Commandos, an introduction
In 1940 Britain was still reeling from the Expeditionary forces swift retreat through France and rescue from the Dunkirk beaches. Churchill speaking in the Commons hailed the rescuing of so many of the marooned troops, ‘out of the jaws of death and shame, to their native land’, but cogently added ‘we must be very careful not to assign to this deliverance the attributes of a victory. Wars are not won by evacuation’.
Kommandos!
Lieutenant-Colonel Dudley Wrangel-Clarke was struck by Churchills cautious words. The country needed to see ‘wins’ against the threatening German war machine and he had an unorthodox view on military combat drawn from his experiences fighting the Boer Kommandos in South Africa. These rag tag units of farmers, hunters and survivalists had been very effective against the might of the British Army, particularly during the siege of Ladysmith. With the backing of the high-profile General Archibald Wavell, he proposed the creation of similar units with survival and hunting skills who would aim ‘mosquito stings upon the ponderous bulk of the German army’. Churchill saw a facsimile of the harrying Viking raids of history, but on the coasts of German occupied Europe: An elite army of piratical ‘butcher and bolt’ raiding units. Recruits for this ‘special service’ were all men who volunteered from the British Army, but later, also from the Royal Marines and other Allied Armies. The requisite was men who were not only physically fit, but showed adaptability and mental toughness (Westhorpe, 2012) (Lewis, 2019)
Prepare for Derrin-do!
The Commando training course was designed to cultivate the required qualities not only through creating realistic battle simulations, including the use of live ammunition, but also the ability to survive and thrive in the wilderness in all weather conditions; This necessitated the assembly of a smorgasbord of ‘experts’ at several remote locations in the Scottish Highlands. (Dunning, 2012)
“They must be prepared, with specially trained troops of the hunter class.” (Churchill, W.)
