At 2.23 pm on 4 June 1940 the Admiralty, in agreement with the French, announced that Operation ‘Dynamo’ was now completed. Over 330,000 British and Allied troops had been evacuated from the beaches and harbours of Dunkirk, in what Prime Minister Winston Churchill called the ‘deliverance of Dunkirk’. A similar fate befell Allied troops in Norway, who unable to prevent German forces advancing northwards, and with the situation deteriorating in France, were told to launch Operation ‘Alphabet’ – the evacuation from Norway. By the 8 June the evacuation was complete and among the British troops returning were men from the Independent Companies.
Ian, what are your thoughts on the General Staff/Officer Class attitude toward the commandos (that they will never admit to publicly)? To this day, many French officers despise the autonomy of such units. Again, they will never admit to it openly but their disdain is palpable.
From the outset the General Staff were opposed to the formation of the Commandos, they thought they were a rabble of undisciplined thugs, which was far from the case. Part of the issue was that the Army authorities didn’t understand the commando concept as many still had the old trench warfare mentality from the First World War.
Commanding Officers from the infantry regiments and other branches of the Army also opposed the formation as they thought they were losing their best men to the Commandos. There is some merit in this, especially as all men who joined the Commandos were volunteers.
It wasn’t really until the invasion of Sicily and Italy in 1943 that the General’s saw the value of amphibious raiders who could land a head of the main assault force and destroy key enemy positions.
Both Generals Montgomery and Dempsey, who effectively utilised the commandos from Sicily onwards, held them in high regard and went on record to say they were among the best fighting men of the war.
Ian, what are your thoughts on the General Staff/Officer Class attitude toward the commandos (that they will never admit to publicly)? To this day, many French officers despise the autonomy of such units. Again, they will never admit to it openly but their disdain is palpable.
Matt,
From the outset the General Staff were opposed to the formation of the Commandos, they thought they were a rabble of undisciplined thugs, which was far from the case. Part of the issue was that the Army authorities didn’t understand the commando concept as many still had the old trench warfare mentality from the First World War.
Commanding Officers from the infantry regiments and other branches of the Army also opposed the formation as they thought they were losing their best men to the Commandos. There is some merit in this, especially as all men who joined the Commandos were volunteers.
It wasn’t really until the invasion of Sicily and Italy in 1943 that the General’s saw the value of amphibious raiders who could land a head of the main assault force and destroy key enemy positions.
Both Generals Montgomery and Dempsey, who effectively utilised the commandos from Sicily onwards, held them in high regard and went on record to say they were among the best fighting men of the war.