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No. 12 Commando was a battalion-sized commando unit of the British Army during the Second World War. Formed in 1940 in Northern Ireland, they carried out a number of small-scale raids in Norway and France between 1941 and 1943 before being disbanded and its personnel dispersed to other commando units. ==Background== The 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".〔Chappell 1996, p.5〕 At first they were a small force of volunteers who carried out small raids against enemy occupied territory,〔Chappell 1996, p.3〕 but by 1943 their role had changed into lightly equipped assault infantry which specialised in spearheading amphibious landings.〔Moreman 2006, p.8〕 The man initially selected as the overall commander of the force was Admiral Sir Roger Keyes himself a veteran of the landings at Galipoli and the Zeebrugge raid in the First World War.〔Chappell 1996, p.6〕 Keyes resigned in October 1941 and was replaced by Admiral Louis Mountbatten.〔 By the autumn of 1940 more than 2,000 men had volunteered for Commando training, and what became known as the Special Service Brigade was formed into 12 units called Commandos.〔Haskew 2007, p.48〕 Each Commando would number around 450 men commanded by a lieutenant colonel. They were sub divided into troops of 75 men and further divided into 15 man sections.〔 Commandos were all volunteers seconded from other British Army regiments and retained their own cap badges and remained on their regimental roll for pay.〔Moreman 2006, p.12〕 All volunteers 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.〔van der Bijl 2006, p.12〕 By 1943 the Commandos had moved away from small raiding operations and had been formed in brigades of assault infantry to spearhead future Allied landing operations. Three units were left un-brigaded to carry out smaller scale raids.〔Moreman 2006, pp.84–85〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「No. 12 Commando」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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