Combined Operations Headquarters

Combined Operations Headquarters
	Combined Operations badge
Agency overview
Formed	1940
Dissolved	1947
Superseding agency	Amphibious Warfare Headquarters;
Jurisdiction	Government of the United Kingdom
Headquarters	War Office building ; Whitehall; London
Parent agency	War Office

Combined Operations Headquarters^[1] was a department of the British War Office set up during Second World War to harass the Germans on the European continent by means of raids carried out by use of combined naval and army forces.

History

Admiral of the Fleet Roger Keyes was the first director, from 17 July 1940 to 27 October 1941, replaced first by Lord Louis Mountbatten and then Major General Robert Laycock (October 1943 – 1947). The main forces used by Combined Operations were the Commandos.

It comprised background staff whose job was to plan operations and to develop ideas and equipment to harass the enemy in any way possible. It also covered all those who worked with landing craft up to and including the landing ships that were used in the various amphibious operations.

The badge of Combined Operations was an eagle over a submachine gun over an anchor, reflecting the three service arms; the Royal Air Force, the British Army and the Royal Navy. In 1941 the title of Director of Combined Operations was changed to Adviser Combined Operations. In 1942 the title of Adviser Combined Operations was changed to Chief of Combined Operations.^[1]

The department existed until 1947 but later re-emerged under a new name in 1951 the Amphibious Warfare Headquarters.^[1]

Directors of Combined Operations

Admiral of the Fleet Roger Keyes, (17 July 1940 to 27 October 1941).

Adviser Combined Operations

Commodore, Lord Louis Mountbatten, (28 October 1941-1942).

Chiefs of Combined Operations

Commodore, Lord Louis Mountbatten, (1942-September 1943).
Major General Robert Laycock (October 1943 – 1947).

Operations

Among the projects undertaken by Combined Operations was the surveying of landing sites for invasions, including those of Sicily and Normandy. These were carried out by Combined Operations Pilotage Parties made up of members of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Corps of Royal Engineers and Special Boat Service.

Other operations included:

Operation Collar – the first British Commando raid on occupied Europe
Operation Frankton (the "Cockleshell heroes") – attack by canoe on shipping in France.
Operation Claymore – the raid on the Lofoten Islands in 1941
Operation Jubilee – the Dieppe raid
Operation Chariot – the St. Nazaire raid
Mulberry harbours – portable harbours for D-Day.
Project Habakkuk – the development and construction of giant ice ships.
Operation Gambit – the use of X-class submarines to provide navigational aid at Sword and Juno Beaches.
Exercise Tiger – D-Day training with tragic results.
Operation Biting – captured a Würzburg radar.
Operation Starkey – a staged invasion of Europe in 1943.
Operation Pluto – construction of petroleum pipelines underneath the English Channel.
Operation Freshman – Attack on the Vemork Norsk Hydro chemical plant in Telemark.

Units

Small Scale Raiding Force, also known as "No. 62 Commando"

Film

The Attack on the Iron Coast (film) depicts an account of Allied Combined Operations Headquarters commandos executing a daring raid on the German-occupied French coast during the Second World War.^[2]

References

1 2 3 Archives, The National. "Combined Operations Headquarters, and Ministry of Defence, Combined Operations Headquarters later Amphibious Warfare Headquarters: Records". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. National Archives, 1937-1963, DEFE 2. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
↑ Attack on the Iron Coast

Sources

Trenowden, Ian (2012). Stealthily by Night: The Coppists Clandestine Beach Reconnaissance and Operations in World War II. London: Mark Trenowden. ASIN B00AAMH2O0.

External links

Combined Operations Command website

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[Combined_Operations_...-1] 1 2 3 Archives, The National. "Combined Operations Headquarters, and Ministry of Defence, Combined Operations Headquarters later Amphibious Warfare Headquarters: Records". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. National Archives, 1937-1963, DEFE 2. Retrieved 3 March 2017.

[2] Attack on the Iron Coast

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