Special forces
Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations.[1][2][3] NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment".[1][4]
Special forces emerged in the early 20th century, with a significant growth in the field during
In Russian-speaking countries, special forces of any country are typically called spetsnaz, an acronym for "special purpose". In the United States, the term special forces often refers specifically to the U.S. Army Special Forces, while the term special operations forces is used more broadly for these types of units.
Capabilities
Special forces capabilities include the following:
- Special reconnaissance and surveillance in hostile environments
- Foreign internal defense: Training and development of other states' military and security forces
- Offensive action
- Support to counter-insurgencythrough population engagement and support
- Counter-terrorismoperations
- Sabotage and demolition
- Hostage rescue
Other capabilities can include
History
Early period
Special forces have played an important role throughout the history of warfare, whenever the aim was to achieve disruption by "hit and run" and sabotage, rather than more traditional conventional combat. Other significant roles lay in reconnaissance, providing essential intelligence from near or among the enemy and increasingly in combating irregular forces, their infrastructure and activities.
Chinese strategist
First specialized units
The
During the
The
The sharpshooters became famous for their fierce fighting and proved their worth by being the usual spearheading unit in every major battle in the Philippine–American War. In the Battle of Paye on December 19, 1899, Bonifacio Mariano, a sharpshooter under the command of General Licerio Gerónimo, killed General Henry Ware Lawton of the United States Army, making the latter the highest ranking casualty during the course of the war.[18]
World War I
The German Stormtroopers and the Italian Arditi were the first modern shock troops. They were both elite assault units trained to a much higher level than that of average troops and tasked to carry out daring attacks and bold raids against enemy defenses. Unlike Stormtroopers, Arditi were not units within infantry divisions, but were considered a separate combat arm.[19]
Interwar period
Chaco war
The Macheteros de Jara was an auxiliary cavalry regiment that was organized since August 15, 1932, before the Battle of Boquerón began. The regiment was recruited from former outlaws from Paraguay who fought against Bolivian officers and soldiers.
The 50th Infantry Regiment (Cuchilleros de la Muerte) was a Bolivian infantry regiment that fought in the Chaco War. Nicknamed the Knives of Death (Spanish: Cuchillos de la Muerte), the regiment relied almost exclusively on the use of blade weapons, particularly bayonets.
World War II
British
Commandos
Modern special forces emerged during the
By the autumn of 1940 more than 2,000 men had volunteered and in November 1940 these new units were organised into a Special Service Brigade consisting of four battalions under the command of Brigadier J. C. Haydon.[22] The Special Service Brigade was quickly expanded to 12 units which became known as Commandos.[21] Each Commando had a lieutenant colonel as the commanding officer and numbered around 450 men (divided into 75 man troops that were further divided into 15 man sections).
In December 1940 a Middle East Commando depot was formed with the responsibility of training and supplying reinforcements for the Commando units in that theatre.[23] In February 1942 the Commando training depot at Achnacarry in the Scottish Highlands was established by Brigadier Charles Haydon. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Charles Vaughan, the Commando depot was responsible for training complete units and individual replacements.[23] The training regime was for the time innovative and physically demanding, and far in advance of normal British Army training.[23] The depot staff were all hand picked, with the ability to outperform any of the volunteers.
Training and assessment started immediately on arrival, with the volunteers having to complete an 8-mile (13 km) march with all their equipment from the
Reaching a wartime strength of over 30 individual units and four assault
Special Air Service (SAS)
The first modern special forces unit was the
The force initially consisted of five officers and 60
Chindits
In the
The Company of Chosen Immortals
Immediately after the
Poland
During the start of
Australian
Following advice from the British, Australia began raising special forces.
They continued to act independently and were often assigned at brigade level during the later stages of the war, taking part in the fighting in New Guinea,
United States
Office of Strategic Services
The United States formed the
Marine Raiders
On February 16, 1942, the
United States Army Rangers
In mid-1942, Major-General Lucian Truscott of the U.S. Army, a liaison officer with the British General Staff submitted a proposal to General George Marshall that an American unit be set up "along the lines of the British Commandos",[citation needed] resulting in the formation of the United States Army Rangers.[citation needed]
1st Special Service Force
The United States and
Merrill's Marauders
Merrill's Marauders were modeled on the Chindits and took part in similar operations in Burma. In late November 1943, the Alamo Scouts (Sixth Army Special Reconnaissance Unit) were formed to conduct reconnaissance and raider work in the Southwest Pacific Theater under the personal command of then Lt. General Walter Krueger, Commanding General, Sixth U.S. Army. Krueger envisioned that the Alamo Scouts, consisting of small teams of highly trained volunteers, would operate deep behind enemy lines to provide intelligence-gathering and tactical reconnaissance in advance of Sixth U.S. Army landing operations.[citation needed]
Special Forces Tab
In 1983, nearly 40 years after the end of World War II, the US Army created the Special Forces Tab. It was later decided that personnel with at least 120 days' wartime service prior to 1955 in certain units, including the Devil's Brigade, the Alamo Scouts and the OSS Operational Groups, would receive the Tab for their services in World War II, placing them all in the lineage of today's U.S. and Canadian (via Devil's Brigade) Special Forces.[citation needed]
Axis powers
The Axis powers did not adopt the use of special forces on the same scale as the British.
German
The German army's
Later during the war the
Italian
In
Japanese
The
However, as with similar airborne units created by the
Some 750 men from the 2nd Raiding Brigade, of this group were assigned to attack American air bases on Luzon and Leyte on the night of 6 December 1944. They were flown in Ki-57 transports, but most of the aircraft were shot down. Some 300 commandos managed to land in the Burauen area on Leyte. The force destroyed some planes and inflicted numerous casualties, before they were annihilated.[citation needed]
Finnish
During World War II, the Finnish Army and Border Guard organized sissi forces into a long-range reconnaissance patrol (kaukopartio) units. These were open only to volunteers and operated far behind enemy lines in small teams. They conducted both intelligence-gathering missions and raids on e.g. enemy supply depots or other strategic targets. They were generally highly effective. For example, during the Battle of Ilomantsi, Soviet supply lines were harassed to the point that the Soviet artillery was unable to exploit its massive numerical advantage over Finnish artillery. Their operations were also classified as secret because of the political sensitivity of such operations. Only authorized military historians could publish on their operations; individual soldiers were required to take the secrets to the grave. A famous LRRP commander was Lauri Törni, who later joined the U.S. Army to train U.S. personnel in special operations.[citation needed]
Bangladesh Liberation War (1971)
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 Pakistan's government was circulating the news that the 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 was to carry out commando operations and to terrorize Dhaka. The major objective of this team was to prove that the situation was not actually normal. Moreover, Pakistan, at that time, was expecting economic aid from World Bank, which was assumed[by whom?] to be spent to buy arms. The plan was to make World Bank Mission understand the true situation of East Pakistan and to stop sanctioning the aid.[37] Khaled, along with A. T. M. Haider, another sector commander, formed the Crack Platoon. Initially, the number of commandos in the platoon was 17, trained in Melaghar Camp.[38] From Melaghar, commandos of Crack Platoon headed for Dhaka on 4 June 1971 and launched a guerrilla operation on 5 June.[37] Later, the number of commandos increased, the platoon split and deployed in different areas surrounding Dhaka city.[39] The basic objectives of the Crack Platoon were to demonstrate the strength of Mukti Bahini, terrorising Pakistan 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 victims of killing and torture. The Crack Platoon successfully fulfilled these objectives. The World Bank mission, in its report, clearly described the hazardous situation prevailing in East Pakistan and urged ending the military regime in East Pakistan.[40] The Crack Platoon carried out several successful and important operations. The power supply in Dhaka was devastated[41][42] which caused severe problems for the Pakistan Army and the military administration in Dhaka.
Modern special forces
Admiral William H. McRaven, formerly the ninth commanding officer of the U.S. Special Operations Command (2011–2014), described two approaches to special forces operations in the 2012 posture statement to the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services: "the direct approach is characterized by technologically enabled small-unit precision lethality, focused intelligence, and inter-agency cooperation integrated on a digitally-networked battlefield", whereas the "indirect approach includes empowering host nation forces, providing appropriate assistance to humanitarian agencies, and engaging key populations."[43] Elements of national power must be deployed in concert without over-reliance on a single capability, such as special forces, that leaves the entire force unprepared and hollow across the spectrum of military operations.[44]
Throughout the latter half of the 20th century and into the 21st century, special forces have come to higher prominence, as governments have found objectives can sometimes be better achieved by a small team of anonymous specialists than a larger and much more politically controversial conventional deployment. In both
Typically, guerrilla
Special forces have been used in both wartime and peacetime military operations such as the
The
As gender restrictions are being removed in parts of the world, females are applying for special forces units selections and in 2014 the Norwegian Special Operation Forces established an all female unit Jegertroppen (English: Hunter Troop).
Tier One units
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2023) |
These are the highest level of military special forces, as in the highest trained and usually the most secretive.[citation needed] Examples would be the special mission units of the Australian and United States special operations forces.
See also
- List of military special forces units
- Commando
- Airborne forces
- Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol
- Frogman
- List of military diving units
- Police Tactical Unit
Notes
- ^ a b North Atlantic Treaty Organization (13 December 2013). "Allied Joint Doctrine for Special Operations". NATO Standard Allied Joint Publication. AJP-3.5 (Edition A, Version 1). Brussels: NATO Standardization Agency: 1.
- ISBN 9781904970156.
- ^ Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) (16 July 2014). "Special Operations" (PDF). Joint Publication. 3–05. Washington, DC: Department of Defense: GL-11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 December 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
- ^ North Atlantic Treaty Organization (2013). "NATO Glossary of Terms and Definitions (English and French)" (PDF). Brussels: NATO Standardization Agency. p. 2-S-8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 May 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
- ^ Thomas 1983, p. 690.
- ^ Headquarters, Department of the Army (July 2019). "ADRP 3-05 SPECIAL OPERATIONS" (PDF). Army Publishing Directorate. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 April 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
- ISBN 0-8133-1228-0.
- ^ Yuval Noah Harari, Special Operations in the Age of Chivalry, 1100-1550 https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7722/j.ctt81v7j
- ^ PRAÇA DO GIRALDO, EvoraPortugalTourism.com https://www.evoraportugaltourism.com/guide/praca-de-giraldo.html
- ^ Clemente Ramos, 653 n14: El perro caminaba en noches lluviosas y muy oscuras, de fuerte viento y nieve, hacia las ciudades y había preparado sus instrumentos de escalas de madera muy largas, que sobrepasen el muro de la ciudad, aplicaba aquellas escaleras al costado de la torre y subía por ellas el primero, hasta la torre y cogía al centinela y le decía: "Grita como es tu costumbre," para que no le sintiese la gente. Cuando se había completado la subida de su grupo a lo más alto del muro de la ciudad, gritaban en su lengua con un alarido execrable, y entraban en la ciudad y combatían al que encontraban y le robaban y cogían a todos los que había en ella cautivos y prisioneros a todos los que estaban allí.
- ISBN 9781945841019.
- ^ Porto Editora – Geraldo Geraldes, o Sem Pavor na Infopédia [em linha]. Porto: Porto Editora. [consult. 2022-04-22 22:05:13]. Disponível em https://www.infopedia.pt/$geraldo-geraldes-o-sem-pavor
- ^ Christides, Vassilios. "Military Intelligence in Arabo-Byzantine Naval Warfare" (PDF). Institute for Byzantine Studies, Athens. pp. 276–80. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2011-08-02.
- ISBN 978-1-84176-525-9.
- ^ "The Corps of Guides – the original Indian Army special forces." ..."The Scouts were not subordinate to any brigade or division but were army troops – deployed at the discretion of the field force commander." (Bellamy 2011, p. 115)
- ISBN 0-87364-704-1.
- ISBN 9789711707002.
- ISBN 978-971-27-2600-2.
- ISBN 978-1912174980.
- ^ Haskew, p. 47
- ^ ISBN 978-1-84415-577-4.
- ISBN 1-84342-474-6.
- ^ ISBN 1-84176-986-X.
- Ministère de la Défense. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
- ^ "The history of the Commando Foundation". Korps Commandotroepen. Archived from the original on 31 October 2010. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
- ^ "Centre d'Entraînement de Commandos". Ministère de la Défense,la Composante Terre. Archived from the original on 7 March 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
- London Gazette Issue 34420 published 23 July 1937, p. 10 of 80
- ISBN 0-87938-940-0.
- ^ ISBN 0-85045-396-8.
- ISBN 978-1-84603-006-2.
- ^ a b c d "Everything you need to know about the Polish Special Unit GROM".
- ^ Horner 1989, p. 21.
- ^ Horner 1989, pp. 22–6.
- ^ Horner 1989, p. 26.
- ^ Horner 1989, pp. 26–7.
- ^ The Office of Strategic Services: America's First Intelligence Agency, Michael Warner, CIA History Staff, Center for the Study of Intelligence, United States Central Intelligence Agency (2000)
- ^ ISBN 978-984-90253-2-0.
- ISBN 978-984-90253-1-3.
- ISBN 978-984-90253-1-3.
- ^ Gavshon, Arthur L. (14 July 1971). "Experts Cite Remedial Measures for East Pakistan". The Day. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
In a secret report, the 10-man [World Bank] mission discreetly but unmistakably urges the military ruler of that South Asian land to remove – as a first step – some of his West Pakistani troops who stand accused of terrorizing the population. [...] Other suggested moves [...]:
– Appointment of a civilian administrator for the eastern province. - ^ "3 Power Plants Bombed By East Pakistan Rebels". Morning Record. 22 July 1971.
- ^ "Pakistan Rebels Bomb Plant". The Daily News. 22 October 1971.
- ^ "POSTURE STATEMENT OF ADMIRAL WILLIAM H. McRAVEN, USN COMMANDER, UNITED STATES SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND BEFORE THE 112th CONGRESS SENATE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE MARCH 6, 2012" (PDF). United States Special Operations Command. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
- ^ "Special Operations for the 21st Century: Starting Over" (PDF). Association of the United States Army. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
References
- Bellamy, Chris (2011). The Gurkhas: Special Force. UK: Hachette. p. 115. ISBN 9781848545151.
- Breuer, William B. (2001). Daring missions of World War II. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 978-0-471-40419-4.
- Clemente Ramos, Julián. 1994. "La Extremadura musulmana (1142–1248): Organización defensiva y sociedad". Anuario de estudios medievales, 24:647–701. Web.
- Haskew, Michael E (2007). Encyclopaedia of Elite Forces in the Second World War. Barnsley: Pen and Sword. ISBN 978-1-84415-577-4.
- Horner, David (1989). SAS: Phantoms of the Jungle: A History of the Australian Special Air Service (1st ed.). St Leonards: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86373-007-9.
- Molinari, Andrea (2007). Desert Raiders: Axis and Allied Special Forces 1940–43. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-006-2.
- Otway, Lieutenant-Colonel T.B.H. (1990). The Second World War 1939–1945 Army – Airborne Forces. Imperial War Museum. ISBN 0-901627-57-7.
- Thomas, David (October 1983). "The Importance of Commando Operations in Modern Warfare 1939–82". Journal of Contemporary History. 18 (4): 689–717. JSTOR 260308.