Author Description

The Commandos were created by Winston Churchill in 1940 as a 'butcher and bolt' raiding unit to destroy vital targets in German occupied Europe. Recruits for this 'special service' were all volunteers, drawn from the British Army, and later from the Royal Marines and other Allied armies. Commando training was extremely demanding - men had to be physically fit and show initiative, mental toughness and adaptability. The training courses were designed to cultivate these qualities and to simulate real battle experiences, and commando schools were established in the remote Scottish Highlands for this purpose. This book draws on authentic training manuals, lecture notes and analysis as well as post-action reports to five a real insight into this highly specialized fighting unit, demonstrating how commandos were taught to live, fight and move on offensive operations, initially as raiding parties and later as skilled assault infantry. The range of documents covers physical conditioning and fieldcraft skills, assault and sabotage techniques, weapons and explosives training, small arms and close combat, to produce a revealing portrait of this elite force.