A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines.
Etymology
The term commando derives from the Latin word commendare ("to recommend") via the Dutch word kommando, which translates as "a command or order" and or roughly to "mobile infantry unit". Kommando in turn originated from the Portuguese word comando, which was used in Portuguese India to refer to an early type of special forces. Kommando was adopted into Afrikaans from Boer interactions with the Portuguese in neighboring African colonies. In Southern Africa, the term originally referred to units of locally raised mounted infantry which fought during the Xhosa Wars, Anglo-Zulu War and the First and Second Boer Wars.Encyclopædia Britannica (14th ed.), Vol. 6, p. 106 The British were exposed to the concept during the 19th and 20th centuries, in particular during the Boer Wars. During World War II, the British military established the Commandos, a special forces formation that conducted raids against German-occupied Europe. Wehrmacht special forces units were also referred to as "kommandos". Some historians have argued the term is a High German loan word originating from German colonists who settled in the Dutch Cape Colony.
The Oxford English Dictionary ties the English use of the word meaning "[a] member of a body of picked men ..." directly into its Afrikaans origins: During World War II, newspaper reports of the deeds of "the commandos" only in the plural led to readers thinking that the singular meant one man rather than one military unit, and this new usage became established.
Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as opposed to an individual in that unit, although the term today can be used in both senses and also to refer to guerrilla warfare carried out by small units. In English, to distinguish between an individual commando and a commando unit, the unit is occasionally capitalized. In China, the term does not necessarily refer to a military unit as country's People's Armed Police also has commando units such as the Snow Leopards and Falcons.
The term "para-commando" may be used to combine the roles of paratrooper and commando.
Selection
Due to the special mental and physiological requirements imposed on applicants, there are restrictions on entry into "commando" units. Applicants have to fulfill special requirements. Selecting applicants with the highest motivation, modern special forces run special selection processes.
Historically, there is evidence of selection for the Otdelnly Gwardieskij Batalion Minerow, predecessors of the modern Russian spetsnaz. Soldiers had to be younger than 30 years, were mostly athletes or hunters, and had to show the highest motivation. During training and selection, some participants died since they were exhausted and left to their own devices.
The German Kommando Spezialkräfte (KSK) demands high levels of physical resilience, teamwork, willingness to learn, mental resilience, willpower, sense of responsibility, flexibility, secrecy, and adaptability from its applicants. These skills are proven during the assessment.
The fitness test of the U.S. Navy SEALs tests swimming speed over 500 yards, number of push-ups and sit-ups within 2 minutes, pull-ups, and running 1.5 miles.
Long Range Desert Group hired its personnel after a lengthy interrogation. First, SAS members had to complete a 50km march, and the Royal Marine commandos tested their applicants' motivation during an obstacle course that included real explosives and machine-gun fire near Achnacarry in Scotland. The French Foreign Legion assesses their applicants through medical, intelligence, logic, and fitness tests as well as interrogations, small drills, and solving small tasks.
Commando soldiers are supposed to think independently. This is unusual in the context of most military training, but is necessary for work in small groups and avoiding enemies' reconnaissance.
Boer name origin and adoption by Britain
After the Dutch Cape Colony was established in 1652, the word was used to describe militia bands. The first "Commando Law" was instated by the original Dutch East India Company chartered settlements, and similar laws were maintained through the independent Boer Orange Free State and South African Republic. The law compelled burghers to equip themselves with horses and firearms when required in defense. The implementation of these laws was called the "Commando System". A group of mounted militiamen was organized in a unit known as a commando and headed by a commandant, who was normally elected from inside the unit. Men called up to serve were said to be "on commando"."On Commando", Dietlof Van Warmelo, Methuen, 1902 British experience with this system led to the widespread adoption of the word "commandeer" into English in the 1880s.
During the Great Trek, conflicts with Southern African peoples such as the Xhosa and the Zulu caused the Boers to retain the commando system despite being free of colonial laws. Also, the word came to be used to describe any armed raid. During this period, the Boers also developed guerrilla techniques for use against numerically superior but less mobile native bands, such as the Zulu, who fought in large, complex formations.
In the First Boer War, Boer commandos utilised superior marksmanship, fieldcraft, camouflage, and mobility to great effect against British forces, who wore conspicuous red uniforms and were poorly trained in marksmanship. These tactics continued to be used during the Second Boer War. In the final phase of the war, 25,000 Boer commandos engaged in asymmetric warfare against British Imperial forces numbering 450,000 strong for two years after the British had captured the capitals of the two Boer republics. During these conflicts, the word entered the English language, retaining its general Afrikaans meaning of a "militia unit" or a "raid". Robert Baden-Powell recognised the importance of fieldcraft and was inspired to form the scouting movement.
In 1941, Lieutenant-Colonel D. W. Clarke of the British Imperial General Staff, suggested the name commando for specialized raiding units of the British Army Special Service in evocation of the effectiveness and tactics of the Boer commandos. During World War II, American and British publications, confused over the use of the plural "commandos" for that type of British military units, gave rise to the modern common habit of using "a commando" to mean one member of such a unit, or one man engaged on a raiding-type operation.
Green berets and training Since the 20th century and World War II in particular, commandos have been set apart from other military units by virtue of their extreme training regimes; these are usually associated with the awarding of green berets which originated with British Commandos. The British Commandos were instrumental in founding many other international commando units during World War II. Some international commando units were formed from members who served as part of or alongside British Commandos, such as the Dutch Korps Commandotroepen (who still wear the recognition flash insignia of the British Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife), the Belgian 5th Special Air Service, or Greek Sacred Band. In 1944, the SAS Brigade was formed from the British 1st and 2nd SAS, the French 3rd and 4th SAS, and the Belgian 5th SAS. The French Army special forces (1er RPIMa) still use the motto Qui Ose Gagne, a translation of the SAS motto "Who Dares Wins".
In addition, many Commonwealth nations were part of the original British Commando units. They developed their own national traditions, including the Australian Special Air Service Regiment, the New Zealand Special Air Service, and the Rhodesian Special Air Service, all of which share (or used to) the same insignia and motto as their British counterparts. During the Second World War, the British SAS quickly adopted sand-coloured berets, since they were based almost entirely in the North African theatre; they used these rather than green berets to distinguish themselves from other British Commando units. (See History of the Special Air Service). Other Commonwealth commando units were formed after the Second World War, directly based on the British Commando units, such as the Australian Army Reserve 1st Commando Regiment (Australia), distinct from the Regular Army 2nd Commando Regiment (Australia), which originated from the 4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment in 1997.
The US Rangers were founded by Major General Lucian Truscott of the US Army, a liaison officer with the British General Staff. In 1942, he submitted a proposal to General George Marshall to establish an American unit "along the lines of the British Commandos". The original US Rangers trained at the British Commandos centre at Achnacarry Castle. The US Navy SEALs' original formation, the Observer Group, was also trained and influenced by British Commandos. The US Special Forces originated with the First Special Service Force, formed under British Combined Operations. The First Special Service Force was a joint American-Canadian unit, and modern Canadian special operations forces also trace their lineage to this unit and, through it, to British Commandos, despite having existed in their modern incarnation only since 2006.
Malaysian green beret special forces PASKAL and Grup Gerak Khas (who still wear the Blue Lanyard of the Royal Marines) were originally trained by British Commandos. The Portuguese Marine Corps Fuzileiros were originally trained by British Commandos in 1961. Other British units, such as the SAS, led to the development of many international special operations units that are now typically referred to as commandos, including the Bangladeshi Para-Commando Brigade, Pakistani Special Services Group, the Indian MARCOS, Jordanian Special Operation Forces and Philippine National Police Special Action Force.
A Dutch study found that a sample of Dutch male special forces operators was more emotionally stable and conscientious, but also more closed-minded than matched civilian controls and other types of soldiers.
World War I
Austro-Hungarian assault units
During the winter of 1914–1915, large parts of the Eastern Front switched to trench warfare. To cope with the new situation, many Austro-Hungarian regiments spontaneously formed infantry squads called Jagdkommandos. These squads were named after the specially trained forces of the Russian army formed in 1886, which were used to protect against ambushes, conduct reconnaissance, and engage in low-intensity fighting in no-man's-land.
The Austro-Hungarian High Army command (Armeeoberkommando, AOK) realized the need for special forces and decided to draw on German experience. Starting in September–October 1916, about 120 officers and 300 NCOs were trained at the German training area in Beuville (near the village of Doncourt) to serve as the main cadre of the newly raised Austro-Hungarian army assault battalions. The former Jagdkommandos were incorporated into these battalions.
Italy
The first country to establish commando troops was Italy, in the summer of 1917, shortly before Germany.