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3rd Special Service Brigade
3rd Commando Brigade
3 Commando Brigade
RoyalMarineBadge
Cap Badge of the Royal Marines
Active 14 February 1942–present
Country Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom
Branch RoyalMarineBadge Royal Marines
Type Marines
Commando
Light infantry
Role Commando/Amphibious Landing Force
Size 8 battalions
Garrison/HQ HQ - Stonehouse Barracks, Plymouth
March Quick - Sarie Marais
Engagements

Second World War

Operation Musketeer
Falklands War
Iraq War

War in Afghanistan
Commanders
Brigade Commander Brigadier
Insignia
3 Commando Brigade Formation Badge The dagger insignia of 3 Commando Brigade is worn on the left shoulder of combat uniforms by all personnel attached to the Brigade

3 Commando Brigade (3 Cdo Bde), previously called the 3rd Special Service Brigade, is a commando formation of the British Armed Forces.[1] It is composed of the Royal Marine Commandos, alongside commando qualified sailors, soldiers and airmen from the British Army and Royal Navy.

The brigade was formed on 14 February 1942, during the Second World War, with a mixture of Army Commando and Royal Marine Commando units, and was deployed to the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II to conduct operations against the invading forces of Imperial Japan, such as the Burma Campaign.[1] After the Second World War, the Army Commandos were disbanded and the brigade became a Royal Marine formation. Recently, 3 Commando Brigade has again become a mixed formation with the addition of commando qualified soldiers from the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers to provide support for the Royal Marine Commandos. Since the end of the Second World War, it has been involved in a number of engagements such as the Suez Crisis, Falklands War, Gulf War and the War in Afghanistan.

History[]

The 3rd Special Service Brigade was formed in 1943 and sailed for the Far East and saw action against the Japanese in the Burma Campaign.[2] On 6 December 1944, the brigade was renamed 3rd Commando Brigade, removing the hated title Special Service and its association with the German SS.[3] In January 1945, the brigade was involved in the battles to secure the Myebon peninsula and Kangaw.[2]

The brigade was then withdrawn to India to prepare for the amphibious assault on Malaya, but the dropping of the atom bombs on Japan ended the war before the planned invasion.[2] Instead, the brigade moved to Hong Kong to secure the Crown Colony.[2]

In 1946, the Army Commandos in the brigade were disbanded and the brigade became a Royal Marine Commando formation.[2]

Formation in the Second World War[]

The brigade was composed as follows:[4][5]

Post Second World War[]

3 Commando Brigade's most high-profile operation after the war was the Suez Crisis, when it took part in the amphibious assault against Egyptian targets. During Operation Musketeer, units of the brigade made a helicopter-borne assault.[6]

1971 saw the withdrawal of British forces from the Far East and Persian Gulf. The brigade returned to the UK with other British units. It moved to Stonehouse Barracks in Plymouth, where it remains to this day.[7] The brigade was deployed to Northern Ireland as part of Operation Banner as violence escalated during the Troubles in July 1972.[8]

Operation Corporate[]

The brigade's next large operation was in 1982. Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, and 3 Commando Brigade, reinforced by 2 Para and 3 Para, was one of the two main British land formations that took part in operations to recapture the islands. The brigade landed at San Carlos Water and marched across East Falkland to Stanley. Argentine units were defeated in several sharp engagements, and their forces surrendered on 14 June.[9]

Gulf War[]

In the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War, the brigade was deployed on a non-combat task in northern Iraq. The Iraqi Kurds had suffered immensely during the war and in its immediate aftermath, and the brigade was used due to its rapid deployment ability. It provided humanitarian aid to the Kurds and saved many from starvation.[10]

21st century[]

RM Jackal Vehicle in Afghanistan MOD 45150600

A Jackal armoured vehicle of 3 Commando Brigade, Royal Marines on patrol during Operation Fibonacci near Kuh-e Baba and Shin Ghar, Helmand, Afghanistan

Recently, the brigade has been involved in two major campaigns, including Operation Veritas in Afghanistan, 2001 and 2002, and Operation Telic during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In Afghanistan, no contact was made with enemy forces, despite contrary predictions. Iraq, however, saw heavy fighting occur in the early stages of the campaign, as the brigade made its first amphibious assault in over 20 years by landing on the Al-Faw peninsula in south east Iraq.[11] In 2006, the brigade returned to Afghanistan on Operation Herrick, replacing 16 Air Assault Brigade, where intense fighting occurred.[12] From 2008 to 2012 1st Battalion, The Rifles was one of the attached army units in 3 Commando Brigade.

Organisation[]

The brigade contains Royal Marines, Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force personnel. The subordinate units are:[13]

Commanders[]

Commanders have included:[14]

Battle honours[]

The following Battle honours were awarded to the British Commandos during the Second World War.[17][18]

See also[]

References[]

Citations[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 "42 Commando | Royal Marines". https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/our-organisation/the-fighting-arms/royal-marines/commando-brigade/42-commando. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Chappell 1996, p. 31.
  3. Moreman 2008, p. 32.
  4. "burmastar". http://www.burmastar.org.uk/commando.htm. 
  5. Chappell 1996, p. 28.
  6. "1956: Allied Forces take control of Suez". BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/6/newsid_3115000/3115888.stm. Retrieved 4 April 2016. 
  7. "3 Commando Brigade". British Army units 1945 on. http://british-army-units1945on.co.uk/royal-marines/3-commando-brigade.html. Retrieved 4 April 2016. 
  8. Van der Bijl 2009, p. 68
  9. "3 Commando Brigade". Naval History.net. http://www.naval-history.net/F23-Falklands-3_Commando_Brigade.htm. Retrieved 4 April 2016. 
  10. "1991: UK forces withdraw from Kurdish haven". BBC News. 14 July 1991. http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/14/newsid_2503000/2503447.stm. Retrieved 10 October 2008. 
  11. "Marines spearhead the invasion with lightning attack". The Telegraph. 21 March 2003. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1425244/Marines-spearhead-the-invasion-with-lightning-attack.html. Retrieved 4 April 2016. 
  12. "Commandos ready to face the Taliban". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2006/07/27/royal_marines_afghanistan_feature.shtml. Retrieved 4 April 2016. 
  13. "3 Commando Brigade". Royal Navy. http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/our-organisation/the-fighting-arms/royal-marines#3-commando-brigade. Retrieved 4 April 2016. 
  14. Royal Navy Senior Appointments Archived 11 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine.
  15. "3 Commando Brigade change over". January/February Edition. 14 February 2019. https://theroyalmarinescharity.org.uk/globe-laurel. 
  16. "Confirmed Online Panelists - 1 December". 11 October 2020. https://www.defenceiq.com/events-future-amphibious-force-online/speakers. "Brigadier Rich Cantrill Commander 3 Commando Brigade" 
  17. Moreman, p.94
  18. "Commando Forces at regiments.org by T.F.Mills". Archived from the original on 7 November 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20071107113013/http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/specfor/commando.htm. Retrieved 2015-07-14. 

Sources[]

External links[]

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