BRITISH COMMANDOS

British Commandos is a British special unit that gave its name to the Polish word for commandos. The unit was formed by the order of the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in 1940, after the defeat and the withdrawal of the British Expeditionary Forces from France in the same year. By definition, the unit was to operate in German-occupied Europe and conduct broadly understood subversive, sabotage and intelligence activities. Initially, soldiers from the British Army were recruited to Commandos. It is assumed that in the period 1940-1945, about 25,000 people passed through the ranks of this unit, including not only the British, but also volunteers from countries such as Greece, France, Poland and the USA. In commando units, a lot of emphasis was placed on the initiative of a single soldier, the ability to act independently and to cope with extremely difficult combat conditions. The training was very difficult, demanding and in the course of World War II - it kept changing, over time, including, among others, recalling artillery or air support. One of the most famous actions performed by Commandos was the 1942 raid on Saint-Naziere, but the commando units also operated on a large scale during the Normandy operation in 1944.