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The Royal Marines A Geo History 1664 - Present

'Dits' - A monthly History Blog
Good day, 

Thank you to all my subscribers, and welcome to those receiving this monthly blog for the first time.

Unfortunately due to an update by the webhost the format of this months news letter will appear un-formatted and also will not contain the images that normally accompany the articles, you can of course see the full articles including the images by following the links.

I hope this will be fixed soon.

Simon
Please visit my website on the map or cards page and use the drop downs to search by Unit, Conflict, Period or Year.....

Come and see over 354 years of History, mapped out with over 577 pins and growing!

RoyalMarinesHistory.com- RM a Geo History

In this months edition 04/30/2020 :


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Lance Corporal Parker RMLI VC - Gallipoli

By Si Biggs on Apr 29, 2020 07:48 am
Lance Corporal Walter Richard Parker RMLI VC - Gallipoli Unit/ Formation: Victoria Cross Location: Gallipoli Period/ Conflict: World War I Year: 1915 Date/s: 30 April 1915 On the night of 30 April/1 May 1915 at Gaba Tepe, Gallipoli, Turkey, Lance-Corporal Parker, a volunteer stretcher-bearer, went out with a party of NCOs and men to take ammunition, water and medical stores to an isolated trench containing about 40 men and several wounded. There were no communication trenches leading to the trench, and several men had already been killed in an attempt to reach it. After crossing an area of about 400 yards swept by machine-gun and rifle fire, Lance-Corporal Parker was alone, the rest of the party having been killed or wounded. On his arrival he gave assistance to the wounded and when the trench was finally evacuated early the next morning, he helped to remove and attend the casualties, although he himself was seriously wounded. Parker never fully recovered from his wounds, and was invalided out of the service in June 1916. Read more about the #RoyalMarines in Gallipoli here
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Royal Marines in Gallipoli - 28 April 1915

By Si Biggs on Apr 28, 2020 07:57 pm
Gallipoli - 28 April 1915 Royal Marines were involved in both the initial, unopposed, landings on the peninsula and the subsequent amphibious operation to relieve troops once the Turks reinforced the position. 3rd Bde Royal Marines bore the brunt of Turkish attacks around Anzac Cove, where they had relieved the Australians. The Turks were also driven back a substantial distsance by a counter attack by Royal Marines in another part of the peninsula. On 30th April , Lance Corporal Walter Richard Parker RMLI, a volunteer stretcher-bearer was awarded the Victoria Cross. See it mapped here: RM a Geo History 1664 - Present day
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Battle of Gavrelle Windmill

By Si Biggs on Apr 28, 2020 10:54 am
Battle of Gavrelle Windmill Unit/ Formation: Royal Marines Location: France Period/ Conflict: World War I Year: 1917 Date/s: 28th to 29th April 1917 (1RM: 169 killed & 29 POW; 2RM 166 killed & 176 POW) The battle of Gavrelle saw the highest number of Royal Marine causalities in a single day in the history of the corps, with 846 recorded as killed, missing or wounded. B Company of the 1st RM Battalion reconnoitred the previous night and found extensive barbed wire fences in front of a defensive position, they were scheduled to attack the following day, was still intact. This proved to be a major contributing factor to the very high losses. The 1st Battalion Royal Marine Light Infantry was effectively wiped out when it charged a German Strongpoint, north of the village, with the barbed wire still intact. The 2nd Battalion suffered just as badly, particularly in the fighting around the windmill that formed part of the German Line, north east of the village. See more WW1 actions mapped here Www.royalmarineshistory.com Mors info via RMHS and fb here
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Battle of Gate Pā (Pukehinahina) - New Zealand

By Si Biggs on Apr 26, 2020 09:44 am
Unit/ Formation: Royal Marines Location: New Zealand Period/ Conflict: The New Zealand wars Year: 1864 Date/s: 29th April 1864 On 26 April 1864 600 sailors and Royal Marines were disembarked from HMS Harrier, Curacoa, Esk and Miranda to support forces ashore. Army personnel were joined by sailors and marines from the ships still lying in the Tauranga harbour. A ‘feigned attack’ was made on April 28 to divert Māori attention whilst Colonel Greer led the 730 men of the 68th over the eastern mudflats under cover of darkness to take up position at the rear and cut off Māori escape and water supply. It rained heavily throughout that night. Gate Pā was the single most devastating defeat suffered by the British military in the New Zealand wars: while British casualties totaled more than a third of the storming party, Māori losses totaled about 25 Read More/ Web Link: Wikipedia
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Operation Paraquet - Recapture of South Georgia

By Si Biggs on Apr 25, 2020 10:34 am
Unit/ Formation: 42 Cdo RM Location: South Georgia Period/ Conflict: The Falklands War Year: 1982 Date/s: 25 April 1982 South Georgia was lost after a two-hour Battle of Grytviken on 3 April 1982, against superior numbers Lieutenant Mills' detachment of 22 Royal Marines inflicted damage on the Argentine corvette ARA Guerrico, hitting her with an 84mm anti-tank rocket and many rounds of small arms fire, and shot down a Puma helicopter, read more here 'Mills Marauders' Later that month and prompted by the British war cabinet who needed a demonstration of political resolve, the operation was ordered by Admiral John Fieldhouse at Northwood Headquarters and planned by staff at 3 Commando Brigade. Major General Jeremy Moore was told to provide a Commando company group for a secret mission. 42 Commando were selected who had recently been on a winter deployment to Norway. The second-in-command of 42 Commando, Major Guy Sheridan, an experienced mountaineer, was selected to be Landing Force Commander. M Company of 42 Commando, commanded by Captain Chris Nunn, was augmented by specialists from the Reconnaissance Troop, the Support Company, signals and medics; a total of 132 men. Sheridan requested the support of the Royal Marine Mountain and Arctic Warfare Cadre, but was instead given 19 (Mountain) Troop from D Squadron Special Air Service (SAS) from Ascension Island. In the event, the whole of D Squadron comprising not only the Mountain Troop, but also 16 (Mobility) Troop, 18 (Air) Troop and 17 (Boat) Troop along with the Squadron HQ all joined the force at Ascension. Finally, 2 Troop, Special Boat Squadron (2 SBS) and, as requested by Sheridan, two Naval Gunfire Forward Observation Parties (NGFOs) also joined the task group. The already crowded accommodations in available ships became difficult with the inclusion of additional troops. The task group sailed from Ascension on 11 April, pausing to redistribute the SAS troops between ships on 13 April. The final disposition was that M Company were on the tanker RFA Tidespring, 2 SBS, and the Mountain and Boat Troops SAS on the frigate, HMS Plymouth, with the rest of D Squadron on HMS Antrim. Finally, 6 SBS were embarked in the submarine HMS Conqueror. This group, known as CTG 317.9 or Task Force South Georgia, was commanded by Captain Brian Young of Antrim. The task group met with HMS Endurance on 14 April and on the following day, received written orders (dropped by an RAF Nimrod aircraft) for the operation from Admiral Fieldhouse dated 12 April and giving a landing date of 21 April On 23 April, the British learned through radio intercepts that an Argentinian submarine was approaching South Georgia, the ARA Santa Fe, (former USSCatfish), part of Argentina's submarine fleet of four boats. The arrival of the submarine posed a significant threat to the British Task Force, and Young was ordered to disperse his ships, except Endurance, outside the South Georgia total exclusion zone. The Argentinian submarine successfully landed reinforcements at Grytviken, under moonless cloud cover in the pre-dawn hours of 25 April, and was underway by 0500 At 0855, the submarine was located by Antrim's Wessex using radar and engaged with depth charges. One charge bounced off the boat's deck but the other exploded alongside, rupturing the port ballast tank and piercing an external fuel tank. Now unable to dive, she was forced to reverse course towards Grytviken. Attacked by Wasps firing AS-12 missiles the last missile destroyed the periscope standards and nearby pumps and injured a sailor who was manning a machine gun. By 1100, the crippled Santa Fe was once again moored at Grytviken pier, where she was abandoned by her crew With Santa Fe disabled, Major Sheridan judged that the Argentines would be demoralised and that an attack should be made immediately. However, his main force, M company was still onboard Tidespring, 200 miles away. A scratch force was put together with various forces on board Antrim. These included M company's command element and mortar troop, 2 SAS troops and the 2 SBS command and signal elements, for a total of 79 men. There followed a helicopter assault with two Royal Navy vessels Antrim and Plymouth conducting a naval bombardment demonstration on the low hills opposite Grytviken. The garrison at Grytviken and the crew of the disabled Santa Fe surrendered to M Company, 42 Commando, Royal Marines, after 15 minutes at 17.15 GMT. The garrison at Leith Harbour, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Alfredo Astiz, surrendered the following day. An Argentine prisoner of war, Navy Petty Officer Felix Artuso, a crewman of Santa Fe, was shot dead on 26 April after a British marine believed he was sabotaging the submarine. A message that was widely publicised in the UK was made by the Task Group Commander, Captain Brian Young, after the surrender at Grytviken: Be pleased to inform Her Majesty that the White Ensign flies alongside the Union Jack in South Georgia. God save the Queen. Just rejoice at that news, and congratulate our forces and the Marines! Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher Sequence of events: (Naval History Homepage) 1. 21st -Mountain Troop SAS landed on Fortuna Glacier for move to Leith, but stopped by blizzards. 2. 22nd -Mountain Trooppicked up by Antrim Wessex after both Tidespring Wessex crashed. 3. Gemini assault craft from Antrim then put Boat Troop SAS ashore at Grass Island to observe Leith. 4. From 22nd -SBS landed at Hound Bay and tried to move across Cumberland Bay East by Gemini to a position south of Grytviken. Stopped by ice and laid up. Later picked up and reportedly landed at Moraine Fiord. 5. 23rd - Submarine threat; Task Force ships except Endurance moved out to sea. 6. 24th - Argentine Boeing 707 overflew Endurance and Task Force ships (except Tidespring with M Coy, 42 Cdo) ordered back in to hunt for submarine. 7. 25th - Task Force helicopters damaged submarine Santa Fe (abandoned at King Edward Point jetty) and then put landing force ashore. 8. 25th - As Antrim and Plymouth bombarded from out in Cumberland Bay, SAS/SBS/RM landing force went ashore at Hestesletten and advanced through Grytviken towards King Edward Point. Argentines surrendered. 9. 26th - Argentine force surrendered to Plymouth and Endurance See it mapped here: www.royalmarineshistory.com
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The Raid on Zeebrugge - 23 April 1918 - 'For England and St George!'

By Si Biggs on Apr 23, 2020 11:13 am
Mounted by two thousand men of the 4th Battalion Royal Marines and Royal Navy under the command of Vice-Admiral Sir Roger Keyes. The objective was to deny the Port to German submarines. An appeal was made to the Grand Fleet for volunteers for special service on 23 February 1918. Very few of the participants were aware of the objective. The cruisers involved in the blockade, including HMS Vindictive, were equipped in Chatham by over 2,000 workers for the special fitting out or (in the case of the ships to be sunk) stripping out of unnecessary equipment, including their masts. Iris, Daffodil and the submarines were converted in Portsmouth. The fleet made its rendezvous at Swin Deep, about 8 mi (7.0 nmi; 13 km) south of Clacton. The first opportunity for the raid was early April 1918 and on 2 April the fleet sailed and Zeebrugge was bombed by 65 Squadron from Dunkirk. The success of the raid depended upon smokescreens to protect the British ships from the fire of German coastal artillery but the wind direction was unfavourable and the attack was called off. Zeebrugge was visible to the fleet and the fleet to the Germans in Zeebrugge; seventy-seven ships of all sizes, some with their lights already switched off, had to make a sharp turn to the west to return to their bases On 23 April a second attempt was made, in conjunction with a raid on the neighbouring harbour of Ostend. The raid began with a diversion against the mile-long Zeebrugge mole. The attack was led by an old cruiser, Vindictive, with two Mersey ferries, Daffodiland Iris II. The three ships were accompanied by two old submarines, which were filled with explosives to blow up the viaduct connecting the mole to the shore. Vindictive was to land a force of 200 sailors and a battalion of Royal Marines at the entrance to the Bruges Canal, to destroy German gun positions. At the time of the landing the wind changed and the smokescreen to cover the ship was blown offshore. The marines immediately came under heavy fire and suffered many casualties. Vindictive was spotted by German gun positions and forced to land in the wrong location, resulting in the loss of the marines' heavy gun support. Eventually the submarine HMS C3 commanded by Lt. R. D. Sandford, destroyed the viaduct with an explosion. Sandford was awarded the Victoria Cross for this action. The attempt to sink three old cruisers, to block the flow of traffic in and out of the Port of Bruges-Zeebrugge failed. The failure of the attack on the Zeebrugge mole resulted in the Germans concentrating their fire on the three blocking ships, HMS Thetis, Intrepid and Iphigenia, which were filled with concrete. Thetis did not make it to the canal entrance, after it hit an obstruction and was scuttled prematurely. The two other ships were sunk at the narrowest point of the canal. The submarines C1 under Lieutenant A. C. Newbold and C3 under Sandford were old, each with a volunteer crew of one other officer and four ratings. They had five tons of amatol packed into their fore-ends and were to be driven into the viaduct and then blown up, to prevent reinforcement of the German garrison on the mole. The crews were to abandon their submarines shortly before the collision with the viaduct, leaving the submarines to steer themselves automatically. During the passage from Dover, C1 parted with its tow and arrived too late to take part in the operation. Sandford, in command of C3, elected to steer his ship into the viaduct manually instead of depending on the automatic system Daffodil rams HMS Vindictive against the mole. The Marines and Naval Landing Party are going in up ramps the entire 4th Battalion Royal Marines was awarded the Victoria Cross for the action, triggering Rule 13 of the Victoria Cross warrant stipulating that a ballot must be drawn to select the recipients. Although the Victoria Cross rules specify that four Victoria Crosses should be awarded this way (one to an Officer, one to an NCO, and two to other ranks) they were not observed and only two Victoria Crosses were awarded. This was the last time that Victoria Crosses were awarded by ballot, although the rule still exists within the Victoria Cross warrant. In a mark of respect to those involved in the raid the Royal Marines have never raised another 4th Battalion. Keyes, in the destroyer Warwick, signaled to the fleet the ancient battle cry St. George for England!, Carpenter signaled back from Vindictive: “May we give the dragon’s tail a damned good twist.” Read More/ Web Link: Wikipedia RM A Geo History Map
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Operation Lighter

By Si Biggs on Apr 23, 2020 09:51 am
Unit/ Formation: Royal Marines Location: Koufonisi Period/ Conflict: World War II Year: 1942 Date/s: 16 April 1942 The 11th Battalion of the British Royal Marines landed on Koufonisi, Greece by destroyers, destroyed a German radio station, captured some documents and equipment, and embarked the ships. The destroyers, HMS Kelvin and HMS Kipling, returned to Alexandria, Egypt by 1830 hours. Www.royalmarineshistory.com
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Operation Valentine- Occupation of the Faroe Isles

By Si Biggs on Apr 16, 2020 08:50 am
Unit/ Formation: Royal Marines Location: Faroe Islands Period/ Conflict: World War II Year: 1940 Date/s: 13th April 1940 The British occupation of the Faroe Islands in World War II, also known as Operation Valentine, was implemented immediately following the German invasion of Denmark and Norway. It was a small component of the roles of Nordic countries in World War II. In April 1940, the United Kingdom occupied the strategically important Faroe Islands to forestall a German invasion. British troops left shortly after the end of the war. At the time of the occupation, the Faroe Islands had the status of an amt (county) of Denmark. Following the invasion and occupation of Denmark on 9 April 1940, British forces launched Operation Valentine to occupy the Faroe Islands. On 11 April, Winston Churchill — then First Lord of the Admiralty — announced to the House of Commons that the Faroe Islands would be occupied: We are also at this moment occupying the Faroe Islands, which belong to Denmark and which are a strategic point of high importance, and whose people showed every disposition to receive us with warm regard. We shall shield the Faroe Islands from all the severities of war and establish ourselves there conveniently by sea and air until the moment comes when they will be handed back to Denmark liberated from the foul thraldom into which they have been plunged by German aggression. An announcement was broadcast on BBC radio. An aircraft of the Royal Air Force (RAF) was seen over the Faroese capital Tórshavn on the same day. On 12 April, two destroyers of the Royal Navy arrived in Tórshavn harbour. Following a meeting with Carl Aage Hilbert (the Danish Prefect of the Islands) and Kristian Djurhuus (President of the Løgting, the Faroese Parliament), an emergency meeting of the Løgting was convened the same afternoon. Pro-independence members tried to declare the independence of the Faroe Islands from the Kingdom of Denmark but were outvoted. An official announcement was later made announcing the occupation and ordering a nighttime blackout in Tórshavn and neighbouring Argir, the censorship of post and telegraphy and the prohibition of the use of motor vehicles during the night without a permit. On 13 April, the Royal Navy cruiser HMS Suffolk arrived at Tórshavn. Colonel T. B. W. Sandall (the British military commander) and Frederick Mason (the new British Consul to the Faroe Islands) then met with the Danish Prefect. The Prefect responded with what Sandall took to be a formal protest, although Hilbert maintained that owing to the occupation of Denmark he was unable formally to represent the Danish government. He duly accepted the British terms on the basis that the UK would not seek to interfere with the internal affairs of the islands. A formal protest was made by the Løgting, albeit expressing the wish for friendly relations. 250 Royal Marines were disembarked, later to be replaced by other British troops. Cordial relations were maintained between the British forces and the Faroese authorities. In May, the Royal Marines were replaced by soldiers of the Lovat Scouts. Read More/ Web Link: Wikipedia
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Operation Banner - Roll of Honour

By Simon Biggs on Apr 10, 2020 08:44 am
Operation Banner was the operational name for the British Armed Forces' operation in Northern Ireland from 1969 to 2007, as part of the Troubles. It was the longest continuous deployment in British military history. Casualties and losses 722 deaths from paramilitary attacks 719 deaths from other causes 6,100 injured PIRA 128 killed INLA 36 killed IPLO 2 killed UVF 14 killed UDA 11 killed LVF 1 killed [9] Operation Banner all causes Roll of Honour Compiled by the Northern Ireland Veterans Association, including all in-service deaths 1969-2007 and all subsequent terrorist murders This Roll of Honour includes all branches of the security forces and emergency services that lost their lives while in service due to the security situation in Northern Ireland that existed from roughly June 1969 to July 2007, when Op banner was finally brought to and end. Also included are any murders of security forces after that date. The Royal Marines conducted 40 Tours of Duty in Northern Ireland during Op Banner, as well as providing manpower for special intelligence operations they were also involved in long term operational commitments such as Operations Lifespan and Sealion. A Royal Marine sniper with L42A1, Browning pistol and M16A1 with Starlight scope. Set up in the attic in Andersontown district of Belfast, Northern Ireland. Image: Royal Marines Museum. Royal Marines Murdered – 20 Other Causes – 8 TOTAL – 28 40 Commando Mne L Allen, Murdered by PIRA, 26/07/1972; Mne A David, Murdered by PIRA, 17/10/1972; Mne J Shaw, RTA,; 26/07/1973; Mne A Gibbons, Shot Accidentally, 28/05/1983 42 Commando Mne G Cox, Murdered by PIRA, 29/04/1973; Mne J Macklin, Murdered by PIRA, 28/03/1974; Cpl R Miller, Murdered by PIRA, 17/08/1978; Mne G Weedon, Murdered by PIRA, 12/11/1978; Mne A Gilbert, Friendly Fire Incident, 15/06/1989 45 Commando Cpl D Leach, Murdered by PIRA, 13/08/1974; Mne M Southern, Murdered by PIRA, 13/08/1974; Mne N Bewley, Murdered by PIRA, 12/08/1977; Sgt W Corbett, Shot Accidentally, 23/08/1981 Royal Marines Band Cpl D McMillan, Murdered by PIRA, in England 22/09/1989; Cpl D Pavey, Murdered by PIRA, in England 22/09/1989; Mus J Cleatheroe, Murdered by PIRA, in England 22/09/1989 ; Mus M Petch, Murdered by PIRA, in England 22/09/1989; Mus M Ball, Murdered by PIRA, in England 22/09/1989 ; Mus R Fice, Murdered by PIRA, in England 22/09/1989; Mus R Jones, Murdered by PIRA, in England, 22/09/1989 ; Mus R Simmons, Murdered by PIRA, in England 22/09/1989; Mus T Reeves, Murdered by PIRA, in England 22/09/1989; Cpl T Davies, Murdered by PIRA, in England 22/09/1989; Mus C Nolan, Murdered by PIRA, in England 18/10/1989 Commando Unknown Sgt D Reed, (att AAC), Murdered by PIRA, 18/05/1973; Mne J Cooper, (att HQNI), RTA, 16/02/1982; Cpl M Lazenby, RTA ,21/02/1995; Mne N Ratcliffe, Other Causes, 03/05/2002 See pins mapped here Royal Marines History Full Roll of Honor here: Newletter
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Attack on Rangoon & Assualt on the Dallah Stockades

By Si Biggs on Apr 10, 2020 08:01 am
Unit/ Formation: Royal Marines Location: Burma Period/ Conflict: Second Anglo-Burmese War Year: 1852 Date/s: 10th April 1852 During the Second Anglo-Burmese War, Major General Henry Godwin was commander in chief of the British expeditionary force into Burma, known as the "Army of Ava", as well as commanding the force's Bengal Division. Godwin, with his expeditionary force, set sail from Bombay on 28 March 1852, aiming for the mouth of the Irrawaddy River, where he was to be joined by forces sent from Madras. There, he found a naval force led by Admiral Austen on board HMS Rattler, with ships of both the Royal Navy and the Indian Navy. On 5 April 1852 the naval forces began to bombard Martaban. Godwin then moved to capture Rangoon. On 12 April 1852, after a further naval bombardment, HMS Fox, Rattler, Serpent, Sphinx, Salamander, Hermes, Winchester and a gunboat, together with 22 ships from H.E.I. Naval force, landed the force comprising Royal Marines, the 51st Light Infantry, the 18th Royal Irish, the 40th Bengal Native Infantry, and some artillery. Fighting continued until the 14th, when the capture of Rangoon was completed with the storming of the Great Dagon Pagoda. The Great Dagon Pagoda, Rangoon, where Godwin's capture of the city in 1852 was completed. Seamen and marines, who took part, received the India General Service Medal 1854. Date/s: Sunday 11th April 1852. Assualt on the Dallah Stockades The British next moved on the biggest stockade, Kemmendine (the soldiers called it jocularly, "Come an' dine") , defended by 20,000 Burmese. On June 3, a combined naval and military attack collapsed rather ignominiously. The British reached the stockade's high walls only to discover they had left their scaling-ladders behind, and during their retreat suffered battering fire both from their own ships in the river and from their reserve units to the rear, who thought they were the enemy trying to break through. On June 11 they tried again this time remembering their ladders and were victorious. Storming of Martaban Unit/ Formation: Royal Marines Location: Burma Period/ Conflict: Second Anglo-Burmese War Year: 1852 Date/s: 13th April 1852 General Sir Henry Godwin, with about 8,000 men, easily took Martaban. after a furious cannonading of the fort on April 12. Www.royalmarineshistory.com
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Major Anders Lassen VC - SBS - Lake Commachio 8 - 9th April 1945

By Si Biggs on Apr 08, 2020 09:00 pm
On the night of 8th – 9th April 1945 eighteen men from the Special Boat Service set out across Lake Comacchio to attack heavily defended German positions. The assault was led by a Danish national, 24 year old Major Anders Lassen, already a legend within the British Special Forces, three times decorated with the Military Cross for his exploits during raiding parties on enemy occupied ships and positions. He was originally recruited by the Special Operations Executive after he arrived in Britain as a merchant seaman in 1940. They judged his independent character unsuitable for covert spying but well suited to raiding and patrolling. He began his career for the British with a raid on a Spanish ship in African waters – and then graduated to the Small Scale Raiding Force which made covert cross Channel raids on the Channel Islands and the French coast, before joining the new Special Boat Service in the Mediterranean in 1942. The night of 8th/9th April, fifth anniversary of the Nazi invasion of Denmark, saw Lassen’s luck run out. He was killed after approaching a German machine gun nest that was apparently surrendering. Nevertheless his raiding force had achieved their objective, simulating a much larger attack and diverting German attention from the main attack that was to follow. The citation for the Victoria Cross posthumously awarded to Lassen for the action on the 8/9th April 1945: The KING has been graciously pleased to approve the posthumous award of the Victoria Cross to: Major (temporary) Anders Frederik Emil Victor Schau LASSEN, M.C. (234907), General List. In Italy, on the night of 8/9 April 1945, Major Lassen was ordered to take out a patrol of one officer and seventeen other ranks to raid the north shore of Lake Comacchio. His tasks were to cause as many casualties and as much confusion as possible, to give the impression of a major landing, and to capture prisoners. No previous reconnaissance was possible, and the party found itself on a narrow road flanked on both sides by water. Preceded by two scouts, Major Lassen led his men along the road towards the town. They were challenged after approximately 500 yards from a position on the side of the road. An attempt to allay suspicion by answering that they were fishermen returning home failed, for when moving forward again to overpower the sentry, machinegun fire started from the position, and also from two other blockhouses to the rear. Major Lassen himself then attacked with grenades, and annihilated the first position containing four Germans and two machineguns. Ignoring the hail of bullets sweeping fire road from three enemy positions, an additional one having come into action from 300 yards down the road, he raced forward to engage the second position under covering fire from the remainder of the force. Throwing in- more grenades he silenced this position which was then overrun by his patrol. Two enemy were killed, two captured and two more machine-guns silenced. By this time the force had suffered casualties and its firepower was very considerably reduced. Still under a heavy cone of fire Major Lassen rallied and reorganised his force and brought his fire to bear on the third position. Moving forward himself he flung in more grenades which produced a cry of ” Kamerad “. He then went forward to within three or four yards of the position to order the enemy outside, and to take their surrender. Whilst shouting to them to come out he was hit by a burst of spandau fire from the left of the position and he fell mortally wounded, but even whilst falling he flung a grenade, wounding some of the occupants, and enabling his patrol to dash in and capture this final position. Major Lassen refused to be evacuated as he said it would impede the withdrawal and endanger further lives, and as ammunition was nearly exhausted the force had to withdraw. By his magnificent leadership and complete disregard for his personal safety, Major Lassen had, in the face of overwhelming superiority, achieved his objects. Three positions were wiped out, accounting for six machine guns, killing eight and wounding others of the enemy, and two prisoners were taken. The high sense of devotion to duty and the esteem in which he was held by the men he led, added to his own magnificent courage, enabled Major Lassen to carry out all the tasks he had been given with complete success. Check out this and more on the Royal Marines Geo - History page Read more here WW2 Today
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Commando raid on the East Coast railway - North Korea

By Si Biggs on Apr 29, 2020 08:41 am
Unit/ Formation: 41 Cdo RM Location: Korea Period/ Conflict: Korean War Year: 1951 Date/s: On 7 April 1951 On 2 April 1951, 21 Officers and 256 Marines of 41 Independent Commando embarked in the LPD USS Fort Marion (11 LVT, 5 LVT(A) and 13 LC) and the APD USS Begor (4 LC). The Gunfire Support Group comprised a cruiser and two destroyers. Air Support was available from the carriers USS Boxer and USS Phillipine Sea. Six minesweepers were to approach to within 2000 yards of the beach. An SFCP (Shore Fire Control Party), a Tactical Air Support Party, and an Underwater Demolition Team (UDT), to reconnoitre the beach, were attached to the Commando. Thick fog postponed the landing and reduced the naval bombardment to two hours but, at 0805 7 April, D Tp landed from two LVTs (armoured amphibians) and by 0900 hours the covering force was in position ready for the Assault Engineers, aided by the MT Section, to begin work. Earlier raids had been directed at culverts and bridges, which could soon be repaired, and tunnels, from which roof falls could easily be removed. (Ideally, a train wrecked in a tunnel would block a line longest). On this raid the target was the embankment. Demolitions were carried out in four phases: first 16 shaped charges were blown to make boreholes, next each borehole was packed with 801lbs of TNT which were detonated. This process was then repeated in the craters to produce a gap in the embankment 100 ft wide and 16 ft deep. Finally 55 anti personnel mines were laid in the craters. When mining was complete the withdrawal started and the last LVT left the beach at 1555 hrs. The Commando had been ashore for nearly eight hours and, apart from a small group which fired at C Tp from long range, there had been no enemy activity, although an informer reported two division in Songjin 15 miles to the North. There were no landing force casualties but unfortunately 5 villagers had been killed and 15 wounded. These were tended by the SBAs. Apart from this the naval bombardment had inflicted only superficial damage. The Commando disembarked at Yokosuka and was re-established in Camp McGill on 13 April from where sub unit and unit training continued. See this and other 41 pinned here www.royalmarineshistory.com
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The Battle of Basra

By Si Biggs on Apr 06, 2020 12:51 am
Unit/ Formation: 42 Cdo RM Location: Iraq Period/ Conflict: Iraq War (2003 - 2009) Year: 2003 Date/s: 6 April 2003 42 Commando supported by a squadron of challenger II from the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards assaulted the city from the south, they took the Iraqi's by surprise, M company secured 5 bridges in the city whilst the Fedayeen fled into the city.
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Rescue of the Russian Royal Family

By Si Biggs on Apr 03, 2020 08:52 am
Unit/ Formation: HM Ships Location: Koreiz Period/ Conflict: 1900's Year: 1919 Date/s: 7 - 11th April 1919 Eager to leave home and serve his country, George Gravestock told the enlistment officer that he was over 18 years old when he joined the Royal Marines in April 1915. In reality, George was only 27 days past his 16th birthday. Still a boy, George’s medical records show that he grew 4 inches taller over the course of the war. Serving in Belgium, the Mediterranean, and the Black Sea, his most exciting episode was his time on the HMS Marlborough in April 1919. Less than a year after the execution of his cousin Tsar Nicholas II, King George VI agreed to grant refuge to the surviving Russian royal family. The ship was tasked with the evacuation of 17 Russian royals – including the late Tsar’s mother, sister, aunt, cousins, and grandchildren – from Yalta in Crimea to the British naval base in Malta. During the rescue operation, George patrolled the grounds of the Dulber royal palace at Koreiz on the Black Sea. Thinking of his girlfriend Ethel at home, he cut a rose from the royal gardens, which he would later send to her. On the journey to Malta, the crew of the Marlborough did their best to lift the spirits of the Russian royals, including the Dowager Empress Marie, who was the sister of the Queen Mother, Alexandra. At Easter, the Marines painted Easter eggs for the Romanov children and played with the royal dogs. After arriving in Malta, George had a handsome photograph taken of himself at the Grand Studio in Valletta. And several months later, he sent it to England, inscribed ‘To my Dearest Ethel, with fondest love from George, August 5 1919’. Read More/ Web Link: Bedford Today
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'Mills Marauders'

By Si Biggs on Apr 24, 2020 07:53 am
Early on 3 April 1982 Lieutenant Keith Paul Mills received a radio message from HMS Endurance relaying instructions from London that he should make only a token resistance to any Argentine violation of British territory. He allegedly replied "sod that, I'll make their eyes water", a remark that became famous. During the two-hour Battle of Grytviken on 3 April 1982, Lieutenant Mills' detachment of 22 Royal Marines inflicted damage on the Argentine corvette ARA Guerrico, hitting her with an 84mm anti-tank rocket and many rounds of small arms fire, and shot down a Puma helicopter, killing two Argentine Marines and one sailor, while sustaining one wounded on the British side. The losses suffered at Grytviken prevented Argentina from occupying the rest of the island, with 15 Britons remaining outside Argentine control on several locations from Bird Island and Schlieper Bay in the northwest to St. Andrews Bay to the southeast. South Georgia was retaken by British forces on 25 April 1982, during Operation Paraquet
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Operation Roast - Lake Commachio

By Si Biggs on Apr 01, 2020 05:58 pm
Unit/ Formation: 43 Cdo RM Location: Italy Period/ Conflict: World War II Year: 1944 Date/s: 2 - 18th April 1944 It was shortly before 05:00 on 2 April and Operation ‘Roast’, though hours behind schedule, was under way. Commandos passing Churchill tanks with specially fitted contraptions designed to protect their exhausts for the crossing of the Reno. Stars were still visible and a mist obscured the horizon when the sky to the south suddenly erupted in a devastating display of firepower. The marines, who had been waiting in their forming up positions for 11 sleepless hours, were momentarily spellbound by the “fierce intervention”. The air, wrote C Troop’s Lieutenant McConville, “was sundered by a continuous succession of flickering flashes, approaching sibilant whisperings in the sky developed into increasingly high decibel shrieks, and there was the mighty rolling, drumming sound, as more than 100 guns of the Royal Artillery engaged targets ahead of 43”. It was time to go. A and B Troops swiftly advanced 1,000 yards to the first enemy position. The unit war diary noted: “They were rocketed on their start line, and were constantly under murderous machine gun and mortar fire. The enemy posts were winkled out one by one.” Officially styled as Operation ‘Roast’, the assault launched on the night of April Fool’s Day 1945 was a curtain-raiser to Eighth Army’s last great offensive of the war. Partly intended as a diversion to draw reserves away from V Corps’ main advance, it had the added advantage, if successful, of removing a potential threat to the thrust into the Po Valley. Handed to the 2nd Commando Brigade, the task of snuffing out the ‘Comacchio pocket’ posed particular problems. Bordered by the apple-shaped expanse of mud and water known as Lake Comacchio to the west, the flood-banked river Reno to the south and the Adriatic to the east, was a sliver of land unremittingly flat and featureless and criss-crossed by rivers, streams, dykes and canals. The front here had been static since December, allowing the enemy, a large proportion of whom were Asian and Turkic ex-Russian POWs marshalled into the 162nd Turkoman Division, to strengthen their defences on ground that afforded only limited room for manoeuvre. It consisted of a series of what Mike McConville called “interdependent fortified lumps” to which planners had attached Biblical names. They mainly comprised farm complexes and slit trenches dug on high, steep-sided river banks, each skilfully sited to offer protection to neighbouring positions. An added threat was posed by mines. Indeed, to Captain Ian Gourlay, the commander of 43 Commando’s D Troop, they represented the biggest obstacle. He later wrote: “The Germans were very fond of the jumping mine and also of a mine mounted on a stick and actuated by a trip wire. But most feared was the Schu mine which consisted of a simple block of explosive enclosed in a wooden box. Difficult to detect, it removed one’s foot very effectively…” Lake Comacchio presented planners with an different set of problems. At the best of times it was shallow, brackish, heavily silted and, in places, reed-tangled. But the dry spring reduced water levels even further, large tracts of the lake were turned into a bog. The plan devised by Brigadier Ronnie Tod’s staff was for an array of amphibious LVTs, known as ‘Fantails’ or ‘Buffalo’, to ferry two army commando units across the flats to the channels beyond from where they would launch their attack. As soon as they were ashore, the marines of 40 Commando were to create a diversion while 43 Commando pushed forward. They were to clear a thin strip of land called the ‘Tongue’ before making an assault crossing of the Reno to capture five defended localities. Positions taken, they were then to link up with the army commandos to continue what amounted to a seven-mile advance up a narrow, mine-infested corridor of sand and scrub known as the ‘Spit’ as far as the Valetta Canal where it looks out towards Porto Garibaldi. This was the Royal Marines’ last battle honour of the Second World War. Corporal Tom Hunter was awarded a posthumous VC for his part in the actions of April 3. See more here RM Geo History Map Map www.royalmarineshistory.com
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