No . 4 Commando No . 4 Commando was a battalion - sized British Army commando unit , formed in 1940 early in the Second World War . Although it was raised to conduct small - scale raids and harass garrisons along the coast of German - occupied France , it was mainly employed as a highly - trained infantry assault unit . The unit ' s first operation was the successful raid on the Lofoten Islands in March 1941 . The next two planned operations were both cancelled and it was not until 1942 that No . 4 Commando took part in another raid , Operation Abercrombie , a raid on the French coastal town of Hardelot . Later the same year No . 4 was one of three commando units selected for the Dieppe raid . Under the command of Lord Lovat , No . 4 Commando landed on the right flank of the main landings and successfully silenced a German gun battery . This was the only complete success of the operation , which was eventually aborted following heavy losses . As part of the 1st Special Service Brigade , No . 4 Commando took part in the Normandy Landings in June 1944 . Landing on Sword beach 30 minutes before the rest of the brigade , their first objectives were to capture a strong point and gun battery in Ouistreham . After the commandos eliminated these positions they rejoined the brigade , reinforcing the 6th Airborne Division at the Orne bridges . Before the invasion the brigade had been informed that they would stay in France for only a few days . The commando remained there for a further 82 days , protecting the beachhead ' s left flank . During that period , No . 4 Commando endured over 50 percent casualties . Finally withdrawn to Britain in September 1944 , they were reassigned to the 4th Special Service Brigade for the assault on Walcheren island . At the end of the war No . 4 Commando became part of the occupation force in Germany , but together with all other army commando units were disbanded in 1946 . Background . The British Commandos were a formation of the British Armed Forces organised for special service in June 1940 . After the Dunkirk evacuation , the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom , Winston Churchill , called for a force to be assembled and equipped to inflict casualties on the Germans and bolster British morale . Churchill told the joint Chiefs of Staff to propose measures for an offensive against German - occupied Europe , and stated , " they must be prepared with specially trained troops of the hunter class who can develop a reign of terror down the enemy coast . " One staff officer , Lieutenant Colonel Dudley Clarke , had already submitted such a proposal to General Sir John Dill , the Chief of the Imperial General Staff . Dill , aware of Churchill ' s intentions , approved Clarke ' s proposal and on 23 June 1940 , the first commando raid took place . The request for volunteers for special service was initially restricted to serving Army soldiers within certain formations still in Britain , and from men of the disbanding divisional Independent Companies originally raised from Territorial Army divisions who had served in Norway . By November 1940 , more than 2 , 000 men had volunteered and were organised into four battalions in a Special Service Brigade , under the command of Brigadier J . C . Haydon . The Brigade quickly expanded to 12 battalions , which were renamed commandos . Each commando had a lieutenant colonel as the commanding officer ( CO ) and numbered around 450 men ( divided into 75 man troop s that were further divided into 15 man sections ) . Technically these men were only on secondment to the commandos ; they retained their regimental cap badges and remained on the regimental roll for pay . The new force of commandos came under the operational control of the Combined Operations Headquarters . Formation . No . 4 Commando was formed in Weymouth on 21 July 1940 , when the first intake of 500 volunteers arrived . The unique nature of the commandos immediately became apparent when every man was held responsible for finding his own quarters . As commandos were expected to be fighting troops , they had no administrative personnel , such as clerks and cooks for example . To assist them with living ' off camp ' , with no cook house all ranks were given a daily allowance and a ration card , the allowance being 67 pence for officers and of 34 pence for other ranks . This arrangement meant that commandos lived on civilian rations , while the rest of the armed forces had the more plentiful military scale of rations . Lieutenant Colonel C . P . D Legard , 5RIDG and the Regimental Sergeant Major W . Morris held their first parade on 22 July 1940 , at Weymouth Pavilion . The volunteers were informed of the intended role for the commandos and that training would be " tough and demanding and any who could not measure up to the standard required would be returned to their parent unit without any leave of appeal " . Training started immediately and concentrated on physical fitness , weapons training , movement across country including cliff climbing , obstacle crossing and raiding operations . Weapons training was limited by the lack of anything other than the personal weapons ( rifles and pistols ) that each man had brought with him . Machine guns or anything heavier were available at the time . In August 1940 , some officers and non - commissioned officer s ( NCO ) were sent to Achnacarry in the Scottish Highlands on a commando course . These men were then responsible for teaching the rest of the unit . No . 4 Commando remained at Weymouth until 13 October 1940 , when it boarded trains for Scotland . Arriving on the River Clyde at 06 : 00 the next day , they were sent on board HMS " Glengyle " , an Infantry landing ship . " Glengyle " sailed on 18 October for Inveraray , to conduct training for the first time with Assault Landing Craft . The move to Scotland became permanent and No . 4 Commando were based at Ayr . While all this was going on , a decision was made to concentrate the commandos and Independent Companies into five large 1 , 000 man battalions , each of two companies . No . 4 Commando was renamed the No . 1 Company of the 3rd Special Service Battalion , under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Dudley Lister . No . 2 Company was formed by the re - designation of No . 7 Commando . This new formation proved to be too large and unwieldy in practice . Within three months , the Special Service Battalions were disbanded and the original commando units reformed but on a smaller scale with six troops instead of the original ten . Each troop would comprise three officers and 62 other ranks ; this number was set so each troop would fit into two Assault Landing Craft . The new formation also meant that two complete Commando units could be carried in the ' Glen ' type landing ship and one unit in the ' Dutch ' type landing ship . Operational history . Lofoten Islands . On 20 February 1941 , No . 4 Commando were informed they would be going to Troon in Scotland for an exercise . The next day the unit boarded HMS " Queen Emma " , but on 22 February 1941 , after they anchored at Scapa Flow , their real objective was divulged . Together with No . 3 Commando they were to conduct Operation Claymore , a raid on the Lofoten Islands . Claymore ' s main objective was to stop the manufacture of fish oil and its exportation to Germany , where it was used in making explosives . Extra training commenced on board ship , including how the men were to get to their boat stations to disembark . Each troop also rehearsed its own part in the mission . Lectures were given in escape and evasion and troop commanders and NCO ' s were given small silk maps of Norway to help with any escape attempt . Another item of escape equipment issued was a pair of trouser fly buttons that , when placed one on top of the other , became a small compass . Claymore took place on 4 March 1941 . The Germans were caught unprepared and the landings were unopposed . Within an hour No . 4 Commando had taken all its objectives . The raid was a success : 11 fish oil factories and storage tanks were destroyed , 10 ships sunk , 225 prisoners taken with an unknown number of German sailors killed on the sunken ships . An added bonus were the 315 Norwegian volunteers brought back to join the Free Norwegian Forces . Operation Puma . After returning from Norway , training started for Operation Puma , the occupation of the Canary Islands . The operation was planned following intelligence that Spain was going to join the war on the side of the Axis forces . The intention was to prevent Germany using the islands as a U - Boat base . The force assembled included five commando units , an army brigade , two Royal Marine brigades and supporting arms . Training for Operation Puma culminated in landing exercises in the Hebrides from the Landing Ship , Infantry HMS " Royal Scotsman " . The operation was renamed Operation Pilgrim and after a number of delays was put on hold by the Chiefs - of - Staff . On 13 September a token force including a troop from No . 4 Commando was dispatched to West Africa . The troop was based in Sierra Leone and Nigeria until returning to Britain in February 1942 , after the cancellation of the operation . While this was happening a new second in command ( 2IC ) was appointed , Major Charles Vaughan , and a Captain Lord Lovat joined the unit as the training officer . Lovat had been attached to the Lofoten raid as an observer and had applied for a posting to the commandos . Operation Bludgeon . In February 1942 , A , B and C Troops were dispatched to the Outer Hebrides under the command of Captain Lord Lovat for extra training . Returning to Troon in March , they were immediately sent to Dartmouth , Devon where they embarked on HMS " Prins Albert " . Once on board they were informed about Operation Bludgeon and started mission training . The objective of this raid was a large building that was a short distance inland from the Dutch coast , and that was used by senior German officers . For the duration of the operation B Troop were issued with flamethrower s to set the building on fire . After several days training , the commandos moved around the coast and anchored in the Thames waiting for the order to go . The operation was eventually cancelled , due to the increased German E - Boat activity in the area of the landing . St Nazaire . The St Nazaire raid had the objective of destroying the Normandie dry dock , which would prevent its use by any large German warship if that had been damaged or in need of repair . The majority of land force for the raid was supplied by No . 2 Commando , led by Lieutenant Colonel Newman . However the Special Service Brigade headquarters , used the raid to provide experience for their other units and 92 men were drawn from , No ' s 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 9 and 12 Commandos to go on the raid . The No . 4 Commando contingent was 12 other ranks commanded by Lieutenant H Pennington . They had all previously served in the Royal Engineers and left under the impression they were going on a Harbour Demolition Course . After their training at Cardiff and Southampton Docks only six of the 12 were selected to go on the raid . Three of the six including Lieutenant Pennington were killed before they were able to land , when their Motor Launch was engaged by the German coastal defence batteries . The other men who had not been selected for the raid were returned to No . 4 Commando . Operation Abercrombie . Operation Abercrombie was a raid on the French coastal town of Hardelot . Only B and C Troops supported by detachments from the Royal Engineers and the Carleton and York Regiment of Canada participated . The raid was under the overall command of Lord Lovat , with the objective of capturing prisoners and causing as much damage as possible . For this raid they were going to try a different system to cross the channel . Instead of using Infantry Landing Ships to cross the Channel they would be taken across on Motor Gun Boat s towing Assault Landing Craft ( LCA ) . The combined force left Dover on 19 April 1942 . En route , one LCA sank with the loss of two commandos who were manning a Bren gun in the bow . The raid was called off and they returned to Dover . A replacement LCA was obtained and they returned to France on 21 April . This time the crossing was uneventful and the commandos made a successful landing . However , the two commando troops were discovered cutting the barbed wire beach obstacles and German machine guns opened fire . The raiders did carry out a reconnaissance of the area but were unable to capture any prisoners . The commandos returned without loss , but one man was wounded in the leg . The smaller Canadian detachment was unable to locate the target beach and returned to Britain . After the raid there was another change in command . Lieutenant Colonel Lister left to form No . 10 ( Inter - Allied ) Commando and Major Vaughan became the temporary commanding officer . Vaughan left shortly afterwards to take over command of the Commando Depot at Achnacarry and was succeeded by Lord Lovat with Major Derek Mills - Roberts becoming the 2IC . Dieppe Raid . Originally conceived in April 1942 , " Operation Rutter " was to conduct a major division - sized raid on a German held port of Dieppe on the French channel coast and to hold it for the duration of at least two tides . They would effect the greatest amount of destruction of enemy facilities and defences before withdrawing . The original plan was approved by the Chiefs of Staff in May 1942 . This plan included two parachute landings behind the artillery batteries on either side of the main landing beaches . The parachute operation was later cancelled and instead No . 3 , No . 4 and the newly formed ' A ' ( Royal Marine ) Commando were to land by sea and attack the artillery batteries and the harbour . The Dieppe Raid was a major operation planned by Admiral Lord Mountbatten and Combined Operations Headquarters . The attacking force consisted of around 6 , 000 troops . The Royal Navy supplied 237 ships and landing craft , and the Royal Air Force 74 squadrons of aircraft , of which 66 were fighter squadrons . Landing on the eastern flank No . 3 Commando would assault the " Goebbels " artillery battery , while No . 4 Commando would be responsible for the " Hess " battery on the western flank . The " Hess " battery consisted of six guns in a concrete emplacement inland from the coastal cliffs . The emplacement was surrounded by two rows of barbed wire , and protected by several machine gun posts . A nearby anti - aircraft tower could also defend against a ground attack on the guns . The commandos were responsible for their own planning and selected two landing beaches codenamed Orange one and two . Orange One at Varengeville was overlooked by a chalk cliff but had two gullies leading to the top of the cliff . Before the war there were steps down to the beach . But these had been removed and the gullies filled with barbed wire and other obstacles . The second beach Orange Two was at Quiberville further west at the mouth of the River Saane . This offered access to the top of the cliffs but was covered by two machine gun pillboxes and barbed wire and it was further away from their target . Intelligence had estimated that the strength of the battery was between 120 – 175 men , supported by two infantry companies stationed nearby . The plan was for four troops ( A , B , C and F ) , headquarters and attached specialists , to be divided into two groups . Group one under the command of Major Mills - Roberts would land at Orange One and consisted of C Troop , a section from A Troop , the mortar detachment and some of the specialists . They would scale the cliffs and form a fire base in the woods in front of the battery to support the assault . Group two commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Lovat would land at Orange Two and take out the beach defences . B and F Troops would then advance move along the river and assault the battery from the rear . The rest of A Troop would be the reserve , positioned between the two beaches . After the attack Group two would withdraw through Group one and be picked up by the waiting LCAs on Orange One beach . No . 4 Commando made the crossing to Dieppe on board HMS " Prins Albert " . The crossing was uneventful and at 04 : 50 just before daybreak Group one landed unopposed . Using two Bangalore torpedo s to blow a hole in the barbed wire , they managed to scale the cliffs . As they approached the battery at 05 : 45 it opened fire on the main landing force coming ashore at Dieppe . This was 30 minutes before Group one was expected to be in a position but Mills - Roberts responded by speeding up the advance to get their guns into action sooner . Once in position they opened fire on the battery with their mortars , Bren machine gun s and sniper rifles . One of the mortar bombs landed inside the battery and exploded the stored charges , putting the guns out of action . Group two had an opposed landing being greeted by machine gun fire from the two pillboxes guarding the beach . Leaving a section from A Troop to deal with them the rest of the Group ran the to the rear of the battery , bypassing German infantry positions on the way . The A Troop section having finished off the pillboxes , set out for Orange one beach , ambushing a German patrol on route . While this was happening Lovat and the other two troops , were preparing to assault the battery from different directions . The men from B Troop approached from behind the anti - aircraft tower , as they could still see some Germans moving about on it , they detached three men to deal with them . At the same time they stumbled across and captured a machine gun post . At 06 : 15 the assault started , F Troop discovered a group of Germans forming up to put in their own assault on the fire base . Charging into them they were dispersed without loss to the commandos . The troop continued their advance , moving between some buildings and an orchard , when they were themselves caught in the open by heavy gun fire . Two men in the lead the troop commander Captain Pettiward and Lieutenant McDonald were killed while Troop Sergeant Major Stockdale was wounded . It was during this action that the already wounded Captain Porteous , acting as the liaison officer between the two groups was awarded the Victoria Cross . The two Groups were in position , when a pre arranged strafing attack by the Royal Air Force commenced , this signalled an increasing in the rate of fire from Group one . At 06 : 30 a very flare fired by Lovat signalled the start of the assault . Group one ceased firing and B and F Troops charged the battery with bayonet s fixed . The objective for B Troop was the battery buildings , while F Troop targeted the guns . Captain Porteous now commanding F Troop was wounded again , this time in the thigh but urged his men on . He was shot for the third time and passed out just as the guns were captured . Demolition experts from F Troop destroyed the guns with pre - formed charges while B Troop searched the battery buildings for intelligence materials . Carrying their wounded with them and escorting prisoners both troops withdrew through the fire base . Still in contact with the Germans both groups of commandos made it to Orange One beach and at 08 : 15 were taken off by the LCAs . They crossed the channel without incident arriving at Newhaven docks at 17 : 45 the same day . For their part in the raid Lovat was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and Mills - Roberts the Military Cross . The cost to the Commando was at first thought to be 23 dead but six were only severely wounded and were eventually reported to be prisoners of war . No . 4 Commandos assault on the battery was the only successful part of the whole operation . The War Office claimed it as " a classic example of the use of well trained infantry . . . and a thoroughness in planning , training and execution " , and in February 1943 issued an infantry training pamphlet " in order that all may benefit from the story of a stimulating achievement " . Between Dieppe and Normandy . After Dieppe the headquarters staff changed again . Lovat was promoted to brigadier and given command of the 1st Special Service Brigade . Mills - Roberts was promoted and sent to North Africa to take over command of No . 6 Commando . They were replaced by Robert Dawson as the CO and Ronald Menday as 2IC . Other changes included moving to a new base in Falmouth and the formation of a heavy weapons troop in each commando . The new troop with mortar and Vickers machine gun sections provided the heavy weapons needed for their new role as assault infantry . By now the Commandos had started to move away from smaller raiding operations . They were formed into units intended to spearhead future Allied landing operations . To assist in this they were given the organic fire support weapons , that had been absent when they were a raiding force . In June 1943 , 10 months after the Dieppe raid , No . 4 Commando started a new round of training . The program included mountain warfare training at the Commando Snow and Mountain Warfare Training Centre in Scotland . The emphasis here was on fighting and living in the mountains and instruction in how to train a partisan force . Afterwards they moved to another new base in Sussex . Instead of occupying one town , the troops spread out . A and B Troops were billeted at Seaford , C and D Troops at Newhaven and E and F Troops at Lewes . Training was now almost non stop and a number of large scale landing exercises , using the new Landing Craft Infantry took place . In February 1944 , while the rest of No . 4 continued to practice day and night assault landings and live firing exercises . C Troop was sent to qualify as parachutists at the parachute training centre RAF Ringway . The ranks of No . 4 Commando swelled in April 1944 with the arrival of two French troops from No . 10 ( Inter - Allied ) Commando . Other new arrivals were the Lee - Enfield No . 4 rifle , which replaced the old SMLE rifles and the Vickers K machine gun , issued two per troop to provide fire support . To learn the characteristics of these new weapons , the commandos spent days on the rifle ranges learning how to handle them . Normandy . Brigadier Lord Lovat , in command of the 1st Special Service Brigade , issued orders for the brigade ' s forthcoming role in the landings . " The Intention " . The 6th Airborne Division and 1st Special Service Brigade would be responsible for holding the left flank of the Allied bridgehead of the invasion of Normandy . " The method " . The Commando Brigade , consisting of No . s 3 , 4 and 6 Army Commandos and No . 45 ( Royal Marine ) Commando , to land on the extreme flank of the Allied Forces on Queen beach ( Sword ) and cut inland to join forces with two brigades dropped inland by glider and parachute . No . 4 Commando to destroy a battery and the garrison in Ouistreham and then rejoin the Brigade . The rest of the Brigade , landing 30 minutes after No . 4 , to fight through enemy defences to reach and reinforce Brigades of the 6th Airborne Division , meeting astride the bridges spanning the River Orne and the Caen Canal . Glider Regiments of the Airlanding Brigade would arrive later the same evening descending in country cleared of the enemy . On 25 May 1944 , No . 4 Commando arrived in Southampton . They occupied a large marshalling area with tight security . Orders detailed their role in the invasion . " The two French troops would attack and destroy a strong point that dominated the beaches known as the Casino , followed by the five British fighting troops , supported by the heavy weapons troop , who were to push on further into the town to destroy a coastal battery . " The German defenders in the area came from the 1st Battalion , 736th Infantry Regiment part of the 716th Infantry Division . They were responsible for the Casino strong point with its and guns , the coastal battery with its six guns and ten machine guns posts , stretching from the Orn9e canal along the seafront to " Queen " beach at La Breche , where the commando would be landing . The six British troops on board the Infantry Landing Ships , HMS " Princess Astrid " and HMS " Maid of Orleans " and the two French troops on LCIs 523 and 527 left the Solent on 5 June 1944 . When out at sea they were informed that the invasion was going to be in Normandy and more specifically Ouistreham . For the landing each man carried a rucksack weighing containing extra ammunition , for the Brens , mortar s , Vickers K guns and PIAT s . This was on top of their own personal weapon and ammunition . Unusually each man chose whether to would wear a steel helmet or the Commando green beret . No . 4 Commando were in the second wave and landed behind the initial assault battalion , from the East Yorkshire Regiment , part of the 3rd Infantry Division . Captain Porteous described how their dead and wounded were " just swilling around in the water . " Captain McDougal later wrote , " as we were coming ashore the assault troops were committing suicide by trying to dig in on the beach . In passing I kicked the nearest man telling him to keep going . The man was dead . So was the man next to him and a third was seriously wounded by machine gun fire . " The Commandos followed their drills and cleared the beach as quickly as possible . Once clear they headed for their assembly area , which was also the commando medical post . Leaving their rucksacks behind , they set off along the Lion sur Mer road towards their objectives . Lieutenant Colonel Dawson had decided that the two French troops should take the lead into Ouistreham , followed by the six British troops . The French were unopposed apart from some mortar rounds and machine gun fire as they neared their objective . No . 8 French Troop occupied houses at the front and sides of the Casino strong point . An assault to capture the Casino was driven back . While this was going on the other French troop , No . 1 , approached the Casino from the rear . Taking up firing positions they too started to engage the strong point but their fire had almost no effect . The French commander Capitaine de frégate Philippe Kieffer was just about to order an all out assault by both troops , when reports that British amphibious tanks were in Ouistreham reached him . Sending a guide to bring one forward , the tank arrived in front of the Casino and proceeded to destroy the German gun emplacements . Within 30 minutes of the tanks ' arrival , all the strong point guns were silenced and No . 1 Troop had assaulted and captured the objective . With its capture the French Commandos were now in control of the western suburbs of Ouistreham . The rest of No . 4 Commando was moving along the Lion sur Mer road towards their objective the gun battery . The battery was located at the extreme left of the landing beaches . The Orne canal formed its northern boundary and the Casino strong point was to the south . It was surrounded by barbed wire and had three machine gun posts . Two of the posts faced where the canal joined the sea and the third faced up the canal towards the port . To the west of the battery were the houses of the town and the port area of Ouistreham . The order of march was : C Troop to deal with any opposition on route , D Troop who were to force an entrance into the battery , A Troop to provide covering fire for the assaulting troops . In the assault E Troop would take the left hand guns , and F Troop the right . Bringing up the rear was the headquarters and the heavy weapons troop . The heavy weapons troop set up a fire base to support both the French and British attacks if needed . Progress along the road was rapid with only intermittent artillery fire slowing them down . As they advanced , a tank from the 13th / 18th Royal Hussars joined them , just in time to engage German snipers who had started shooting at E and F Troops . As C Troop reached the forming up point for the assault it met heavy machine gun fire from the gun battery . A Troop bypassed them to occupy houses to cover the assault . The next to arrive was D Troop , which had a special ladder to cross the anti - tank ditch around the battery . Realising that the man carrying the ladder had been killed crossing the beach and the ladder left behind , they looked for another way to cross . They discovered wooden planks bridging the gap that the defenders used to access the town . D Troop crossed and captured the machine gun posts around the battery . With the machine guns taken , E and F Troops began their assault . The attack was successful but they discovered the guns were only wooden dummies made from telegraph poles . The real guns had been removed three days previously and positioned further inland . Having captured its objectives , No . 4 Commando reformed and set out to join the rest of the brigade , about away . Lieutenant Colonel Dawson was wounded during the fighting and Major Menday temporarily took command . The march inland to the Orne bridges was uneventful and upon arrival No . 4 Commando dug in on a ridge of high ground to the east of the River Orne towards Sallenelles . Their new position was towards Sallenelles beside the Hauger château . Not long after they arrived and started digging in , the gliders of the 6th Airlanding Brigade began landing to their rear . Orne bridgehead . Expecting a Germans counterattack , protective trenches were completed by nightfall . The first night 6 / 7 June was uneventful and " stand to " was 04 : 30 , but there were still no signs of a German attack . During the day there was some sniping in the morning and in the afternoon E and F Troop were subjected to a mortar barrage . By now the trenches were complete with overhead protection and arranged to give an all - round defence . In the French troops ' area some activity was observed and Menday , still in command , suspected an attack from the direction of Sallenelles . Nothing come of that but in the evening of 7 June , some dive bombers strafed the brigade position . By the end of the second day there was still no signs of the expected German ground attack . That night was also uneventful but just after stand to on 8 June , German infantry were observed advancing through the woods to their front . Holding fire until the last minute , the Germans were beaten back but A Troop found themselves surrounded on three sides and forced to withdraw . That night the Germans attacked again , this time targeting C Troop , but were again driven back . Shortly thereafter a group from No . 45 ( Royal Marine ) Commando arrived and reported that the Germans had broken through and were on the road behind No . 4 Commando . Captain Porteous and D Troop moved down the road to deal with them . Outnumbered two to one D Troop charged , killing some and forcing the rest to withdraw . The next morning 10 June , from 09 : 30 to 10 ; 00 the No . 4 Commandos position was subjected to heavy artillery and mortar bombardment . For the two hours before this , No . 6 Commando was heavily bombed , which was followed up by a ground assault that lasted until midday . Suspecting an attack on their own position No . 4 Commando stood to . The attack did not materialise until 17 : 00 , when massed German infantry were observed forming up in front of F Troop . At the same time an artillery Forward Observation Officer arrived from brigade , he contacted the 25 pounder guns attached to the 6th Airborne Division and requested 12 rounds of rapid fire . The rounds landed on target and another 12 were called for , breaking the German attack . The British artillery was not alone — since digging in , the Commandos had been on the receiving end of artillery and mortars which was steadily taking its toll in casualties . E Troop for example were now under the command of a section sergeant and had only 20 men left from a complement of 65 . Elsewhere the Germans were attacking A , C and the French troops . C Troop had ambushed the Germans , moving forward to attack and then fought off a second attack . The attack on the French position was supported by a tank , which they only managed to knock out with a PIAT after it had got behind them . In both these attacks the commandos were involved in hand - to - hand combat to keep the Germans from overrunning their positions . From 11 June the German pressure on the commando line lessened . They were still subject to artillery and mortar fire but there were no more infantry attempts to dislodge them . In the days since landing No . 4 Commando had taken 50 percent casualties . Before the landings 1st Special Service brigade had been informed they would be withdrawn in a few days , after the Allies had broken out from the beachhead . Problems capturing Caen meant the commandos and airborne division had to remain to secure the left flank along the line of the Orne . They did not get relieved for 82 days , during which they not only held the left flank but on 18 August started their own break out . With No . 4 Commando leading the first village liberated was Bavent followed by Beaumont en Auge . Breuzville was entered over the night of 25 / 26 August and Boulleville the following day . Here they remained until 6 September when the brigade was withdrawn and sent back to Britain , for 14 days leave . Walcheren . On their return from leave , No , 4 Commando had been made back up to full strength with casualty replacements . The commando were informed they would be joining the 4th Special Service Brigade to replace No . 46 ( Royal Marine ) Commando . Arriving in Belgium they discovered that the brigade was already well into training for Operation Infatuate . This was an assault landing on the island of Walcheren to open the sea route into Antwerp . The city had already been liberated but the northern bank of the Scheldt was still in German hands , enabling them to sink shipping trying to use the port . The First Canadian Army would attack across the causeway from the east . In support of them 4th Special Service Brigade would carry out an assault from the sea . The majority of the brigade would land at Westkapelle , No . 4 Commandos objective was further south at Flushing , with the 155th ( South Scottish ) Brigade landing behind them . In preparation for the landing orders were issued to ensure everyone was fit and to concentrate on weapons firing and street fighting . The two French troops were still under command and just for this operation No . 4 Commando took command of a section from the Dutch Troop , No . 10 ( Inter - Allied ) Commando , and groups from the Special Boat Section ( SBS ) , Royal Engineers and the Royal Artillery to call for artillery fire support . For some reason the old method of calling troops by letters of the alphabet was dropped and the troops were now numbered . The No . 1 to No . 4 Troops were British and No . s 5 and 6 French . The heavy weapons troop was No . 4 Troop . The final plan for the assault was for the SBS and a section from No . 1 Troop , to go first and reconnoitre a suitable landing point . Following them , the rest of No . 1 , No . 2 Troop and commando headquarters would secure the beachhead . They would then be joined by the remaining troops , passing through the beachhead and into the town . No . 1 Troop would secure the left flank and No . 2 Troop the right . The operation to liberate the island started at 04 : 45 1 November 1944 , when No . 4 Commando left Breskens by LCAs for their objective the town of Flushing . On their way in and 60 minutes before they were expected to land a heavy artillery bombardment started . By 05 : 45 the SBS group landed beside the Oranje Molen windmill . They cleared the mines , other obstacles and dealt with the German guards without firing a shot . Then they marked the landing spot for the rest of the commando , No . 1 and No . 2 Troops were the next to land . They extended the beachhead and captured machine gun posts and heavy gun emplacements . Another weapon captured was a anti - aircraft gun which supported the other troops when they moved into the town . The final wave landed at 06 : 30 , but had to contend with heavy and accurate fire . One LCA carrying the heavy weapons troop was sunk containing most of their weapons and equipment . Once on the island No . 3 and No . 5 Troop moved into the town held by the large numbers of Germans defending the area . No . 6 Troop captured the post office and 50 prisoners . In the afternoon No . 1 Troop was released to support No . 3 and together they advanced again before nightfall . No . 4 Commando had by then secured most of the old town and their flanks were secure . The advance continued the next day . No . 5 Troop , unable to use the streets , advanced by mouse - holing , blowing holes in house walls , with ready - made charges every man carried . No . 6 Troop had dug in and controlled the area between the old and new towns , which allowed the 155th ( South Scottish ) Brigade which was following up to bypass them . By that afternoon No . 4 Commando controlled the town . On 3 November the commandos gave control of Flushing to the 52nd ( Lowland ) Infantry Division and prepared to move by sea to support the rest of the brigade at Westkapelle . Before they could disembark , weather conditions deteriorated and they were forced to march around the coast to reach brigade headquarters at Zoutelande . Lack of supplies curtailed their involvement in the battle for the next two days . Supplies eventually caught up with them and on 6 November they prepared to continue . By now intelligence from Dutch residents and prisoners had revealed that the remaining Germans were holed up in the wooded area between Domburg and Vrouwenpolder . At 04 : 45 , 7 November No . 4 Commando were ready to start their assault , with No . 3 Troop on the left , the two French troops in the middle and No . 2 Troop on the right . The commandos moved forward , winning a number of small skirmishes , when at 08 : 15 three German officers appeared and offered the surrender of all the remaining German forces in the area . Lieutenant Colonel Dawson met with the German commander and a formal surrender was agreed and 900 prisoners were taken . Other Germans surrendered to some of the Royal Marine commandos at the same time . In the whole operation No . 4 Commando had suffered 13 dead , 21 wounded versus about 200 German dead and the capture of 1 , 200 prisoners and large amounts of weapons and equipment . The total casualties for 4th Special Service Brigade were 103 dead , 68 missing and 325 wounded . Disbandment . No . 4 Commando remained at Walcheren until 14 November 1944 , then moved to Den Haag - cannot be right , Den Haag was under German occupation until the end of the war in Europe - to rest and re - equip . They then moved to Blankenberge in Belgium where reinforcements arrived to bring them back up to full strength . They returned to Walcheren to defend the northern coastal areas . Of particular concern was the island of Schouwen - Duiveland , with an estimated garrison of 5 , 000 men and artillery . The objective was " to prevent enemy infiltration and sabotage " . Lieutenant Colonel Dawson allocated stretches of the coast to each troop and taking the offensive to the enemy , started a programme of raids on Schouwen - Duiveland . At this stage of the war these raids were generally successful . Most patrols brought back prisoners and inflicted casualties on the German defenders . One raid was supposed to meet a party from the Dutch resistance that landed without being discovered , but was then disturbed by a German patrol who first fled rather than putting up any resistance . The commandos later learned that this Dutch resistance group had been captured by the German patrol and all its members were hanged the next morning . In March 1945 , No . 4 Commando was relieved by No . 47 ( Royal Marine ) Commando and moved to Middleburg and stayed at Bergen - Op - Zoom by April . While responsible for the security of the immediate area , they conducted small raids from the sea against Zuid Holland . Germany surrendered on 8 May 1945 . On the No . 4 Commando front the two French troops crossed the channel to Schouwen and Lieutenant Colonel Dawson accepted the unconditional surrender of all German forces in the region . Within days of the surrender No . 4 Commando moved to Recklinghausen in Germany as part of the occupation forces . In Recklinghausen part of their duties were to provide the guard force for a civilian internment camp . The camp housed several thousand Nazi civilians who were not prisoners of war . Inmates included those with no identification and those known to have served in concentration camps . The two French troops returned to French control and were demobilised . Other men were posted to No . s 3 and 6 Commandos in Britain , who were preparing for a move to the Far East to continue the fight in the Burma campaign . By June 1945 the strength of No . 4 Commando had been reduced to 188 all ranks . During a visit in October 1945 , Lieutenant General Robert Sturges informed them that the War Office had decided to disband all army commandos . Those not due to be demobilised would be returned to their parent regiment or corps . No . 4 Commando was formally disbanded in January 1946 . Battle honours . In the British Army battle honours are awarded to regiments that have seen active service in a significant engagement or campaign , generally ( although not always ) one with a victorious outcome . The following battle honours were awarded to the British Commandos for service in the Second World War ( * * indicates where No . 4 Commando were present ) .