RCN Beach Commando “W” was assigned to Force “J” on Juno Beach during the Normandy invasion on June 6, 1944, and served with valour and distinction. Canadian newspapers quickly trumpeted the role of the Beach Commandos and described them as the “leather tough Canadians” and “tough, scrappy and self-reliant .”[42] Beach Commando “W” was disbanded at the end of August 1944.
Canada’s SOF legacy in World War II did not end with the Dieppe raid. One month prior to the disastrous assault, another SOF-like organization that fits into the legacy of Canada’s CANSOF community was created, namely the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion (1 Cdn Para Bn). Although contemporary airborne units are not considered SOF, 1 Cdn Para Bn, like many of the early airborne organizations that sprang up early in World War II, meets many of the SOF criteria. The paratroopers were specially selected, specially trained, and given special missions behind enemy lines. They possessed an indomitable spirit that defied any challenge. In fact, the selection rate for 1 Cdn Para Bn in its infancy was only 30 percent.[43]
At its creation, the army’s generals, as well as the media at large, were clear on the type of individual and organization they were creating. Robert Taylor, a reporter for the Toronto Daily Star, described the volunteers as “action-hungry and impatient to fill their role as the sharp, hardened tip of the Canadian army’s ‘dagger pointed at the heart of Berlin.’”[44]
Senior military officers described the new Canadian paratroopers as “super-soldiers” and newspapers, with unanimity, invariably described the parachute volunteers as “hard as nails” representing the toughest and smartest soldiers in the Canadian Army.[45]
One journalist wrote, “They are good, possibly great soldiers, hard, keen, fast-thinking and eager for battle,” while another asserted that they were “Canada’s most daring and rugged soldiers … daring because they’ll be training as paratroops: rugged because paratroops do the toughest jobs in hornet nests behind enemy lines.”[46] Others painted a picture of virtual supermen. One writer invited his readers to “Picture men with muscles of iron dropping in parachutes, hanging precariously from slender ropes, braced for any kind of action … these toughest men who ever wore khaki.”[47] Another simply explained that “your Canadian paratrooper is an utterly fearless, level[-]thinking, calculating killer possessive of all the qualities of a delayed-action time bomb.”[48]
But it had not always been that way. Initially, the senior generals had rejected the need for Canadian paratroops, citing a lack of role and purpose for such specialized troops in the Canadian context. However, by the spring of 1942, both the British and Americans fully embraced the concept of airborne forces. And, as the tide of the war began to swing in favour of the Allies, the focus quickly swung from defence to offence. And nothing embodied raw, offensive, aggressive action more than paratroopers. Very quickly, airborne troops became a defining component of a modern army. Not to be left out, senior Canadian military commanders quickly reversed their earlier reservations and recommended the establishment of a parachute battalion to J.L. Ralston, the minister of National Defence (MND). The minister readily agreed and on July 1, 1942, the Canadian War Cabinet Committee approved the formation of a parachute unit, namely 1 Cdn Para Bn.
The unit’s training was in many ways innovative for the time and exceeded the challenges faced by other combat troops. Greater demands were placed on the individual soldier for leadership, weapon handling, and navigation. Orders for exercises and later operations were always given to all ranks, so that regardless of the circumstances of a parachute drop everyone had an understanding of the mission and so would be able to execute the necessary tasks whether or not officers or senior non-commissioned officers (NCOs) were present. As such, the unit placed an exorbitant emphasis on courage, physical fitness, tenacity, and particularly on individual initiative.
With no domestic defence role in Canada, the unit was offered up to the commander of Home Forces in England. The British quickly accepted the offer and the government announced in March 1943 that 1 Cdn Para Bn would be attached to the 3rd Parachute Brigade, as part of the 6th Airborne Division. For the remainder of the war the battalion fought as part of a British formation. It established a remarkable record. The battalion never failed to complete an assigned mission, nor did it ever lose or surrender an objective once taken. The Canadian paratroopers were among the first Allied soldiers to land in occupied Europe, the only Canadians who participated in the “Battle of the Bulge” in the Ardennes, and by the end of the war, they had advanced deeper into Germany than any other Canadian unit. Unquestionably, the paratroopers of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, at great cost and personal sacrifice, pioneered a new innovative form of warfare and demonstrated agility of thought and action, as well as an unrivalled warfare spirit in their daring assaults behind enemy lines. They were disbanded on September 30, 1945, at Niagara-on -the-Lake .
Interestingly, in July 1942, at the same time as 1 Cdn Para Bn was established, the Canadian War Cabinet authorized a second “parachute” unit, designated the 2nd Canadian Parachute Battalion (2 Cdn Para Bn). The name of this unit was misleading, however. It was not a parachute battalion at all, but rather a commando unit. The designation was assigned for security reasons to cover the true nature of its operational mandate.[49] On May 25, 1943, the name was changed to reflect this. It was re-designated the 1st Canadian Special Service Battalion and it represented the Canadian element of the joint U.S./Canadian First Special Service Force (FSSF).[50]
Nonetheless, its genesis originated in England with Lord Mountbatten’s Combined Operations Headquarters (COHQ) and Prime Minister Churchill’s personal support. The original concept, code-named Operation Plough, was of a guerrilla force capable of operations in Norway to attack the hydroelectric and heavy water plants in that country, in order to disrupt the German war industry and the Nazi atomic weapons program.[51] Some thought was also put to using the force to destroy the Ploesti oil fields in Romania and hydroelectric facilities in Italy. In all, the planners reasoned that in destroying any of these targets a hard-hitting raiding force would not only damage Germany’s vital war industry, it would also tie up German forces required to protect facilities and chase down the guerrilla force.[52]
The Americans accepted the project and Prime Minister Churchill and Lord Mountbatten very quickly convinced the Canadians to participate as well. As a result, a U.S./Canadian brigade-sized formation was created, with Americans and Canadians serving side by side, wearing the same American uniform, in a military command that was completely integrated. At any given moment, it was impossible to differentiate Canadian from American and vice versa. Each had officers commanding troops of the other nation. At inception, the Canadians contributed 697 all ranks to the formation, representing approximately a quarter of the total number of troops.[53]
As was the case with 1 Cdn Para Bn, the Canadian Army took their commitment seriously and attempted to pick the best soldiers possible for this unique endeavour. Colonel Robert T. Frederick, the American commander of the FSSF, made it clear that he preferred that Canadian volunteers be chosen in the “lower ranks between 18 and 45 [years old], physically rugged and mentally agile, physically able and willing to take parachute training.”[54] It became obvious to everyone concerned that superior physical fitness, experience, maturity, and youth were the cornerstones on which the FSSF would be forged.[55] In addition, Frederick also stressed that it was imperative that each man be able to work efficiently independently or in small groups, regardless of the tactical situation or operational theatre. Ross Munro, the renowned Canadian war reporter, noted that the First Special Service Force “will be a continental edition of commandos of the British Army.” He added, “In selecting the men to make it up, emphasis will be placed on ‘youth, hardness and fitness.’”[56]
As the initial focus of the FSSF was to be sabotage, raiding, and guerrilla-type warfare, the “Forcemen” were trained in a wide spectrum of skills, including parachuting, demolitions,