No. 4 Commando
The No. 4 Commando was a British battalion-size special service unit which was established on 21 July 1940. Like other commando units, the No. 4 Commando was formed after Prime Minister Winston Churchill called for creation of a force which would inflict damage to the Germans and increase the morale in Britain by conducting raids along the German-controlled French coast. However, it was also used as an infantry assault unit.
The No. 4 Commando was sent on its first mission in March 1941. Together with No. 3 Commando and support of the Royal Engineers and Norwegian Royal Navy, they carried out a successful raid on the German oil production facilities on the Lofoten Islands just off coast Norway. In addition to destroying 11 oil production factories and storage facilities, they also sunk 10 German ships, taken over 200 Germans as prisoners and more than 300 Norwegian volunteers back to Britain. The most far-reaching effect of the raid, however, was the seizure of equipment for the Enigma encrypting machine and codebooks which helped the British intelligence to break the code and read the German messages.
After they returned from the Lofoten Islands without losing a single man, the Commando was trained for the Operation Puma with an aim to capture the Canary Islands. This operation as well as the subsequent Operation Bludgeon, however, was cancelled. The No. 4 Commando therefore did not take part in raids until March of 1942 when six men from the Commando participated in the Operation Chariot during which they destroyed the German-controlled Normandie dry dock at St Nazaire on the French coast. Three commandos, however, died before landing. Losses were significant in this operation as less than 50 percent of men returned to Britain. More than one half of the force was either killed or captured by the Germans.
One month after the Operation Chariot, the No. 4 Commando took part in the Operation Abercrombie the goal of which was to raid the French coastal town of Hardelot. They made a reconnaissance and suffered no casualties, however, the Canadian force failed to land. Simon Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat who commanded the No. 4 Commando was awarded the Military Cross for the action but the benefits of the operation cannot compare to that of the Operation Claymore and Operation Chariot. In the same year, the No. 4 Commando was selected for another raid – Dieppe Raid which, however, was a failure. The No. 4 Commando achieved its objective with acceptable losses but other troops suffered heavy casualties which forced the commanders to abort the action.
In June 1944, the No. 4 Commando took part in the Normandy Landings. They cleared the Sword Beach and then rejoined the 1st Special Service Brigade. Before recalled to Britain in September 1944, the Commando lost over 50 percent of men. After being reinforced, the No. 4 Commando returned to the Continent and participated in occupation of Germany. The unit was disbanded with rest of commandos in January 1946.