June 1940 - Forming of the Commandos

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 05/01/2010 02:30:40

Following Sir Winston Churchill's instruction to form a "butcher and bolt" raiding force as a means of continuing the war against Nazi Germany after the evacuation of most of the British Expeditionary Force at Dunkirk, a format for the new force was put forward by Lieutenant-Colonel Dudley Clarke (Royal Artillery) during his time as Military Assistant to General Sir John Dill, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff. He penned his proposals on 5 June 1940, just two days after the evacuation, which was approved at a meeting between Dill and Churchill on 8 June, and department M.O.9 of the War Office was created the following day to pursue the idea. M.O.9 continued to foster the Commando idea until disbanded with the creation of the Tri-service organisation known as Combined Operations, encompassing all three services. On Churchill's orders the units were to be armed with the latest equipment and were to launch an attack at the earliest opportunity.