THE DEVILS BRIGADE - Research Paper Example

?UNITED S ARMY AVIATION CENTER OF EXCELLENCE (USAACE) Fort Rucker, Alabama 36362-5092 (NOVEMBER AWOAC HISTORICAL CASE STUDY THE DEVIL’S BRIGADE (Rank First Last) ADMINSTRATIVE DATA TITLE: The Devil’s Brigade WRITTEN BY: . (RANK FIRST LAST), AWOAC Class #12-707 REVIEWED BY: . (SGL), AWOAC, A Co. 1-145th Avn Rgt APPROVED BY: . CW4 DANA BREWER, Chief, AWOAC, A Co. 1-145th Avn Rgt A COMPANY, 1ST BATTALION, 145TH AVIATION REGIMENT BUILDING 5419, RAIDER STREET FORT RUCKER, ALABAMA 36362-5092 (NOVEMBER 2013) TABLE OF CONTENTS THE DEVIL’S BRIGADE PAGE INTRODUCTION 1 HISTORY 2 TRAINING 3 DEPLOYMENT 4 EXECUTION 5 AFTER ACTION 6 LESSONS LEARNT 7 NOTES 8 BIBLIOGRAPHY 9 THE DEVIL’S BRIGADE Introduction The United States of America has come a long way in getting to the status it holds today in the world in terms of its military muscle. One of the major milestones in this journey was the establishment of the First Special Service, otherwise called the Devil’s Brigade or the Black Devils’ Brigade. The special unit among the United States forces was formed in the course of the World War II. Initially, the plan was to incorporate Canada and Norway in establishing a special elite force that would help in the activities of the war. However, Norwegian forces withdrew leading to collaboration between the United States Forces and Canada1. The conception of the idea to establish a special elite unit in the Army and the subsequent implementation took place between March and July 1942. This period was characterized by extensive research by a British scientist and extensive analysis by United States commanders. The special unit started their training in Montana at Fort William Henry Harrison before moving to other areas such as Camp Bradford and Fort Ethan Allen in Vermont. The forces lasted for the period between July 1942 and December 1944.1 The unit had three battalions made up of Canadian and American volunteers who engaged in intensive training in skiing, parachuting, amphibian warfare, mountain and demolition operations among other specialized skills. The elite forces were distinct, from their bi-national uniform to their specialized fighting skills. The soldiers engaged with war in Italy and Southern France before their disbandment late 19441. History The historical perspective of the First Special Service dates back in March 1942. The United States forces were allied to the British forces. A British Combined Forces Scientist, Geoffrey Pyke conceived the idea of establishing a special unit that would be capable of among other fighting activities engages enemies under harsh weather conditions in winter. Pyke’s proposed Plough Project involved the creation of traceable vehicles, designed to carry the soldiers and their war paraphernalia across the surface filled with snow. He presented the idea to the chief of the Combined Forces, Lord Louis Mountbatten and the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill both of whom admired the idea. Pyke’s idea was sold to the United States Chief of Staff, General George Marshall due to several constrains by the combined forces and Britain. The Canadian Department of Munitions and supply came up with a vehicle called ‘the penguin’ while United States engaged its automobile manufactures through the National Research council in developing a vehicle that was named ‘Weasel’2. In embracing the idea, the United States decided to collaborate with Canadian and Norwegian Forces in establishing the Unit. Unfortunately, the Norweian forces failed to participate. The recruitment for the soldiers in was done on voluntary basis, advertisements were rolled calling on young people between ages 21 and 35 years with special preference given to the hunters, lumberjacks, rangers, game wardens among others2. Canadian commitment was declared on 26th June, 1942 after which the Minister of National Defence of Canada authorized a battalion of six hundred and ninety seven Canadian soldiers for training in the United States on July 14th, 1942. The project was scheduled to start in Montana under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Howard Johnson but was kicked out for his disagreements with Pyke and Mountbatten and replaced by Colonel Robert T. Frederick who was deputized by a Canadian, Lieutenant Colonel McQueen. The training was done under high-level secrecy, even the soldiers themselves were not aware of where they were when they landed in the training ground in Montana3. Training Both the Canadian and the American trainees converged for the training at Fort William Henry Harrison near Helena, Montana within the United States of America. The team was activated on the 9th of July 1942with three small regiments and a service battalion. The soldiers were unable to tell of their location since they travelled in tinted trains. The total number of soldiers from both countries was about one thousand eight hundred. They had no time to waste, the training commenced almost immediately, two days after their arrival they had started parachuting. The camp was an ideal place for this activity especially because of the extensive fields in Montana. The training was vigorous and quite engaging, no chances were left, and some of the soldiers were injured in the process including the second in command Lieutenant Colonel McQueen who broke his limb. Following the injury, Lieutenant Colonel Don Williamson took over McQueen’s position, McQueen left for Washington for redeployment.4 The schedule was so tight and no time was left unaccounted for. The period between august and October of 1942 was spent exclusively on parachuting, extensive physical training, small units tactics as well as in weaponry and use of demolitions. A routine schedule that started from half past four in the morning was initiated with different activities taking place in the course of the day. Apart from the intensive physical training, the veterans took time especially in the evenings to give the recruits lectures on various topics. They marched for almost one hundred kilometers and took time to study the enemy weapons apart from theirs.5 The period between October and November of 1942 was specifically dedicated to creativity in problem solving while unit tactics were further practiced. The training advanced to incorporate the harsh weather where the soldiers started engaging in skiing, snow maneuvers, adapting to the extremely cold environment, and rock climbing. These were done comprehensively between November of 1942 to July of 1943. In addition to the above activities, the Weasel was put into use, the soldiers were used it in the snow filled conditions in making their military maneuvers. Apart from Montana training grounds the unit further took some training in Virginia as from 15th April 1943and later to two locations in Vermont as from 23rd May 1943. 2 Deployment The training was scheduled to finish in July 1943 upon which the forces were to be deployed to various regions in the Europe ton assist the allies forces especially in the snow-filled regions. The first assignment was in Aleutian Islands where they found no opposition especially from the Japanese forces who had previously taken hold of the territory. The forces had to return and engage in another mission, this happened to be in Europe. There was a serious problem in Norway between the Germans and the Norwegians; the Germans had captured the country and including its major resources. However, the forces were commanded to begin their campaign in Italy around October of 1943, here they demonstrated their prowess. They took two positions around the mountainous areas; one was at Monte La Difensa and the other at Monte La Remetanea. They teamed up with other allied forces in the fight; I took them up to January to be done with the Italy situation. Beginning February 1944 the forces were redeployed to Anzio, this is where they were named by the German’s ‘the devil’s brigade’ because they would camouflage by spreading shoe polish on their faces6. In May they intensified they attacks, spreading to Rocca Massima and later found their way to Rome, a spectacular occurrence. In august the same year, the forces changed their position to France where they engaged in an intensive fight in an operation dubbed ‘Operation Dragon’. They neutralized Germans dominance in the Port Cros islands before moving to the France and Italy border, an assignment that marked their last engagement. The force was later disbanded in December of 19441. Execution The Black Devil’s brigade were men on a mission, so much expectation was laid upon them especially given the magnitude of their training. The assignment in Italy was the catalyst test for their prowess. In November 23rd 1943 the forces engaged the Germans in the Monte la Difensa and the Camimo Hill in an operation dubbed ‘Operation Raincoat’. Following the attack, the Germans planned for a counterattack later in December at Monte Sammucro, when they engaged the First Special Force, the force demonstrated their capability to fight in the rugged mountainous environment despite the Germans ambush and well executed plan. After the operation, came another one, ‘Operation Shingle’ that met the special forces with several casualties from the previous war. However, they received reinforcement and moved to Anzio that was a plain area, this did not hinder the forces to execute their attacks. It is at Anzio that the forces demonstrated their versatility in fighting well under all conditions. They killed so many German soldiers, on their corpses they would inscribe a writing in German, “Das Dicke Ende Komm Noch!” which is interpreted in English, “the worst is yet to come”. This strategy created fear among the German soldiers who were not aware of the special unit. Their number was relatively smaller to that of the German Forces. The period between May 22nd and June 23rd of 1944 welcomed the Operation Buffalo. They aided the allies’ forces in making the Germans retreat despite spreading rumors that the enemies had superior weapons7. The weaponry was not any complicated, they used the Johnson light machine gun and the v-42 combat knife. The forces were spectacular in their first encounter with the Germans; the special force had taken their position in the mountains of Monte La Difensa and Monte la Remetanea. Despite the massive German control in these regions, the forces placed their best foot forward. They wanted to push the Germans until they found their way to Rome. The forces had planned to attack on December 1st. the strategy was to have the second regiment would take a march to La Difensa while the first regiment could act as the reserve together with more thirty-six infantry divisions of the allied forces and half of the third regiment. The other half of the second regiment would supply the attacking regiment two. On December 2nd the six hundred men in regiment two climbed the snow filled mountain under the command of lieutenant colonel McWilliam. They took cover in a depression before some of the German soldiers shot in the air and the fight was on. The preparedness exhibited by the Special Forces team made the Germans retreat to La Remetanea within a period of two hours. Upon the death of the commander of regiment two, fighting ceased for a while but re embarked after more supplies and reinforcement was provided. Later on, they successfully captured Monte Sammucro, Monte Majo and hill 720.2 There were quite a number of casualties during the course of fighting but the enemy forces never overwhelmed the team of Special Forces together with the allied forces. For the situation at Anzio, the first regiment was placed forward covering a third of the frontline while the third regiment occupied the rest, the second regiment having been intensively involved in the previous attack took a back stage and were majorly involved in patrols. They fought hard and took over the Musolin Canal Sector making the German forces to retreat. They fought in Rocca Massima and later captured the seven bridges before finding their way into Rome. A change of guard was experienced on August 1944. This was because of the promotion of Brigadier General Frederick to the position of a major General and subsequent replacement by Colonel Edwin walker. After Action The team accomplished its objective with the end of the World War II. It was a mission accomplished. The war ended in France for the soldiers and it was terminated in a remote field near Menton on December 5, 1944. The soldiers were highly honored and commended for their exemplary work. From there the Canadians went back to their country, where most of them decided to get to the Canadian Parachute Battalion while the Americans were also deployed to other departments within the American Army8. Both the Canadian and the United States governments for the great achievements have honored the war veterans in the unit. Some of the Veterans have survived to date. Lessons Learnt The First Special forces left a mark in their time, several lessons can be drawn from their achievements. Firstly, the need for elite forces is very necessary, if it were not for the idea by a daring researcher that such a strategy could be adopted, the success the unit exemplified could probably not be achieved. Lieutenant Colonel Fredrick embraced the idea and after analyzing the situation established the feasibility of Pyke’s idea. This means that for a successful achievement teamwork is very necessary. Secondly, preparation is very important before engaging in any warfare. The team should plan well on how to engage the enemy and adhere to the plan unless an unprecedented occurrence takes place; the team should also consider a plan B. thirdly, apart from physical warfare, the mental warfare can be used to convey a message that affects the confidence of the enemy negatively. The First Special forces adopted a strategy of scaring away the Germans using stickers with threatening messages; the color of their faces was also scary and facilitated in camouflaging. Fourthly, military concepts should never be made public, the adoption of the force was a big secret but the success was tremendous. Lastly, coordination and a good chain of command is key in conquering in any battle. Without proper coordination an army can be destabilized by the enemy, however, proper chain of command guarantees performance. NOTES Canada at War, FSSF- The Devil’s Brigade. 2006. http://www.canadaatwar.ca/page77.html Joyce Kenneth . Snow Plough and the Jupiter Deception: The Story of the 1st Special Service Force and the 1st Canadian Special Service Battalion, 1942-1945. St. Catharines, ON: Vanwell, 2006. Robert Andleman and George Walton, The Devil’s Brigade. Naval Institute Press, 2004. Wood James A. We Move Only Forward: Canada, the United States and the First Special Service Force, 1942-1944. St. Catharines, ON: Vanwell, 2006. BIBLIOGRAPHY Andleman, Robert, and Walton, George. The Devil’s Brigade. Naval Institute Press, 2004. Canada at War. “FSSF- The Devil’s Brigade”. Canada at War. 2006. Acessed on November 25, 2013 from http://www.canadaatwar.ca/page77.html James, Wood, A. We Move Only Forward: Canada, the United States and the First Special Service Force, 1942-1944. St. Catharines, ON: Vanwell, 2006 Kenneth, Joyce. Snow Plough and the Jupiter Deception: The Story of the 1st Special Service Force and the 1st Canadian Special Service Battalion, 1942-1945. St. Catharines, ON: Vanwell, 2006. Read More