3 Commando Brigade
3 Commando Brigade is the main manoeuvre force of the British Royal Marines.
3 Commando Brigade can trace its origins back to
World War II, when it was formed as the 3rd Special Service Brigade. The Commandos were formed as forces to performs raids on occupied
Europe. Many of these raids were relatively small affairs, but some were very large, such as the 1942
Dieppe Raid, and the
attack on St Nazaire to cripple the
dry dock there.
At the end of the war, the
British Army ceased using troops in the commando role, and the Royal Marines took over the task completely. 3 Commando Brigade was at the forefront of many actions over the next 25 years, acting as a strategic reserve for the Far East and
Mediterranean areas. Its most high profile operation during this time was the
Suez Crisis, when it took part in the
amphibious assault against
Egyptian targets. During
Operation Musketeer, units of the Brigade made the first
helicopter borne assault in history.
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.
Its next large operation was in
1982.
Argentina invaded the
Falkland Islands, and 3 Commando Brigade was one of the two main British land formations that took part in operations to recapture the
islands. The Brigade landed at
San Carlos Inlet and marched across
East Falkand to
Stanley. Argentine units were defeated in several sharp engagements, and their forces surrendered on 14 June. In the aftermath of the
Gulf War, the Brigade was deployed on a non-
combat task in northern
Iraq. The
Kurds had suffered immensely during the war and its immediate aftermath, and the Brigade was used due to its rapid deployment ability. It provided succour to the Kurds and saved many from starvation.
Recently, the brigade has been involved in two major campaigns, including
Operation Veritas in
Afghanistan,
2002 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. Both operations were successful, and demonstrated the brigade is still ready to perform its traditional role as one of the United Kingdom's elite fighting forces.
Currently, the Brigade consists primarily of three
battalion-sized Commando units:
*40 Commando Royal Marines
*42 Commando Royal Marines
*45 Commando Royal Marines
In addition the brigade has several supporting units, its own logistics regiment, an artillery regiment, an engineer squadron, a helicopter squadron, a raiding squadron equipped with small boats, and a landing craft squadron. In addition, elements of the Special Boat Service are usually deployed with the Brigade, when operational.
*539 Assault Squadron, Royal Marines
*Commando Logistic Regiment, Royal Marines
*29 Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery
*59 Independent Commando Squadron, Royal Engineers
*131 Independent Commando Squadron, Royal Engineers
In addition, the 1st Marine Battalion of the Korps Mariniers is assigned to 3 Commando Brigade on deployments of the United Kingdom/Netherlands Landing Force (UK/NL LF).
As part of the re-organisation of the armed forces announced in 2004, it was decided that the engineering support for 3 Commando Brigade would be increased to a full regiment, with the formation of 24 (Commando) Engineer Regiment, bringing it in line with the other deployable brigades of the British Army.
*
British Commandos*
British military history*
Ski warfare*
Military of the United Kingdom*
Royal Marines
