Commandos in Exile: The Story of 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando 1942-1945

294 Pages·2008·7.85 MB·English

Also by Nick van der Bijl:
Argentine Forces in the Falklands (Osprey)
Royal Marines 1939–1993 (Osprey)
Nine Battles to Stanley (Leo Cooper)
Brean Down Fort and the Defence of the Bristol Channel (HawkEditions)
5th Infantry Brigade in the Falklands (Leo Cooper)
No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando 1942–1945 (Osprey)
Victory in the Falklands (Pen & Sword Military)
Confrontation (Pen & Sword Military)

Contents
List of Maps
Acknowledgements
Glossary
1. The Commandos
2. Formation of No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando
3. Training the Commando
4. Dieppe
5. Raiding Norway
6. 2 (Dutch) Troop in the Far East
7. The Mediterranean
8. Cassino and the Adriatic
9. Raiding the Atlantic Coast
10. D-Day Preparations
11. Operation Overlord: 6 June 1944
12. The Defence of the Orne Bridgehead: 7–13 June 1944
13. The Thin Red Line: 13 June to 3 September 1944
14. Operation Market Garden
15. Operation Infatuate – Walcheren
16. Belgium and Holland
17. The Advance into Germany
18. Disbandment
Appendices
1. Known Details of Members of 3 (British) Troop
2. Order of Battle No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando 1942–1945
3. Basic Organization of No. 6 (Polish) Troop – Italy 1944
4. No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando Raiding Table
5. Assessed 3 Troop Order of Battle – D-Day
6. Operation Market Garden – 2 (Dutch) Troop Order of Battle
7. No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando Recipients of British Gallantry Awards
Bibliography
Index
List of Maps
1. 10 Commando in Great Britain
2. Raiding Operations
3. The Far East
4. Italy and the Adriatic
5. Normandy
6. Europe
Acknowledgements
No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando was a unique unit of exiles brought together to
form a Commando at a time when the Army was looking everywhere to replace
its casualties and those locked up in prison camps. The national contingents
each had their own characteristics and yet when they were committed to battle,
they each had a single cause – liberate their countries, although the Poles
wanted to defeat Nazism so they could get at the Russians. The Commando was
part of the British Army in every way and was represented at Dieppe, in Italy
and the Far East, on D-Day, at Arnhem, Walcheren and the advance through
Germany, quite apart from raiding Norway and France. Most were parachute-
trained. No other Commando was so widely deployed and yet it functioned as a
unit just twice. Its existence spawned Allied commandos in Belgium, France
and the Netherlands post-1945.
It is a pleasure to thank those who have helped with this project. The first
must be Ian Dear, who wrote the first book on these exiles – 10 Commando. He
allowed me unrestricted access to his mass of information held in the Imperial
War Museum, which then allowed me to add flesh to the story. Mrs Wiet
Harpur-Rymakers translated accounts from the Dutch. Mr Wybo Boersma
helped me with the Dutch in the Far East and at Arnhem. Colin Anson, Brian
Grant and the later Peter Masters gave me steerage with 3 Troop, as did the
Jewish Museum, and Pierre-Louis Marichal told me of the relationship between
the Belgian Troop and the Belgian SAS. Ivar Kraglund helped with the
Norwegians, in particular the provision of photos, as did the Sikorsky Institute
in London with the Poles. As always, the Internet provided a massive source of
information.
I must also complement the staff of Burnham-on-Sea's Library, who managed
to obtain some obscure books that I suspect had not seen the light of day for
decades.
I am most grateful to Brigadier Henry Wilson, the Commissioning Editor, for
giving me the opportunity to complete another ambition that first emerged when
I was serving with the Intelligence Corps in West Germany. I am indebted to
Bobby Gainher for editing this project. John Noble, once again, was meticulous
in indexing. I must also thank Noel Sadler for typesetting this book in a
meticulous manner.
My wife, Penny, has once again been a mountain of patience in not only
supporting me but also proofreading and asking all the right questions.
Nick van der Bijl
Somerset
Glossary
Abwehr – Amt Ausland/Abwehr im Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (Overseas Department/Office in
Defence of the Armed Forces High Command). Military Intelligence organization concentrating
on human intelligence.
BBO – Bureau Bijzondere Opdrachten (Bureau of Special Operations).
Bren Gun – Standard infantry .303-inch light machine gun with a distinctive curved thirty-round
magazine. Development of the Czech ZB33 and could fire out to 2,000 yards.
CIGS – Chief of the Imperial General Staff.
CO – Commanding Officer.
DD – Duplex Drive. Fitted with equipment that enabled tanks to be amphibious.
DSO – Distinguished Service Order.
DUKW – D (designed in 1942) U (utility) K (all-wheel drive) W (two powered rear axles). Six-
wheel-drive amphibious truck.
FNFL – Forces Navales Francaises Libre (Free French Naval Forces).
GHQ – General Headquarters.
Goatley – Lightweight collapsible assault boat with a wooden bottom and canvas sides carrying seven
men, with six paddling. Could be assembled by two men in about ninety seconds, most suited to
river crossings.
GS(R) – General Staff (Research). War Office department studying irregular warfare.
LCA – 13-ton Landing Craft Assault that could land thirty-five troops over a ramp and lift an
additional 800lb of equipment up to 80 miles at 7 knots. Usually crewed by four Royal Navy or
Royal Marines, its wooden sides were protected by armour.
LCI(S) – Landing Craft Infantry (Small). A 110-ton wooden landing craft based on a MGB and fitted
with silenced petrol engines, they were designed for long-distance voyages and could carry 102
fully equipped troops and their equipment, such as PIAT anti-tank weapons and eighteen
bicycles, and had a naval crew of seventeen. In addition to Embarked Force weapons, it was
armed with two 20mm cannon and two Lewis guns.
LCP(L) – 9-ton Landing Craft Personnel (Large). Could carry twenty-five troops about 120 miles at 8
knots. Crewed by three and armed with up to medium machine-guns; disembarkation was the
troops jumping from the bow.
LSI – Landing Ships Infantry.
MC – Gallantry award issued to officers.
MFC – Marine Fusilier Commando Battalion.
MGB – 95-ton Motor Gun Boat with a maximum speed of 28 knots. Equipped with two power-
mounted, turreted 6-pdrs fore and aft, an aft twin 20mm Oerlikon, a single 20mm forward of the
bridge and two twin .303-inch Vickers on the bridge wings.
MI5 – Military Intelligence 5 – Security Services.
MI(R) – Military Intelligence (Research). War Office department studying use of small raiding forces.
MM – Military Medal. Gallantry award for non-commissioned ranks.
‘Mouseholing’ – Using explosives on a portable frame to blow holes in walls of buildings.
NAAFI – Navy, Army and Air Force Institute.
NBS – Netherlands Binnenelandsche Strijdrachten (Netherlands Forces of the Interior).
NCO – Non-Commissioned Officer. From Lance Corporal to Staff/Colour Sergeant and equivalent.
NSO – Netherlands Special Operations.
OBE – Order of the British Empire.
OCTU – Officer Cadet Training Unit.
PIAT – Projectile Infantry Anti-Tank. Portable anti-tank weapon weighing a cumbersome 34lb and
firing a 2lb bomb out to 100 yards. Effective out to 350 yards when mounted on its bipod against
buildings.
PT – Physical training.
RAF – Royal Air Force.
RAOC – Royal Army Ordnance Corps.
RAP – Regimental Air Post.
SAS – Special Air Service.
SBS – Special Boat Section.
SEAC – South East Asia Command.
SFHQ – Special Forces Headquarters.
SHAEF – Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force.
SOE – Special Operations Executive.
Spandau – German MG-42. 9.92mm belt-fed light machine gun.
TLC – Tank Landing Craft.
VC – Victoria Cross.
Map 1. 10 Commando in Great Britain