Commando

A history of the Sacred Squadron, Greece's elite commando unit in WW2 that was modeled on the legendary SAS. The Sacred Squadron consisted mainly of officers of the Hellenic Armed Forces and Gendarmerie who found their way to Egypt after the conquest of Greece by the Axis (May 1941) but could not serve with their proper rank due to the lack of adequate military units. Therefore they enlisted as privates in the Sacred Squadron, which was formed late in 1942 and served in North Africa and, subsequently, in the Aegean. The Sacred Squadron was the only Greek force to fight until the last day of the war in Europe and its commander, colonel Christodoulos Tsigantes, participated in the surrender of the German forces in the Dodecanese, on 8 May 1945.

Insights into his comprehensive TRAINING in Scotland and his purposeful FIGHTING along the eastern-most flank of the 6 June 1944 Normandy Landings.


An Addition to the Chronology:

19 June 1941 - As a member of the J.T.C. (Junior Training Corps) at Hurstpierpoint College, Sussex, Cadet Alderton is awarded War Certificate "A" (Comprising: Drill, Weapon Training, Map Reading,  Fieldcraft) at the 19 June 1941 War Office inspection of the school's company of cadets.

During World War II a daring action by Australian commandos  to capture an airfield at Kaiapit changed the strategic situation in New Guinea. However, 75 years on, where the 1942 battles of Kokoda and Milne have become famous, the 1943 campaigns in New Guinea - which included stunning actions such as Kaipait - are absent from Australian popular memory.

During the Second World War, in the mountains and jungles of Timor, Bougainville and New Guinea, Australian commando units fought arduous campaigns against the Japanese.

The story of these elite independent companies and commando squadrons, whose soldiers wore the distinctive double-diamond insignia, is told here for the first time.

Through 130 powerful images from the Australian War Memorial’s unparalleled collection – some never published before – Double Diamonds captures the operational history of these units and the personal stories of the men who served in them, many of whom lost their lives or the friends who trained and fought alongside them.

The Israel Defense Forces recently completed a military exercise on the island of Cyprus. The exercise involved some 500 soldiers from the Commando Brigade, including the Egoz Unit (which specializes in operating on rough terrain, fieldcraft, camouflage, and counter-guerrilla warfare); teams of dog handling soldiers; combat engineering soldiers; and another 200 air force personnel. Reports indicated that the exercise included flying the forces from Israel's Nevatim Air Base in C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, joining up with Black Hawk helicopters in Cyprus, and from there flying to an ongoing exercise in the Trodos Mountains. The soldiers practiced incursions, land and urban warfare, taking control of areas from which rockets are fired, and tunnel warfare. The reports also stated that IDF forces were joined in the exercise by 100 fighters from the special forces of the Cypriot National Guard.

In 1940 the British army formed commando units to raid, conduct sabotage and gather information in German-occupied Europe. A small British military mission was sent to Australia to establish similar units in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF), and the first of eight Australian independent companies was raised in 1941. Wearing their unique double-diamond-shaped unit colour patches on their hatbands and shoulders, each independent company contained some 290 officers and men. In 1943 the companies were redesignated cavalry (commando) squadrons, later just commando squadrons. Four additional commando squadrons were established during 1944.
Made famous in part by Damien Parer’s wartime newsreel The Men of Timor (1942), the almost year-long guerrilla war fought by Sparrow Force’s No. 2 Independent Company in Timor has been widely praised. The film’s opening titles note that, as the war swept past them, the Australians “went on fighting”, harrying the Japanese with guerrilla warfare in ‘one of the imperishable stories of this gigantic world catastrophe’. The story of the bearded men of Timor, who were later joined by the 2/4th Independent Company, is arguably the most well-known episode in the history of Australian independent companies
These exploits have often been told and celebrated, but the guerrilla war on Timor was not typical. From the tragic loss suffered to No. 1 Independent Company as prisoners of the Japanese on the Montevideo Maru to the celebrated defiance on Timor in 1942, each independent company later commando squadron was involved in myriad wartime experiences. It was in the vastness of New Guinea’s jungles that the independent companies came into their own, thinly deployed on the flanks of the main force, carrying out reconnaissance, conducting raids and harassing the Japanese. By the war’s end in 1945 the AIF had commando squadrons in action in New Guinea, Bougainville and Borneo.

In action with an Australian commando in the Balkans and Italy

Sailing through a rain storm with high winds and seas, landing craft carrying British commandos came ashore near the Albanian town of Sarande, on the Adriatic coast opposite the Greek island of Corfu, shortly before midnight on 22/23 September 1944. Greek partisans already controlled much of Corfu but in seizing Sarande the commandos would cut off the German garrison’s only escape route to the mainland.

Among the commandos was 34-year-old Australian Lieutenant James “Jim” McMenamin from Kelso, Bathurst. The commandos were formed a few years earlier with the intention of aggressively taking the war into enemy occupied or controlled territory.

The involvement of Australians serving directly in British forces and their contribution to the war in Europe is still little appreciated today. Any number of Australians may have served in the British Army. What is certain, however, is that McMenamin’s service highlights the diversity and complexity of Australia’s experience in the Second World War.

A tropical forest is a hostile environment for humans. The military physician supporting these immersion activities must cope with varied clinical situations with limited resources to reduce operational unavailability. This article reports a prospective cross-sectional epidemiologic study conducted from January to May 2012, observing the daily activity at sick call during the rainy season at the tropical forest training center (CEFE) advanced jungle commando training, located in French Guyana. The aim was to observe the distribution of traumatic injuries and specific diseases in this tropical environment. In all, 9,221 army staff members participated in the training (mean age: 30.8 years) during the 120-day study period. There were 486 medical visits, for a mean daily incidence of 5.3% (trainees: 83.8%, trainers: 16.5%). Skin lesions were most frequent (39%), principally irritative dermatitis and skin maceration (moisture/dressing associated dermatitis). A third (34%) of these conditions were due to trauma, mainly limb contusions and ligament injuries. Tropical diseases accounted for 3% of the reasons for consultation, with rare problems related to equatorial fauna or flora. The remaining conditions (24%) were not specific to the environment or activity. Operational attrition averaged five days. Removal from the training course was necessary in 13.8% of the cases. In an isolated area with a demanding environment , edical practice in a tropical forest requires health prevention actions and close medical follow-up. The permanent presence of a physician provides both care and expertise and is an important asset for both trainees and trainers.
La forêt équatoriale est un environnement hostile pour l’homme. Le médecin militaire soutenant des activités en immersion doit faire face à des situations cliniques variées avec des moyens limités pour réduire l’indisponibilité opérationnelle. Etude épidémiologique prospective transversale de janvier à mai 2012 observant, en saison des pluies, l’activité quotidienne de consultation médicale du Centre d’entrainement en forêt équatoriale (CEFE), pôle d’excellence dans l’aguerrissement commando en jungle situé en Guyane. Le but était d’observer la répartition des affections traumatiques et les pathologies spécifiques de l’environnement équatorial. Durant 120 jours, 9221 personnels ont été inclus (âge moyen de 30,8 ans ). Pour 486 consultations l’incidence moyenne des consultations était de 5,3% par jour (stagiaires : 83,8%, encadrement : 16,5%). Les lésions cutanées étaient majoritaires (39%), principalement des dermites irritatives et de macération. Un tiers (34%) des affections étaient traumatiques, en majorité des contusions et lésions ligamentaires des membres. Les maladies tropicales représentaient 3% des motifs de consultations avec de rares problèmes liées à la faune ou à la flore équatoriale. Le reste des affections (24%) étaient non spécifiques du milieu ou de l’activité. L’attrition opérationnelle était de 5 jours en moyenne . Un arrêt définitif de l’entrainement a été nécessaire dans 13,8% des cas. En milieu isolé, dans un environnement exigeant, l’exercice médical en forêt équatoriale impose des actions de prévention sanitaire et un suivi médical au plus près. Entre soins et expertise, la présence permanente du médecin est un véritable atout pour les stagiaires et l’encadrement.