British Army:	No. 1 Commando No. 2 Commando No. 3 Commando No. 4 Commando No. 5 Commando No. 6 Commando No. 7 Commando No. 8 (Guards) Commando No. 9 Commando No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando No. 11 (Scottish) Commando No. 12 Commando No. 14 (Arctic) Commando No. 50 Commando No. 51 Commando No. 52 Commando No. 62 Commando (Small Scale Raiding Force) Middle East Commando
Royal Marine:	No. 40 (Royal Marine) Commando No. 41 (Royal Marine) Commando No. 42 (Royal Marine) Commando No. 43 (Royal Marine) Commando No. 44 (Royal Marine) Commando No. 45 (Royal Marine) Commando No. 46 (Royal Marine) Commando No. 47 (Royal Marine) Commando No. 48 (Royal Marine) Commando
Royal Navy:	Royal Naval Commandos British commando frogmen
Royal Air Force:	Royal Air Force Commandos
Joint Service:	No. 30 Commando
Brigades (List):	Special Service Brigade 1st Special Service Brigade 2nd Special Service Brigade 3rd Special Service Brigade 4th Special Service Brigade Special Air Service Troops
Ad hoc Forces:	Forfarforce Layforce Layforce II Northforce Timberforce
Other Commando forces:	Special Air Service Special Boat Squadron Special Raiding Squadron No. 1 Demolition Squadron Long Range Desert Group

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