| Australian Commandos |
Article Index for Australian |
Website Links For Australian |
Information AboutAustralian Commandos |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT AUSTRALIAN COMMANDOS | |
| australian army | |
| special forces of australia | |
| australian commandos | |
|
WORLD WAR II All branches of the military contributed to the first Australian commando units, which were formed during World War II . The Australian Army 's Independent Companies were formed from 1941 and were modelled on the British Army Commandos (and were re-designated Commando Squadrons a few years later). The Independent Companies were initially trained at the 7th Infantry Training Centre at Wilson's Promontory , Victoria . The Independent Companies There were initially eight indepentant Companies formed during WWII as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force (AIF). These are listed below with a range of their unit colour patches also shown:
2 Dec 1943 Cavalry Commando Regiments established made up of the Independent Companies: In 1943 the Australian Army reorganised its six frontline divisions as Light Infantry 'Jungle Divisions' . As the three Second Australian Imperial Force (AIF) divisions' Armoured Reconnaissance Regiments were not suited to jungle terrain, their cavalry squadrons were disbanded with the regimental headquarters being used to command the independent companies (which were redesignated as Cavalry Commando Squadrons and later to "Commando Squadrons") which were attached to the divisions during operations in New Guinea and Borneo .
The first commando unit to see action was the unfortunate 2/1st Independent Company (2/1 Ind Coy), the members of which were all killed while Defending New Ireland , in the Australian territory of New Guinea , from Japanese Marines in early 1942 . The 2/2nd Ind Coy, however, had great success during the Timor Campaign Of 1942-43 , by conducting guerilla warfare and occupying the attention of an entire Imperial Japanese Army division for almost twelve months. 2/2 Coy was later redesignated as 2/2 Commando Squadron and was one of only two of the original Independent Companies to remain operating independently, outside a regimental structure (the other was 2/8 Commando Squadron). By the end of the war "2/2 Commando Squadron could claim to have spent longer in contact with the enemy than any other unit of the Australian Army" (Grant 2005) . Other squadrons served in other parts of New Guinea and the Dutch East Indies . Special Units
After the beginning of the and the famous Z Special Unit (also known as Z Force), for Allied covert operations in the South West Pacific Area . The infamous photo, shown here, of Sergeant Leonard G. Siffleet of M Special Unit being beheaded by a Japanese Soldier, Yasuno Chikao on 24 October 1943 is an example of the danger men from the unit faced whilst engaged in reconnaissance behind the Japanese lines. This photo is held as part of the Australian War Memorial collection. Z Force distinguished itself in Operation Jaywick , in which the unit posed as an Asian fishing boat crew, to infiltrate Singapore Harbour, where it Mined and destroyed four Japanese ships, amounting to 39,000 tons, in September 1943 . However, in 1945 the similar but larger Operation Rimau , which also targeted shipping at Singapore Harbour, resulted in the loss of all 23 personnel involved. Later in the war the Royal Australian Navy also formed commando units (also known as beach parties) to go ashore with the first waves of major Amphibious Assault s, to signpost the beaches and carry out other naval tasks. These were known as RAN Commandos , and they took part in the Borneo Campaign (1945) . POST-WW2 After the war, the existing commando units were disbanded. However, during the 1950s the need to preserve the skills possessed by the WW2 units was realised. Two reserve commando companies were raised: 2 Commando Company (2 Cdo Coy) in February 1955 and 1 Commando Company (1 Cdo Coy) in June 1955. From 1957 , some members of these companies went on to assist and/or join the new Australian Special Air Service Regiment (SASR), when it was raised. However the commando units retained a separate identity, with a greater emphasis on raiding and other offensive operations, rather than the long range reconnaissance and patrol role which is the classic function of SAS units. In February 1981, it was decided to unite the commando companies with a headquarters unit and link them with Special Operations Headquarters (SOHQ). 1 Commando Regiment (1 Cdo Regt) was formed. In 1996, it was decided to convert 4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (4 RAR) from a Light Infantry battalion to a commando unit. 4RAR was renamed 4 RAR (Cdo). In May 2003, Special Operations Command (Australia) was established as the administrative and operational headquarters for all of Australia's special forces and commando units. REFERENCES
EXTERNAL LINKS Official Australian Army webpages
Unofficial Australian Army webpages |
|
|