No. 47 (Royal Marine) Commando

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For the current unit raised in 2019, see 47 Commando (Raiding Group) Royal Marines.
No. 47 (Royal Marine) Commando
Lieutenant Colonel CF Phillips
Insignia
Combined Operations Shoulder PatchInsignia of Combined Operations units it is a combination of a red Thompson submachine gun, a pair of wings, an anchor and mortar rounds on a black backing

No. 47 (Royal Marine) Commando is a

Normandy Landings, operations around Ostend, Antwerp and the Netherlands
before being disbanded in January 1946. No. 47 Commando has recently been reformed and now takes back on its old role as an amphibious raider, replacing what was 1 Assault Group Royal Marines.

Background

The

British Commandos were formed in 1940, by the order of Winston Churchill the British Prime Minister. He called for specially trained troops that would "develop a reign of terror down the enemy coast".[1] At first they were a small force of volunteers who carried out small raids against enemy occupied territory,[2] but by 1943 their role had changed into lightly equipped assault Infantry which specialised in spearheading amphibious landings.[3]

The man selected as the overall commander of the force was

Royal Marine Commando was formed in 1942.[5] The Royal Marine Commandos like all British Commandos went through the six-week intensive commando course at Achnacarry. The course in the Scottish Highlands concentrated on fitness, speed marches, weapons training, map reading, climbing, small boat operations and demolitions both by day and by night.[6]

No. 47 (Royal Marine) Commando under command of

No. 48 (Royal Marine) Commandos.[8] In 1943 the commando formation had been standardised, into a small headquarters, five fighting Troops, a Heavy Weapons troop and a signals platoon. The fighting Troops consisted of 65 all ranks divided into two 30 man sections which in turn were divided into three ten man sub sections. The Heavy Weapons Troop was made up of 3 inch Mortar and Vickers machine gun teams.[9]

Operations

June 1944

men wading ashore from landing craft
Commandos landing on Gold Beach

The first operation No. 47 (Royal Marine) Commando was involved in was

Escures for the night prior to their planned assault on Port-en-Bessin on the 7 June.[10]

The capture of Port-en-Bessin given the codename

6th Airborne Division.[11]

On 11 June 4th Special Service Brigade was to take over the area occupied by the 12th Parachute Battalion No. 48 Commando occupied Hauger and No. 47 was held in reserve at Ecarde. Reinforcements from the holding commando in the United Kingdom brought No. 47's strength up to 23 officers and 357 other ranks. The Commando carried out patrolling, digging minefields and erecting barbed wire. On 18 June, NO. 47 handed over to No. 46 Commando and relocated to the Sallenelles to Orne bridge road and held in reserve. They were held in reserve for a week before taking over from No. 46 again.[12]

August 1944

On 1 August No. 47 moved to the

Dozule
which was occupied without any resistance. On 22 August No. 47 moved up to
Seine River and cut off the retreating Germans. On 26 August Toutainville was liberated and the Brigade was then rested until 31 August when they came under command I Corps) and 6th Airborne Division and 1st Special Service Brigade returned to the United Kingdom.[14] The 4th Special Service Brigade was moved by road to the ferry crossing across the Seine River at Duclair crossing the river in assault boats they occupied a line along the Barentin to Le Havre road.[15]

September 1944

On 1 September again moving by road the brigade was moved up to

Landing Craft Tanks.[17]

Battle of the Scheldt

The

Westkapelle with No. 47 landing on a small strip of sand to the right of Westkapple, at a breach in the dyke caused by Royal Air Force bombing raids, prior to the attack.[citation needed
]

No. 41 Commando landed first and moved North to

Flushing gap. Meeting slight opposition until they reached the artillery battery W11, and made an unsuccessful attack that evening losing all five of their Troop commanders. Digging in for the night they repulsed a German assault and finally captured the artillery battery and the rest of the island on 3 November. On 10 November they were moved back to Breskens and then to Wenduine.[18]

On 22 December at short notice No. 47 Commando moved to

1st Polish Armoured Division. On 28 December three Troops from No. 48 Commando came under command for a fortnight. On 30 December the commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel C.F. Phillips was given command of the 116th Royal Marine Brigade a non commando Royal Marine formation. He was replaced as commanding officer by Lieutenant Colonel Donnell.[19]

1945

At the beginning of January No. 47 Commando carried out patrols on both banks of the

Kapelsche Veer planned for the night 13/14 January. The assault started at 01:00 hours with Q Troop and No. 5 (Norwegian) Troop, No. 10 (Inter Allied) Commando attacking the right flank supported by armour and artillery from the mainland, while the rest of No. 47 attacked on the left flank. Attacking from both flanks simultaneously under heavy mortar fire caused heavy casualties. By 05:00 hours it became obvious that the objective was too heavily defended for a lightly armed commando unit to capture alone so No. 47 was withdrawn. The island was eventually captured by a Canadian infantry brigade with artillery and armour support.[19]

After their failed assault No. 47 was moved back to Bergen op Zoom on 16 January and then back to Walcheren island on 17 January. Where they took over garrison duties from No. 41 Commando on 18 January. While at Walcheren they received about 100 reinforcements which brought No. 47 almost up to full strength. On 12 March No. 47 moved to

North Beveland to relieve No. 4 Commando which was completed by 16 March. No. 47 Commando now were given the task of training the 3rd Battalion of Infantry, Royal Netherlands Army formed from men in the liberated area of the Netherlands. No. 47 Commando were still here when the war in Europe ended 8 May.[20]

On the 20 August No. 47 Commando became the first Royal Marine Commando to have an Army troop. No other Commando had such a mixture of Army and Royal Marine personnel. On the 31 August they moved to

displaced persons. On 2 November No. 47 Commando moved to Warburg and were informed they would be soon returning to the United Kingdom. Leaving Germany on the 27 November they arrived in Haywards Heath on the 28 November where they remained until they were disbanded on 31 January 1946.[21]

Legacy

No. 47 (Royal Marine) Commando together with all the army commandos were disbanded after the Second World War and the commando role was taken over by the Royal Marines.[22] However the present day Parachute Regiment, Special Air Service and Special Boat Service can all trace their origins to the Commandos.[23][24][25]

On 5 November 2019 1 Assault Group Royal Marines (1 AGRM) was renamed 47 Commando (Raiding Group) Royal Marines, reviving the name of the original Commando.[26]

Battle honours

The following Battle honours were awarded to the British Commandos during the Second World War.[8]

References

Notes

  1. ^ Chappell, p.5
  2. ^ Chappell, p.3
  3. ^ Moreman, p.8
  4. ^ Chappell, p.6
  5. ^ Fowler, p.5
  6. ^ van der Bijl, p.12
  7. ^ "47 Royal Marine Commando". 47 Royal Marine Commando Association. Retrieved 7 May 2010. [dead link]
  8. ^ a b Moreman, p.94
  9. ^ van der Bijl, p.28
  10. ^ "Operation Neptune - 6 June 1944". 47 Royal Marine Commando Association. Retrieved 7 May 2010.[dead link]
  11. ^ "Operation Aubery, the attack on Port-en-Bessin - 7 June 1944". 47 Royal Marine Commando Association. Retrieved 7 May 2010.[dead link]
  12. ^ "Sallenelles - 12 June 1944". 47 Royal Marine Commando Association. Retrieved 7 May 2010.[dead link]
  13. ^ "Le Plein, 1 August 1944". 47 Royal Marine Commando Association. Retrieved 7 May 2010.[dead link]
  14. ^ "Sanerville, 6 August 1944". 47 Royal Marine Commando Association. Retrieved 7 May 2010.[dead link]
  15. ^ a b "Dunkerque, 16 September 1944". 47 Royal Marine Commando Association. Retrieved 7 May 2010.[dead link]
  16. ^ "Fécamp, 31 August 1944". 47 Royal Marine Commando Association. Retrieved 7 May 2010.[dead link]
  17. ^ "Wenduine, 27 September 1944". 47 Royal Marine Commando Association. Retrieved 7 May 2010.[dead link]
  18. ^ "47 Royal Marine Commando, Walcheren". 47 Royal Marine Commando Association. Retrieved 7 May 2010.[dead link]
  19. ^ a b "Kapelsche Veer Operation Horse, January 1945". 47 Royal Marine Commando Association. Retrieved 7 May 2010.[dead link]
  20. ^ "14 January 1945, 8 May 1945". 47 Royal Marine Commando Association. Retrieved 7 May 2010.[dead link]
  21. ^ "3lst January 1946". 47 Royal Marine Commando Association. Retrieved 7 May 2010.[dead link]
  22. ^ Lord & Graham, pp.216–317
  23. ^ Otway, pp.31–32
  24. ^ Breuer, pp.46–47
  25. ^ Molinari, p.22
  26. ^ "Royal Marines Assault Group Renamed".

Bibliography

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