A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force , specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines.
56-654: The Crack Platoon was a special commando team of the Mukti Bahini . which was formed in 1971, during the Bangladesh Liberation War . It was formed by young members of the Mukti Bahini , which carried out commando operations in Dhaka and its surroundings and led by Major Khaled Mosharraf . The commandos were mostly students and civilians, who received guerrilla training later in the training camps for Mukti Bahini and then engaged in battle against
112-813: A few paratroopers to several companies. Due to the balance of forces concerned, these raids achieved little in the way of damage or casualties, and resulted in the destruction of the Japanese units concerned. Considering that there were no plans to extract these forces, and the reluctance to surrender by Japanese personnel during that era, they are often seen in the same light as kamikaze pilots of 1944–45. Nakano School trained intelligence and commando officers and organized commando teams for sabotage and guerrilla warfare. The navy had commando units "S-toku" (Submarine special attack units, see Kure 101st JSNLF(in Japanese) ) for infiltrating enemy areas by submarine . It
168-497: A former minister were awarded Bir Bikrom , third highest gallantry award in Bangladesh and two commandos were awarded Bir Protik , fourth highest gallantry award in Bangladesh. Commando Originally "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as opposed to an individual in that unit. In other languages, commando and kommando denote a " command ", including the sense of a military or an elite special operations unit. In
224-517: A person or resource which an enemy commander can least afford to lose. The term has been widely used in the news media for Osama bin Laden and high-ranking officers of al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations. Former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was known as High-Value Target Number One by the United States military before his capture . High-value individual ( HVI ) can be used if
280-553: A special unit with amphibious He 115 planes was founded to support the battalion. The total strength of the battalion was 678 men and 76 women (see Lotta Svärd ). In the Battle of Ilomantsi , soldiers of the 4th disrupted the supply lines of the Soviet artillery, preventing effective fire support. The battalion made over 50 missions in 1943 and just under 100 in 1944, and was disbanded on November 30 of that same year. Sissiosasto/5.D
336-587: Is another Finnish Commando unit of the World War Two era. The Detachment was founded on August 20, 1941, under the Lynx Division (5th Division, Finnish VI Corps). It was a self-contained unit for reconnaissance patrolling , sabotage and guerrilla warfare operations behind enemy lines. In December 1939, following the success of German infiltration and sabotage operations in the Polish campaign ,
392-645: Is the opposite of military tradition but necessary to work in small and smallest groups, avoiding enemies' reconnaissance. After the Dutch Cape Colony was established in 1652, the word was used to describe bands of militia. The first "Commando Law" was instated by the original Dutch East India Company chartered settlements and similar laws were maintained through the independent Boer Orange Free State and South African Republic . The law compelled burghers to equip themselves with horses and firearms when required in defense. The implementation of these laws
448-538: The 474th Regimental Combat Team . Ironically they were sent to serve in Norway in 1945, the country they were formed to raid. The Finns fielded the Erillinen Pataljoona 4 and about 150 men were trained before the beginning of summer 1941. At first, the units had as few as 15 men, but during the war this was increased to 60. On July 1, 1943, the units were organised in the 4th Detached Battalion. In 1944,
504-702: The Alpine battles of World War I. These teams were called " Arditi " (meaning "daring, brave ones"); they were almost always men under 25 in top physical condition and, possibly at first, bachelors (due to fear of very high casualty rates). Actually the Arditi (who were led to the lines just a few hours before the assault, having been familiarised with the terrain via photo-reconnaissance and trained on trench systems re-created ad hoc for them) suffered fewer casualties than regular line infantry and were highly successful in their tasks. Many volunteered for extreme-right formations in
560-676: The Borneo campaign . Z Force , an Australian-British-New Zealand military intelligence commando unit, formed by the Australian Services Reconnaissance Department , also carried out many raiding and reconnaissance operations in the South West Pacific theatre, most notably Operation Jaywick , in which they destroyed tonnes of Japanese shipping at Singapore Harbour. An attempt to replicate this success, with Operation Rimau , resulted in
616-499: The First Special Service Force , formed under British Combined Operations . The First Special Service Force was a joint American-Canadian unit and modern Canadian special operations forces also trace their lineage to this unit and through it to British Commandos, despite existing in their modern incarnation only since 2006. Malaysian green beret special forces PASKAL and Grup Gerak Khas (who still wear
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#1732771857614672-581: The Italian campaign and in southern France. Its most famous raid, which was documented in the film Devil's Brigade , was the battle of Monte la Difensa . In 1945, the unit was disbanded; some of the Canadian members were sent to the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion as replacements, and the American members were sent to either the 101st Airborne Division or the 82nd Airborne Division as replacements or
728-724: The Pakistani Army . In June 1971, during the Bangladesh Liberation War , the World Bank sent a mission to observe the situation in East Pakistan . The media cell of the Pakistani Government was circulating a news that situation in East Pakistan was stable and normal. Khaled Mosharraf , a sector commander of Mukti Bahini , planned to deploy a special commando team. The task assigned to the team
784-792: The U.S. Navy SEALs tests swimming speed over 500 yards, number of push-ups and sit-ups within 2 minutes, pull-ups and running 1.5 miles. Long Range Desert Group hired their personnel after a very long interrogation. First SAS members had to complete a march of 50km, and the Royal Marine commandos tested their applicants' motivation during an obstacle course using real explosives and machine gun fire close to Achnacary in Scotland. The French Foreign Legion assesses their applicants through medical, intelligence, logic, and fitness tests as well as interrogations, small drills and solving small tasks. Commando soldiers shall think independently. This
840-761: The Xhosa and the Zulu caused the Boers to retain the commando system despite being free of colonial laws. Also, the word became used to describe any armed raid. During this period, the Boers also developed guerrilla techniques for use against numerically superior but less mobile bands of natives such as the Zulu, who fought in large, complex formations. In the First Boer War , Boer commandos were able to use superior marksmanship, fieldcraft, camouflage and mobility to expel
896-619: The Xhosa Wars and the First and Second Boer Wars . The Dutch word kommando , in turn, originated from the Portuguese term comando , used in India in the sense of a group of troops under an autonomous command that performed special missions during a battle or siege. The word was adopted into Afrikaans from interactions with the Portuguese in their nearby African colonies, in whose language
952-580: The 181st Special Reconnaissance Detachment. They began conducting sabotage missions and raids to snatch prisoners for interrogation. They would also destroy German ammunition and supply depots, communication centers, and harass enemy troop concentrations along the Finnish and Russian coasts. After the European conflict ended, Leonov and his men were sent to the Pacific theatre to conduct operations against
1008-569: The 2/6th, 2/7th and 2/9th Cavalry Commando Regiments. Later in the war the Royal Australian Navy also formed commando units along the lines of the Royal Naval Commandos to go ashore with the first waves of major amphibious assaults, to signpost the beaches and carry out other naval tasks. These were known as RAN Commandos . Four were formed—lettered A, B, C and D like their British counterparts—and they took part in
1064-942: The Australian Special Air Service Regiment , the New Zealand Special Air Service , and the Rhodesian Special Air Service , all of whom share (or used to) the same insignia and motto as their British counterparts. During the Second World War, the British SAS quickly adopted sand-coloured berets, since they were almost entirely based in the North African theatre; they used these rather than green berets to distinguish themselves from other British Commando units. (See History of
1120-737: The Belgian 5th Special Air Service , or Greek Sacred Band . In 1944 the SAS Brigade was formed from the British 1st and 2nd SAS, the French 3rd and 4th SAS, and the Belgian 5th SAS. The French Army special forces ( 1er RPIMa ) still use the motto Qui Ose Gagne , a translation of the SAS motto "Who Dares Wins". In addition, many Commonwealth nations were part of the original British Commando units. They developed their own national traditions, including
1176-616: The Belgian border was captured in 1940 by Fallschirmjäger troops as part of the German invasion and occupation of Belgium. A report written by Major-General Robert Laycock in 1947 claimed that there was a German raid on a radar station on the Isle of Wight in 1941. The Sacred band ( Greek : Ιερός Λόχος ) was a Greek special forces unit formed in 1942 in the Middle East , composed entirely of Greek officers and officer cadets under
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#17327718576141232-686: The Blue Lanyard of the Royal Marines ) were originally trained by British Commandos.The Portuguese Marine Corps Fuzileiros were originally trained by British Commandos in 1961. Other British units, such as the SAS , led to the development of many international special operations units that are now typically referred to as commandos, including the Bangladeshi Para-Commando Brigade , Pakistani Special Services Group ,
1288-676: The Boer War, and decided that it would require a 10:1 numerical advantage to defeat the Allies. The campaign occupied the attention of an entire Japanese division for almost a year. The independent companies were later renamed commando squadrons, and they saw widespread action in the South West Pacific Area , especially in New Guinea and Borneo . In 1943, all the commando squadrons except the 2/2nd and 2/8th were grouped into
1344-525: The British (wearing red uniforms, poorly trained in marksmanship and unmounted) from the Transvaal . These tactics were continued throughout the Second Boer War . In the final phase of the war, 25,000 Boers carried out asymmetric warfare against the 450,000-strong British Imperial forces for two years after the British had captured the capitals of the two Boer republics. During these conflicts
1400-563: The Crack Platoon. Initially, number of commandos in the platoon was 17. Those commandos were receiving training in Melaghar Camp at that time. From Melaghar, commandos of Crack Platoon headed for Dhaka on 4 June 1971 and launched guerrilla operation on 5 June. Later, number of commandos was increased, the platoon was split and deployed in different areas surrounding Dhaka. The basic objectives of Crack Platoon were to demonstrate
1456-1133: The German Office for Foreign and Counter-Intelligence (OKW Amt Ausland/Abwehr) formed the Brandenburger Regiment (known officially as the 800th Special Purpose Training and Construction Company). The Brandenburgers conducted a mixture of covert and conventional operations but became increasingly involved in ordinary infantry actions and were eventually converted into a Panzer-Grenadier Division, suffering heavy losses in Russia . Otto Skorzeny (most famed for his rescue of Benito Mussolini ) conducted many special operations for Adolf Hitler . Skorzeny commanded Sonderlehrgang z.b.V. Oranienburg , Sonderverband z.b.V. Friedenthal, and SS-Jäger-Bataillon 502 , 500th SS Parachute Battalion , SS-Jagdverband Mitte and all other SS commando units. The German Fallschirmjäger were famous for their elite skills and their use in rapid commando style raids and as elite "fire brigade" infantrymen. Fort Eben-Emael on
1512-498: The German training area in Beuville (near the village of Doncourt ) to be the main cadre of the newly raised Austro-Hungarian army assault battalions. The former Jagdkommandos were incorporated into these battalions. The first country to establish commando troops was Italy, in the summer 1917, shortly before Germany. Italy used specialist trench-raiding teams to break the stalemate of static fighting against Austria-Hungary , in
1568-558: The Indian MARCOS , Jordanian Special Operation Forces and Philippine National Police Special Action Force . A Dutch study found that a sampling of Dutch male special forces operators were more emotionally stable, conscientious, but also more closed minded than matched civilian controls and other types of soldiers. During the winter of 1914–1915 large parts of the Eastern Front switched to trench warfare. To cope with
1624-584: The Italian marine commandos were re-organised as the " Comsubin " (an abbreviation of Comando Subacqueo Incursori , or Underwater Raiders Command). They wear the green Commando beret. In 1944–45, Japanese Teishin Shudan ("Raiding Group") and Giretsu ("heroic") detachments made airborne assaults on Allied airfields in the Philippines , Marianas and Okinawa . The attacking forces varied in size from
1680-588: The Japanese. In 1940, the British Army formed "independent companies ", later reformed as battalion sized "commandos", thereby reviving the word. The British intended that their commandos be small, highly mobile surprise raiding and military reconnaissance forces. They intended them to carry all they needed and not remain in field operations for more than 36 hours. Army Commandos were all volunteers selected from existing soldiers still in Britain. During
1736-685: The Mediterranean. After Italy surrendered in 1943, some of the Decima Flottiglia MAS were on the Allied side of the battle line and fought with the Allies, renaming themselves the Mariassalto . The others fought on the German side and kept their original name but did not operate at sea after 1943, being mostly employed against Italian partisans ; some of its men were involved in atrocities against civilians. In post-war years
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1792-708: The Special Air Service ). Other Commonwealth commando units were formed after the Second World War directly based on the British Commando units, such as the Australian Army Reserve 1st Commando Regiment (Australia) , distinct from the Regular Army 2nd Commando Regiment (Australia) , who originated from the 4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment in 1997 . The US Rangers were founded by Major General Lucian Truscott of
1848-703: The US Army, a liaison officer with the British General Staff. In 1942, he submitted a proposal to General George Marshall that an American unit be set up "along the lines of the British Commandos". The original US Rangers trained at the British Commandos centre at Achnacarry Castle . The US Navy SEALs ' original formation, the Observer Group , was also trained and influenced by British Commandos. The US Special Forces originated with
1904-585: The awarding of green berets which originated with British Commandos . The British Commandos were instrumental in founding many other international commando units during World War II. Some international commando units were formed from members who served as part of or alongside British Commandos, such as the Dutch Korps Commandotroepen (who still wear the recognition flash insignia of the British Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife ),
1960-709: The command of Col. Christodoulos Tsigantes . It fought alongside the SAS in the Libyan Desert and with the SBS in the Aegean , as well as with General Leclerc 's Free French Forces in Tunisia . It was disbanded in August 1945. Italy's most renowned commando unit of World War II was Decima Flottiglia MAS ("10th Assault Vehicle Flotilla"), which, from mid-1940, sank or damaged a considerable tonnage of Allied ships in
2016-443: The death of almost all those involved. However, Z Force and other SRD units continued operations until the war's end. A joint Canadian -American Commando unit, the 1st Special Service Force, nicknamed the Devil's Brigade , was formed in 1942 under the command of Colonel Robert Frederick. The unit initially saw service in the Pacific, in August 1943 at Kiska in the Aleutians campaign . However most of its operations occurred during
2072-471: The division, reconnaissance company in the brigade, a reconnaissance platoon in the regiment. Soviet Naval Frogmen The legendary Soviet Naval Scout Viktor Leonov commanded an elite unit of Naval Commandos. The 4th Special Volunteer Detachment was a unit of 70 veterans. Initially they were confined to performing small scale reconnaissance missions, platoon sized insertions by sea and on occasion on land into Finland and later Norway. Later they were renamed
2128-412: The early stages of World War II. They first saw action in early 1942 during the Japanese assault on New Ireland , and in the Battle of Timor . Part of the 2/1st Independent Company was wiped out on New Ireland , but on Timor , the 2/2nd Independent Company formed the heart of an Allied force that engaged Japanese forces in a guerrilla campaign. The Japanese commander on the island drew parallels with
2184-533: The effectiveness and tactics of the Boer commandos. During World War II, American and British publications, confused over the use of the plural "commandos" for that type of British military units, gave rise to the modern common habit of using "a commando" to mean one member of such a unit, or one man engaged on a raiding-type operation. Since the 20th century and World War II in particular, commandos have been set apart from other military units by virtue of their extreme training regimes; these are usually associated with
2240-455: The hazardous situation that was prevailing in East Pakistan . In the report, the World Bank mission prescribed to end the military regime in East Pakistan. Between July and September 1971, operations by the Crack Platoon resulted in the death of 8 Pakistan Army commissioned officers from the rank of Second Lieutenant to Colonel and 31 soldiers and NCOs Crack Platoon carried out several successful and important operations. The power supply in Dhaka
2296-741: The highest motivation, modern special forces run special selection processes. Historically there is evidence of selection for the Otdelnly Gwardieskij Batalion Minerow, predecessors of the modern Russian spetsnaz . Soldiers had to be younger than 30 years, were mostly athletes or hunters and had to show the highest motivation. During training and selection some participants died since they were exhausted and left to their devices. The German Kommando Spezialkräfte (KSK) demands from their applicants high levels of physical resilience, teamwork, willingness to learn, mental resilience, willpower, sense of responsibility, flexibility, secrecy and adaptation. These skills are proved during assessment. The fitness test of
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2352-559: The militaries and governments of most countries, commandos are distinctive in that they specialize in unconventional assault on high-value targets . In English, to distinguish between an individual commando and a commando unit, the unit is occasionally capitalized. The term commando originally derives from Latin commendare , to recommend, via the Dutch word kommando , which translates as "a command or order" and also roughly to "mobile infantry regiment ". This term originally referred to units of Boer mounted infantry , who fought during
2408-542: The new situation many Austro-Hungarian regiments spontaneously formed infantry squads called Jagdkommandos . These squads were named after the specially trained forces of Russian army formed in 1886 and were used to protect against ambushes, to perform reconnaissance and for low intensity fights in no-man's-land. Austro-Hungarian High army command ( Armeeoberkommando , AOK) realized the need for special forces and decided to draw on German experience. Starting in September–October 1916 about 120 officers and 300 NCOs were trained in
2464-463: The outline of a scheme.... The men for this type of irregular warfare should, he suggested, be formed into units to be known as Commandos.... Nor was the historical parallel far-fetched. After the victories of Roberts and Kitchener had scattered the Boer army, the guerrilla tactics of its individual units (which were styled 'Commandos')... prevented decisive victory.... His [sc. Lt.-Col. D. W. Clarke's] ideas were accepted; so also, with some hesitation,
2520-457: The strength of the Mukti Bahini , by fighting the Pakistani Army and their collaborators. Another major objective was proving to the international community that the situation in East Pakistan was not normal. That commando team also aimed at inspiring the people of Dhaka who were frequently being victims of killing and torture. These objectives were successfully fulfilled by Crack Platoon. The World Bank mission, in its report, clearly described
2576-414: The target is a person. High-value airborne asset ( HVAA ) may be utilized when referring to aircraft . A high-payoff target ( HPT ), is a high-value target whose loss to the enemy will significantly contribute to the success of a friendly course of action. Various Joint Special Operations Task Forces ( Task Force 145 , Task Force 121 , Task Force 11 , Task Force 6-26 ) have been established for
2632-538: The term was used by other countries to designate some of their elite forces. Less likely, it is a High German loan word, which was borrowed from Italian in the 17th century, from the sizable minority of German settlers in the initial European colonization of South Africa. The Oxford English Dictionary ties the English use of the word meaning "[a] member of a body of picked men ..." directly into its Afrikaans' origins: 1943 Combined Operations ( Min. of Information ) i. Lt. Lieutenant-Colonel D. W. Clarke... produced
2688-461: The turbulent years after the war and (the Fascist Party took pride in this and adopted the style and the mannerism of Arditi), but some of left-wing political persuasions created the " Arditi del Popolo " (People's Arditi) and for some years held the fascist raids in check, defending Socialist and Communist Party sections, buildings, rallies and meeting places. The Australian Army formed commando units, known as Australian independent companies in
2744-400: The war the British Army Commandos spawned several other famous British units such as the Special Air Service , the Special Boat Service and the Parachute Regiment . The British Army Commandos themselves were never regimented and were disbanded at the end of the war. High-value target In United States military terminology , high-value target ( HVT ) is the term used to describe
2800-404: The word comando means "command". In South Africa similar troops operated in small detachments, usually traveling on horseback, and launched rapid attacks against British troops. During the Second World War, both the British and the Germans decided to reuse this term to designate the new special operations troops they had formed (the British designated commandos and the German Kommandos ). Later
2856-419: The word entered the English language , retaining its general Afrikaans meaning of a "militia unit" or a "raid". Robert Baden-Powell recognised the importance of fieldcraft and was inspired to form the scouting movement. In 1941, Lieutenant-Colonel D. W. Clarke of the British Imperial General Staff, suggested the name commando for specialized raiding units of the British Army Special Service in evocation of
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#17327718576142912-655: Was called the Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces of Kure 101st, Sasebo 101st and 102nd. New Zealand formed the Southern Independent Commando in Fiji 1942. Cichociemni ( Polish pronunciation: [t͡ɕixɔˈt͡ɕɛmɲi] ; the "Silent Unseen") were elite special-operations paratroopers of the Polish Army in exile , created in Great Britain during World War II to operate in occupied Poland ( Cichociemni Spadochroniarze Armii Krajowej ). Voyennaya Razvyedka (Razvedchiki Scouts) are "Military intelligence" personnel/units within larger formations in ground troops, airborne troops and marines. Intelligence battalion in
2968-445: Was called the "Commando System". A group of mounted militiamen was organized in a unit known as a commando and headed by a commandant , who was normally elected from inside the unit. Men called up to serve were said to be "on commando". British experience with this system led to the widespread adoption of the word " commandeer " into English in the 1880s. During the Great Trek , conflicts with Southern African peoples such as
3024-426: Was devastated which caused severe problem for Pakistan Army and the military administration in Dhaka . The Chinese restaurants in Dhaka had become almost prohibited for Pakistani army officers. The role of Crack Platoon in the Bangladesh Liberation War was highly appreciated by the post war government of Bangladesh and the people. Six commandos including Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury , the leader of Crack Platoon and
3080-449: Was the name Commando. During World War II , newspaper reports of the deeds of "the commandos" only in the plural led to readers thinking that the singular meant one man rather than one military unit, and this new usage became established. Due to the special mental and physiological requirements made of the applicants, there are restrictions entering "commando" units. Applicants have to fulfil special requirements. Selecting applicants with
3136-475: Was to carry out commando operations and activities in Dhaka . The major objective of this team was to prove that the situation was not normal actually. Moreover, Pakistan at that time, was expecting economic aid from World Bank , which was assumed to be spent to buy arms. The plan was to make World Bank Mission understand the true situation of East Pakistan and stop sanctioning the aid. Khaled along with Abu Taher Mohammad Haider , another sector commander formed
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