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Operation Ambassador was an operation carried out by British Commandos on 14–15 July 1940 within the context of the Second World War. It was the second raid by the newly formed British Commandos and was focused upon the German-occupied Channel island of Guernsey.〔 The raiding party consisted of 40 men from the newly formed No. 3 Commando under the command of Lieutenant Colonel John Durnford-Slater,〔Some sources state that Durnford-Slater was a major at the time, however, the discrepancy seems to stem from the fact that his rank of lieutenant colonel was a brevet rank, while he held an acting rank of major and substantive rank of captain. Durnford-Slater 2002, p. ix.〕 and 100 men of No.11 Independent Company under Major Ronnie Tod.〔There is a minor discrepancy in the sources. Most sources state 140 men, but Chappell states that this number was actually 139 men in total, with 40 men from No. 3 Commando and presumably only 99 men from No. 11 Ind Coy. Chappell 1996, p. 5.〕 Due to a series of mishaps, poor fortune and the haste with which it was planned and implemented, the raid resulted in no immediate military gains for the British, although the experience gained in the mounting and conduct of the operation was to prove invaluable for the success of subsequent Commando operations.〔Durnford-Slater 2002, p. 32.〕 ==Background== On 30 June 1940 the Germans landed troops on the Channel Islands. Two days later, the British prime minister, Winston Churchill sent a memo to his chief staff officer, General Hastings Ismay, asking him to begin planning an operation for a raid on the islands as soon as possible and stating that he felt that it would be the type of operations that the newly formed Commandos would be suited for.〔Parker 2000, p. 24.〕 After that, things began moving very quickly. Indeed, the War Office approved the proposal for the raid later that day and shortly after planning began in earnest.〔 It was decided that a raid by 140 men would land on the island of Guernsey and attack the airfield with the purpose of destroying aircraft and buildings, as well as capturing or killing members of the garrison.〔 The units that were chosen for the raid were 'H' Troop from No. 3 Commando and No. 11 Independent Company. No. 3 Commando, under Lieutenant Colonel John Durnford-Slater, had only just been raised, having completed its recruitment on 5 July, and had not yet begun training, while No. 11 Independent Company under the command of Major Ronnie Tod had been raised earlier in June〔No. 11 Independent Company was raised on 14 June from volunteers for commando service and members from the recently disbanded No. 9 Independent Company. Parker 2000, p. 21.〕 and had a few weeks earlier undertaken Operation Collar, which had been a hastily organised and largely unsuccessful raid on Boulogne.〔Parker 2000, p. 22.〕 During the planning stage, Durnford-Slater went to London where he worked out most of the details with David Niven, who was then serving as a staff officer in the Combined Operations Headquarters.〔Durnford-Slater 2000, p. 22.〕 On the night of 7/8 July a reconnaissance operation was carried out, when Lieutenant Nicolle, an officer in the Hampshire Regiment who was originally from Guernsey, was landed on the island by the submarine HMS ''H43''.〔Durnford-Slater 2000, pp. 22–23.〕 Three days later he was picked up and based on the information that he provided it was determined that the garrison on Guernsey consisted of 469 soldiers, concentrated mainly around St. Peter Port and although there were machine gun posts all along the coast, they were sited in a manner that meant that it would take about twenty minutes between an alarm being raised for reinforcements to be dispatched.〔Durnford-Slater 2000, p. 23.〕 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「Operation Ambassador」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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