Operation Hardtack (Command Company)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Operation Hardtack was the code name for a series of British commando attacks carried out on the Channel Islands , the Dutch coast and the north coast of France during World War II . The operations were carried out by ( inter-allied ) Commandos No. 10 and No. 12 as well as the Special Boat Service and French Commandos.

Overview of the operations

Alias date unit Target object Objective Results
Hardtack 4 26./27. December 1943 Command No. 12
Command No. 8 (French troops), Command No. 10 		Biville , now part of Criel-sur-Mer Education and bringing in of prisoners of war The commandos who had landed were forced to withdraw again because they had encountered a German patrol and thus ran the risk of being discovered. Two soldiers had climbed the cliffs and came across a group of about 15 German soldiers on patrol. The leader, Cpl Douglas Nash, received the military medal for covering the retreat.
Hardtack 5 26./27. December 1943 (Mixed Allied) Command No. 10 Onival Education and bringing in of prisoners of war A commando soldier was wounded by an anti-personnel mine on landing. The rest of the commando group spent four and a half hours on land, but saw no Germans, only unoccupied pockets of resistance.
Hardtack 7 25./26. & 27./28. December 1943 Command No. 12
Command No. 8 (French troops), Command No. 10 		Sark Enlightenment and bring in prisoners of war At the first attempt, the commandos had to return to England because they could not climb the cliffs at the designated points. The second attempt was stopped when the commandos got into a minefield. When some S-mines were triggered , two soldiers of the commando were killed and one soldier was wounded.
Hardtack 11 24./25. & 26./27. December 1943 Command No. 1 & Command No. 8 (French troops), Command No. 10 Gravelines Clarification of the beach and dune conditions in the landing section The command could be landed. On landing, however, a small transport boat ( Dory ) ran full of water and ran aground . A soldier drowned. The rest of the soldiers tried to withdraw to avoid capture. One probably drowned.
Hardtack 13 26./27. December 1943 Command No. 1 (French troops), Command No. 10
SBS 		Bénouville-Etretat, Seine-Maritime
Hardtack 21 26./27. December 1943 Command No. 1 (French troops), Command No. 10 Quineville Education and bringing in of prisoners of war The operation was able to gather information about the defensive obstacles in the Utah Beach area (later the D-Day landing section).
Hardtack 22 January 1944 (canceled) Command No. 10, later 2nd US Ranger Battalion Herm Education and bringing in of prisoners of war The command operation was canceled in the planning phase.
Hardtack 23 27./28. December 1943 Command No. 1 (French troops), Command No. 10 East End Education and bringing in of prisoners of war The operation was canceled after a motorized torpedo boat intended for transport ran aground.
Hardtack 28 25./26. December 1943 Command No. 8 (French troops), Command No. 10,
Command No. 12 		jersey Obtaining information about barbed wire obstacles (loot sample parts for investigation) and bringing in prisoners of war The eight-man team landed safely at Petit Port and climbed the cliffs, but could not track down any German soldiers. On the return of the command to the beach, Captain Ayton stepped on a mine and was badly wounded. He was able to be returned to England but later succumbed to his injuries.
Hard tack 36 24./25. December 1943 Command No. 8 (French troops), Command No. 10 Wassenaar Education and bringing in of prisoners of war All commandos involved were discovered and killed by German soldiers immediately after landing.

literature

  • Charles Cruickshank: The German Occupation of the Channel Islands. The Guernsey Press Co. Ltd., 1975, ISBN 0-902550-02-0 .
  • Charles Messenger: The Commandos: 1940-1946. Kimber, London, 1985. ISBN 0718305531 .
  • Duncan Anderson: The Fall of the Reich: D-Day to the Fall of Berlin. Zenith Press, 2000. ISBN 0760309221 .
  • Nick van der Bijl: No. 10 Inter-Allied Commando 1942–45. Osprey Publishing, 2006. ISBN 1-84176-999-1 .