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| Bayonet training at Fort Harrison, Montana. A Canadian officer, not shown, drills the group. Note the squared-toes ski/mountain boots. |
The 1st Special Service Force was an elite American–Canadian
commando unit in World War II, under the command of the United States Fifth
Army. The unit was organized in 1942 and trained at Fort William Henry Harrison
near Helena, Montana in the United States. The Force served in the Aleutian
Islands, and fought in Italy, and southern France before being disbanded in
December 1944.
The modern American and Canadian special operations forces
trace their heritage to this unit. In 2013, the United States Congress passed a
bill to award the 1st Special Service Force the Congressional Gold Medal.
Background
Geoffrey Pyke was an English journalist, educationalist, and
later an inventor whose clever, but unorthodox, ideas could be difficult to
implement. In lifestyle and appearance, he fit the common stereotype of a
scientist-engineer-inventor or in British slang, a "boffin". This was
part of the British approach in World War II, of encouraging innovative warfare
methods and weapons, that was personally backed by Churchill. Hobart's Funnies
are another example.
While working for the British Combined Operations Command,
Pyke devised a plan for the creation of a small, elite force capable of
fighting behind enemy lines in winter conditions. This was to have been a
commando unit that could be landed, by sea or air, into occupied Norway,
Romania and/or the Italian Alps on sabotage missions against hydroelectric
plants and oil fields.
In Norway, the chief industrial threat was the creation of
the heavy water used in the German atomic weapon research at Rjukan.
Furthermore, attacks on Norwegian power stations, which supplied the country
with 49% of its power, might drive the Axis powers out of the country and give
the Allies a direct link to Russia. In Romania, there were the strategically
important Ploiești oil fields that met one quarter of the Germans' consumption,
and Italian hydroelectric plants powered most of south German industry. Pyke
requested that a tracked vehicle be developed especially for the unit, capable
of carrying men and their equipment at high speed across snow-covered terrain.
Project Plough
In March 1942 Pyke proposed an idea, which he had named
Project Plough, to Lord Louis Mountbatten, Chief of Combined Operations
Headquarters (COHQ) that Allied commandos be parachuted into the Norwegian
mountains to establish a covert base on the Jostedalsbreen, a large glacier
plateau in German-occupied Norway, for guerrilla actions against the German
army of occupation. Equipped with Pyke's proposed snow vehicle, they would
attack strategic targets, such as hydroelectric power plants. Pyke persuaded
Mountbatten that such a force would be virtually invulnerable in its glacier
strongholds and would tie down large numbers of German troops trying to
dislodge it.
However, given the demands upon both Combined Operations and
British industry, it was decided to offer it instead to the United States at
the Chequers Conference of March 1942. General George Marshall, Chief of Staff
of the United States Army, accepted the suggestion for Project Plough. In April
1942, since no suitable vehicle existed, the U.S. government asked automobile
manufacturers to look into such a design. Studebaker subsequently created the
T-15 cargo carrier, which later became the M29 Weasel.
In May 1942, the concept papers for Plough were scrutinized
by Major Robert T. Frederick, a young officer in the Operations Division of the
U.S. General Staff. Frederick predicted Plough would be a military fiasco on
the following grounds. Firstly, he argued that Plough endeavored to achieve
unrealistic objectives with the number of troops that the plan called for.
Similarly, he argued that the small, elite division would be outnumbered and
overtaken in any defensive attempts to hold an area once it was captured.
Furthermore, Frederick concluded that there was no concrete way to evacuate the
troops after a mission. This would have required significant troop lift and
covering fighter support. All vehicles and equipment would have had to be
abandoned. Finally, the plan had called for troops to be parachute dropped by
airplane to their targets, which Frederick said was impossible at the moment,
as there were no planes to fly the men into Norway. Additionally, significant
aircraft would be necessary to drop the Weasels and resupply the force.
Ultimately, he concluded that a small squad of elite men would not do enough
damage to justify the risk of putting them into battle and instead proposed a
series of strategic bombings to achieve the plan's objectives.
Generals Marshall and Eisenhower had already discussed
Plough with the British High Command and were unwilling to compromise a chance
to open an American front in Europe. It was believed that Plough offered the
possibility of defeating the Germans, and the Americans wanted allied efforts
to shift to the Pacific Theater. The sooner the Germans were defeated, it was
argued, the sooner this would become a reality.
The first officer picked to lead the unit, Lieutenant
Colonel Howard R. Johnson, did not get along well with Pyke. Johnson was
transferred after arguing with Mountbatten and Eisenhower about the feasibility
of the plan. (Johnson went on to form and command the 501st Parachute Infantry
Regiment.) He was replaced by Frederick, following a suggestion by Mountbatten,
which was approved by Eisenhower. Frederick was given the task of creating a
fighting unit for Project Plough and was promoted to colonel to command it. By
July 1942 Frederick had eased Pyke out of the picture.
The First Special Service Force was activated on 9 July 1942
as a joint Canadian-U.S. force of three small regiments and a service
battalion, directly answerable to the joint Chiefs of Staff. U.S. Army. Fort William
Henry Harrison in Helena, Montana, was chosen as the primary training location,
due to its flat terrain for airborne training and its close proximity to
mountains for ski and winter training.
Frederick enjoyed a very high priority in obtaining equipment
and training areas. Originally, due to its winter warfare mission, it had been
intended that the unit should be equally made up of American, Canadian, and
Norwegian troops. However, a lack of suitable Norwegians saw this changed to
half American and half Canadian.
Canadian Recruitment
In July 1942, the Canadian Minister of National Defence,
James Ralston, approved the assignment of 697 officers and enlisted men for
Project Plough, under the guise that they were forming Canada's first airborne
unit, the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion (1CPB).
Due to a decision to raise an actual Canadian parachute
battalion, the Canadian volunteers for Project Plough were also sometimes known
unofficially as the "2nd Canadian Parachute Battalion". (The
Canadians did not officially become a unit until April–May 1943, under the
designation, 1st Canadian Special Service Battalion.)
While its members remained part of the Canadian Army,
subject to its code of discipline and paid by the Canadian government, they
were to be supplied with uniforms, equipment, food, shelter and travel expenses
by the U.S. Army. It was agreed that a Canadian would serve as second in
command of the force and that half of the officers and one third of the
enlisted men would be Canadian. After Lieutenant Colonel McQueen, the senior
Canadian member, broke his leg during parachute training, the highest ranking
Canadian in the force was Lieutenant Colonel Don Williamson, who commanded the
2nd Regiment.
U.S. Recruitment
The U.S. volunteers for the force consisted initially of
officers from Forts Belvoir and Benning.
Letters of recruitment were posted to all U.S. Army units in
the Southwest and on the Pacific coast. The letters called for single men, aged
21–35 with three or more years of grammar school. Occupations preferred:
Rangers, lumberjacks, northwoodsmen, hunters, prospectors, explorers and game
wardens. Inspection teams also scoured the western camps for ideal candidates.
Those chosen, owing to the secrecy of the mission, were often told that they
had been selected to undergo training for a parachute unit. Indeed, the unit
was so secretive, that many soldiers did not know where they were when they
arrived in Helena for training, as the windows of the trains carrying the
troops were painted black.
The combat force was to be made up of three regiments. Each
regiment was led by a lieutenant colonel and 32 officers and boasted a force of
385 men. The regiments were divided into two battalions with three companies in
each battalion and three platoons in each company. The platoon was then broken
up into two sections.
Following initial training period in Montana, the FSSF
relocated to Camp Bradford, Virginia, on 15 April 1943, and to Fort Ethan
Allen, Vermont, on 23 May 1943.
Aleutian Islands, 1943
It was decided that the FSSF would be utilized against
Japanese forces occupying islands off Alaska. The FSSF arrived at the San
Francisco Port of Embarkation on 4 July 1943.
On 10 July the Devil's Brigade sailed for the Aleutian
Islands off Alaska. On 15 August 1943, 1st SSF was part of the invasion force
of the island of Kiska, but after discovering the island was recently evacuated
by Japanese forces, it re-embarked and left ship at Camp Stoneman, California,
and returned to Fort Ethan Allen, arriving 9 September 1943.
Italy, 1943
In late 1943, the original Project Plough (with its target
as Norway) was abandoned, but in October 1943, the commander of the United
States Fifth Army, Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark, brought the 1st Special
Service Force to Italy where its members demonstrated the value of their unique
skills and training. The Devil's Brigade arrived in Casablanca in French
Morocco in November 1943 and quickly moved to the Italian front arriving at
Naples on 19 November 1943 and immediately going into the line with the U.S.
36th Infantry Division.
The force was tasked with taking two heavily fortified
German positions in the Italian mountains; one at Monte La Difensa and the
other at Monte La Remetanea. These positions were controlled by the 104th Panzer
Grenadier Regiment with the 1st Fallschirm-Panzer Division Hermann Göring in
reserve (the former an infantry formation, the latter an armored division). The
importance of these mountains lay in their position relative to Hitler's Gustav
Line. The German Winter line positioned on La Difensa and Remetanea were the
last entrenched line before the Gustav and an allied push through the mountains
would enable them to advance closer to Rome. Strategically, the mountains
provided a commanding view of the countryside and highway, giving German
artillery on the mountain control of the surrounding area. The German artillery
atop La Defensa were also using a new weapon - the Nebelwerfer. The paths
leading up La Difensa were heavily scouted by the force prior to their attack
and it was reported to Lt. Col. T.C. MacWilliam (who would lead the 2nd
regiment's assault on Remetanea) that the best way to approach the entrenched
enemy was up an almost vertical escarpment over the right of the hill mass. In
doing this, the force hoped to catch the Germans off guard, as previous allied
attacks on the mountain had met the enemy head on.
The assault was planned for 2 December, while the men were
trained in mountain climbing and fighting tactics at their temporary barracks
at Santa Maria. The plan was as follows (all regiments were in the 1st
Company): At 16:30 hours on 1 December 2nd Regiment would be trucked to within
6 miles (9.7 km) of the base of the mountain and march the rest of the way to
La Difensa (6-hour march). 1st Regiment, coupled with U.S. 36th Infantry
Division would be the reserve units for the 2nd Regiment. 3rd Regiment would be
split in two, half to supply the 2nd Regiment following the initial assault and
the other half to be reserves with the 1st Regiment and 36th Infantry Division.
All identification on Force soldiers was to be removed except their dog tags.
After reaching the base of the mountain and having had a
single night's rest, 2nd Regiment (600 men total) began their ascent of La
Difensa on 2 December at dusk under cover of a heavy artillery barrage. One
soldier recalls the severity of the shelling: "It looked as if we were
marching into Hell. The whole mountain was being shelled and the whole mountain
seemed to be on fire".
The soldiers of the 2nd Regiment came within range of the
German positions at midnight and began to climb the final cliff, which jutted
steeply upwards for 1,000 feet (300 m). The men climbed with ropes tied to one
another in the freezing rain. Upon reaching the top, MacWilliam signaled his
men to move forward into a depression in front of the German entrenchment.
Initially, the soldiers were given the order to hold their fire until 6am, but
the Germans were made aware of the allied positions after members of the force
tripped over loose gravel while moving along the mountaintop. German shot
flares into the air and the battle began. Through gun and mortar fire, the men
of the 2nd Regiment managed to set up machine guns and return fire, surprising
and overwhelming the Germans. The 5th Army Staff had guessed that the battle
would last between 4–5 days, but within two hours, the Germans on La Difensa
had retreated to La Remetanea.
Previously, American and British forces had suffered many
casualties in futile attempts to take the important Camino Ridge. The 1st SSF
was successful in taking their initial objective of La Defensa but were delayed
in obtaining their actual objective of Monte La Remetanea (Hill 907). The
attack on 907 was halted after the death of the 1st Battalion CO Lt. Col. T.C.
MacWilliam. While he desired that the force momentum continue, Frederick
ordered a halt in the advance on 907 in order to wait for reinforcements and
supplies. The force dug in at Difensa, anticipating a German counterattack.
However, massive allied artillery barrages and the flooding
of both the Rapido and Garigliano rivers prevented the Germans from reforming.
While waiting for the orders to attack Remetanea, the 2nd Regiment were
resupplied by the 1st and 3rd Regiments, who brought them whiskey and condoms
(to keep the barrels of their guns dry in the rain). Once the British forces
broke through the German lines at Monte Camino, the force was ordered to attack
their primary objective (Hill 907). The successful assault on Difensa was the
basis for the 1968 motion picture titled The Devil's Brigade.
The 1st SSF immediately continued its attack, assaulting
Monte La Remetanea from 6 to 9 December. It captured Hill 720, starting from
Monte Sammucro on 25 December, and after difficulties assaulted Monte Majo and
Monte Vischiataro almost simultaneously on 8 January 1944.
During the mountain campaign the 1st SSF suffered 77%
casualties: 511 total, 91 dead, 9 missing, 313 wounded with 116 exhaustion
cases. They were relieved by the 142nd Infantry.
Anzio, 1944
Following the Québec Conference in August 1943, General
Dwight D. Eisenhower was moved to London to plan for the Normandy landings.
Command of the Mediterranean Theater was given to British General Henry
Maitland Wilson. General Sir Harold Alexander, commanding the Allied Armies in
Italy, had formulated the plan to land Allied troops at Anzio in order to
outflank German positions in the area. German Field Marshal Albert Kesselring
commanded the four German divisions at Anzio, which included the Hermann
Goering Division and the 35th Panzer Grenadier Regiment of the 16th SS
Panzergrenadier Division Reichsführer-SS Division. Combined German and Italian
strength at Anzio was an estimated 70,000 men.
The Special Force brigade was withdrawn from the mountains
in January and on 1 February was landed at the beachhead created by Operation
Shingle at Anzio, south of Rome, replacing the 1st and 3rd Ranger Battalions,
which had suffered heavy losses at the Battle of Cisterna. Their task was to
hold and raid from the right-hand flank of the beachhead marked by the
Mussolini Canal/Pontine Marshes. 1st Regiment was positioned on the force's
right front, which comprised one-third of the entire line, while the 3rd
Regiment guarded the remaining two-thirds of the line. 2nd Regiment, which had
been reduced to three companies following the attacks on La Difensa, Sammucio
and Majo, were tasked with running night patrols into Axis territory. Shortly
after the SSF took over the Mussolini Canal sector, German units pulled back up
to 0.5 miles (0.80 km) to avoid their aggressive patrols. The force's constant
night raids forced Kesselring to fortify the German positions in their area
with more men than he had originally planned. Reconnaissance missions performed
by the Devils often went as deep as 1,500 feet (460 m) behind enemy lines.
Frederick was greatly admired by the soldiers of the First
Special Service Force for his willingness to fight alongside the men in battle.
On the beachhead in Anzio, for example, a nighttime Force patrol walked into a
German minefield and was pinned down by machine gun fire. Colonel Frederick ran
into battle and assisted the litter bearers in clearing the wounded Force
members.
German prisoners were often surprised at how few men the
force actually contained. A captured German lieutenant admitted to being under
the assumption that the force was a division. Indeed, General Frederick ordered
several trucks to move around the forces area in order to give the enemy the
impression that the force comprised more men than it actually did. An order was
found on another prisoner that stated that the Germans in Anzio would be
"fighting an elite Canadian-American Force. They are treacherous,
unmerciful and clever. You cannot afford to relax. The first soldier or group of
soldiers capturing one of these men will be given a 10-day furlough."
It was at Anzio that the 1st Special Service Force inspired
the "Black Devils" nickname, which appears to have been an invention
of the Force's intelligence officers. There is no record of any German ever
referring to the Force as "The Devil's Brigade". They were referred
to as "black" devils because the brigade's members smeared their
faces with black boot polish for their covert operations in the dark of the
night. During Anzio, the 1st SSF fought for 99 days without relief. It was also
at Anzio that the 1st SSF used their trademark stickers; during night patrols
soldiers would carry stickers depicting the unit patch and a slogan written in
German: "Das dicke Ende kommt noch," said to translate colloquially
to "The worst is yet to come". Its literal translation is actually
"The thick end is coming soon", implying that a larger force was on
its way imminently, placing these stickers on German corpses and
fortifications. Canadian and American members of the Special Force who lost
their lives are buried near the beach in the Commonwealth Anzio War Cemetery
and the American Cemetery in Nettuno, just east of Anzio.
When the U.S. Fifth Army's breakout offensive began on 25
May 1944, the 1st SSF was sent against Monte Arrestino, and attacked Rocca
Massima on 27 May. The 1st SSF was given the assignment of capturing seven
bridges in the city to prevent their demolition by the withdrawing Wehrmacht.
During the night of 4 June, members of the 1st SSF entered Rome, one of the
first Allied units to do so. After they secured the bridges, they quickly moved
north in pursuit of the retreating Germans.
In August 1944 1st SSF came under the command of Colonel
Edwin Walker when Brigadier General Frederick, who had commanded the force
since its earliest days, left on promotion to major general to command the 1st
Airborne Task Force.
France, 1944
On 14 August 1944, the 1st SSF landed on the islands of Port
Cros and Île du Levant during Operation Dragoon, the invasion of southern
France. They fought the small Battle of Port Cros in which they captured the
five forts on the islands from the German Army. Nine men were killed in action
or died of wounds received in combat. On 22 August it was attached to the 1st
Airborne Task Force, a provisional Seventh Army airborne division, and later
made part of the Task Force. On 7 September it moved with the 1st Airborne Task
Force to defensive positions on the Franco-Italian border. During the war the
1,800-man unit accounted for some 12,000 German casualties, captured some 7,000
prisoners, and sustained an attrition rate of over 600%.
Disbandment, 1944
The 1st SSF was disbanded 5 December 1944 in a field near
Villeneuve-Loubet, on the extreme southeast Mediterranean coast of France.
Villeneuve-Loubet holds a special place in the history of the force, not only
because the unit was broken up there, but also because it is one of the
villages that the 1st SSF had the hardest time capturing in southern France, on
26 August 1944. The day the unit was disbanded, the American commander held a
parade honoring the unit. To end the ceremony, the Canadian elements were
dismissed by being honored by the American troops with a Pass in Review, eyes
right, officers salute. After the unit's break up, the Canadians were sent to
other Canadian units (most of them became replacements for the 1st Canadian
Parachute Battalion). Some American members were sent to airborne divisions as
replacements, others to Ranger Battalions, and still others formed the 474th
Infantry Regiment, which served with the Third United States Army and performed
occupation duty in Norway. United States Army Special Forces Groups (lineal
descendants of 1st Special Service Force) celebrate Menton Day every 5 December
with their Canadian military comrades and surviving members of the force.
Usually there is a combined parachute jump, a pass in review, and a formal
ball.
Training and Equipment
Since the unit needed to be trained quickly, the soldiers
began parachuting within 48 hours of their arrival in Helena, Montana. The camp
had no training towers and preliminary flights were not carried out, so for
many this was their first experience at jumping. This training was completed
before any other because it was believed that if all the soldiers earned their
jumping badges simultaneously a sense of camaraderie would develop within the
camp.
The men were on a strict and physically demanding three
phase training schedule: 1) From August to October: parachuting, weapons and
demolitions usage, small unit tactics and physical training. 2) From October to
November: unit tactics and problem solving. 3) From November to July: skiing,
rock climbing, adaptation to cold climates and operation of the M29 Weasel.
The weekly training schedule comprised reveille at 04:30
from Monday to Saturday followed by breakfast at 06:30. The obstacle course was
run by 08:00 four times a week followed by the day's training, which differed
depending on the month. Soldiers were expected to march double time between
training exercises in order to adhere to the strict schedule. Training lectures
were given by veterans of overseas wars in the evenings from Monday to Friday.
Soldiers were given Saturday evenings and Sundays off. Most of the men went
into Helena to relax on their days off.
Marches were done on a 60-mile (97 km) course, the record
for which was held by Colonel Marshall's First Regiment, who completed it in
twenty hours. The force trained with enemy weapons, taking them apart,
reassembling and shooting them until they were as proficient with them as with
their own.
The hand-to-hand combat instructor was Dermot (Pat) O'Neill,
an ex-Shanghai International Police Officer, who was an expert at unarmed
combat. O'Neill, who was well-versed in several forms of martial arts, taught
the men to attack the eyes, throat, groin and knees. He also taught knife
fighting tactics and showed the men how to quick-draw their pistols. The men
attacked one another with unsheathed bayonets as part of the training exercises
and injuries were common.
Ski training, taught by Norwegian instructors, began in
December. The men received lectures and demonstrations on skiing techniques and
most had mastered the basics in two weeks. At this point the men were made to
ski cross-country in formation from dawn until dusk with all of their equipment
until they were up to Norwegian army standards.
As a light infantry unit destined for alpine or winter
combat it was issued various items of non-standard clothing, equipment and
rations, including skis, parkas, haversacks and the Mountain ration. From the
outset, the 1st Special Service Force was armed with a variety of non-standard
or limited-issue weapons, such as the M1941 Johnson machine gun. The Johnson
light machine gun in particular helped greatly increase the firepower of the
unit and was highly regarded by those who used it in combat. Frederick's staff
even considered arming the men with blow darts but it was decided against on
the grounds that it may have been considered a war crime. Frederick himself
participated in the design of a fighting knife made exclusively for the force
called the V-42 combat knife, a derivative of the Fairbairn-Sykes fighting
knife.
Name, Insignia and Uniforms
While carrying out beachhead operations at Anzio, legend has
it that a member of the force uncovered the journal of a German lieutenant from
the Hermann Goering Division. The journal contained the following entry:
"The Black Devils are all around us every time we come into the line. We
never hear them come." This legend was never verified as fact by any
member of the brigade; however, the force was known as the Black Devils and as
the Devil's Brigade. The members of the brigade preferred the latter. General
Frederick had cards printed up with the unit's insignia on them and the words
Das dicke Ende kommt noch! or "The worst is yet to come" printed in
red ink down the right side which the force would leave on the bodies of dead
Germans as a form of psychological warfare. This was so effective that Sergeant
Victor Kaisner reported hearing a German soldier whisper "Schwarzer
Teufel" ("Black Devil") as the German's throat was being sliced
on the beachhead. However, recent historiography surrounding the unit debates
whether or not Frederick and his general staff made up the nickname in order to
instill fear in the enemy.
The unit was unofficially first known as the
"Braves". Their spearhead shoulder insignia was chosen with this name
in mind. The formation patch was a red spearhead with the words USA written
horizontally and CANADA written vertically. The branch of service insignia was
the crossed arrows formerly worn by the U.S. Army Indian Scouts. The unit wore
red, white, and blue piping on their garrison cap and on the breast an oval (or
trimming) behind their Parachutist Wings. Members of the unit also wore a red,
white, and blue fourragère, lanyard, or shoulder cord made out of parachute
suspension lines.
American members of the force arrived for training in Helena
in standard U.S. Army attire: green twill coveralls, some wearing khaki pants
and fatigue hats. Others were dressed in trousers and green uniform jackets and
wore green caps. Ultimately, however, the American uniforms did not differ
widely from one another. The Canadian troops, however, arrived in all different
manners of uniform: some wore kilts, others tartan trousers (trews) and others
Bermuda shorts. Headgear differed just as widely, depending on where the
soldier was from – wedge caps for some, black berets for troops taken from
armored regiments and large khaki Tam o' Shanters for soldiers from Scottish
regiments. Under the Williamson-Wickham agreement, Canadian soldiers were
issued and wore American uniforms. Eventually, it was decided that the uniforms
would come from an American supplier and olive drab trousers and blouses were
issued. Two uniform elements differentiated an American Force member from a
Canadian: 1) the collar insignia had either U.S. or Canada above the crossed
arrows; and two, the identification disc, aka "dog tags," worn by the
soldier (Americans wore American metal ID tags and Canadians wore Canadian ID
discs). Frederick instructed MAJ Orville Baldwin to develop a unique fourragère
(also known as an aiguillette or lanyard) for all members of the unit, thereby
replacing the regimental fourragère worn by the Canadian soldiers. The result
was a braided fourragère made with red, white and blue parachute cord. For
mountain warfare, the men were given baggy ski pants, parkas and a helmet.
Standard boots were originally the same as those issued to parachuting
regiments, but these were substituted with infantry combat boots in Italy.
Colonel Frederick worried from the outset that the soldiers
from both countries would have trouble forming a cohesive unit. On a base
level, the techniques and commands used by either army were confusing to the
other. Commands for marching, for example, had to be homogenized in order for
the unit to operate in the field effectively. In order to satisfy the men from
both countries, compromises were made. Canadian bagpipers were put into
American unit marching bands to play "Reveille" every morning. The
marching styles and commands of the American and Canadian armies were mixed and
uniforms were made identical. In the end, Frederick's fears were unfounded as
the men bonded through training and dedication to the force.
Unit Awards
The First Special Service Force was awarded the French Croix
de Guerre with Silver-Gilt Star, as well as the Distinguished Unit Citation for
extraordinary heroism. A large number of the "Devil's Brigade"
members were honored for their acts of valor, including Tommy Prince, Canada's
most decorated First Nations soldier of World War II. Also, U.S. member Wendell
C. Johnson (Fifth Company, Third Regiment, serial # 37 168 437), risking his
life to save a fellow Black Devil, walked into a minefield and brought his
brigade comrade to safety. When they tried to give him a medal for his act of
heroism, Wendell declined saying, "Give it to the man who lost his
leg".
Descendant Units
The 1st Special Service Force is claimed as a direct
ancestor by two modern special operations units; the Canadian Special
Operations Regiment (CSOR) of the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command
and the elite unit of the 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) of the United
States Army Special Operations Command.
In 1952, Colonel Aaron Bank (a former Jedburgh and
Operational Group member of the Office of Strategic Services [OSS] during World
War II) became the commander of 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne). Formal
lineage for the 1st Special Forces Regiment (Not to be confused with the 1st
Special Forces Group (Airborne)), established in 1958, was from the FSSF.
(Special Forces carried the Ranger lineage from 1952 to 1958.) Much of the
training in unconventional tactics, including strategies, and lessons learned,
replicated training of the Operation Groups (OG) and Jedburghs of the OSS. In
Canada Military Intelligence and Logistical Operations 1952–1988, the Canadian
Airborne Regiment 1968–1995 which formed part of the Special Service Force
1977-1995 and today's Canadian Special Operations Regiment, like United States
Army Special Forces, trace their roots to the FSSF. Just like in World War II,
Canada's elite JTF2 and the United States' elite SFOD-D operators were united
once again into a special assignment force for the 2001 invasion of
Afghanistan.
In 2006, the Canadian members of the 1st Special Service
Force received the United States Army's Combat Infantryman Badge for
participation in front-line combat. On 3 February 2015, the FSSF was awarded
the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award congress can give to civilians.
Other Memorials
In 1996, Interstate 15 in Montana between Helena and Sweet
Grass was renamed the "First Special Service Force Memorial Highway".
This highway was chosen because it was the route taken in 1942 by the Canadian
volunteers to join their American counterparts for training at Fort Harrison.
The entire length of Alberta Highway 4 received the same name in 1999.
The force is also memorialized in several commemorative
plaques mounted in city halls and along the route they fought in Italy and
Southern France, including one outside the Protestant Cemetery, Rome, next to
the Pyramid of Cestius and another on the Embassy of the United States in Rome,
facing Via Vittorio Veneto.
U.S. Army Special Forces Tab
When the Special Forces Tab was created in 1983 for wear by
members of the U.S. Army Special Forces, it was also retroactively awarded to
members of wartime combat units that had been identified as predecessors of the
Special Forces. Thus, any soldier who had spent 120 days in wartime service
with the First Special Service Force is authorized to wear the Special Forces
Tab.
Media Depictions
The Devil's Brigade is a 1968 film starring William Holden,
Cliff Robertson, and Vince Edwards, focusing on the force's training and
deployment to Italy.
The 1968 film Anzio featured Peter Falk as Corporal Jack
Rabinoff, who identified himself to co-star Robert Mitchum as a member of the
American-Canadian 1st Special Service Force.
Three documentaries have been made about the force:
"Black Devils" in 2000, an episode of History Channel's
"Dangerous Missions" series, written produced and directed by Darryl
Rehr; Daring to Die: The Story of the Black Devils, written and directed by
Greg Hancock and Wayne Abbot, and Devil's Brigade, a 2006 TV miniseries
produced by Frantic Films.
Quentin Tarantino's 2009 film Inglourious Basterds features
a character named Lt. Aldo Raine aka "Aldo the Apache" played by Brad
Pitt who wears the unit's crossed arrows collar insignia and red arrowhead
shoulder patch. Tarantino cited the 1SSF as an influence.
The Devil's Brigade by Robert H. Adleman & George H.
Walton is an autobiography and historical reference for the First Special
Service Force.
The Marvel Comics character Wolverine claimed several times
that he was a member of the Devil's Brigade during the war — being
Canadian-born during the last years of Queen Victoria's reign, it fits. He also
claimed he took part in Anzio and Cassino battles.
Bibliography
Adleman, Robert H.; Colonel George Walton (1966). The
Devil's Brigade. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Chilton Books.
Burhans, Robert D. (1947). The First Special Service Force:
A Canadian/American Wartime Alliance: The Devil's Brigade. Washington, D.C.:
Infantry Journal Press Inc.
Cottingham, Peter Layton Once Upon a Wartime: A Canadian Who
Survived the Devil's Brigade (P.L. Cottingham, Manitoba Canada, 1996)
Gassend, Jean-Loup (2014). Autopsy of a Battle: the Allied
Liberation of the French Riviera, August September 1944. Atglen PA: Schiffer
Publishing.
Hope, Tom, ed. Bonding for Life: The post-World War II story
of the elite strike brigade, First Special Service Force (First Special Service
Force Association, 2007)
Joyce, Kenneth H. (2006). 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, Ontario: Vanwell
Publishing.
Nadler, John (2005). A Perfect Hell: The true story of the
FSSF, Forgotten Commandos of the Second World War. Doubleday Canada.
Hicks, Ann (2006). The Last Fighting General: The Biography
of Robert Tryon Frederick. Schiffer Publishing Ltd.
Peppard, Herb (1994). The Light Hearted Soldier: A
Canadian's Exploits with the Black Devils in WWII. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Nimbus
Publishing.
Ross, Robert Todd (2000). The Supercommandos First Special
Service Force, 1942-1942, An Illustrated History. Atglen, Pennsylvania:
Schiffer Publishing Ltd.
Springer, Joseph (2001). The Black Devil Brigade: The True
Story of the First Special Service Force. Pacifica Military History.
Stanton, Shelby, World War II Order of Battle: An
Encyclopedic Reference to U.S. Army Ground Forces from Battalion through
Division, 1939-1946 (Revised Edition, 2006), Stackpole Books.
Werner, Brett (2006). First Special Service Force 1942 – 44.
Osprey Publishing.
Wickham, Kenneth. "An Adjutant General Remembers"
(Adjutant General's Corps Regimental Association, 1991).
Wood, James (Autumn 2003). "'Matters Canadian' and the
Problem with Being Special: Robert T. Frederick on the First Special Service
Force". Canadian Military History. 12 (4): 17–33.
Wood, James A. We Move Only Forward: Canada, the United
States, and the First Special Service Force, 1942–1944 (St. Catharines,
Ontario: Vanwell Publishing, 2006).
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| This staged photograph was intended to highlight the specialized skill sets of the Force and it operational versatility. |
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| Forcemen mountaineering during training in Montana. |
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| Personnel of the First Special Service Force being briefed before setting out on a patrol, Anzio beachhead, Italy, April 20, 1944. |
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| Shoulder sleeve patch of the 1st Special Service Force. |
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| Lt.Col. Robert T. Frederick. |
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| Major General Robert T. Frederick, Commander, FSSF. |
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| Frederick, right, with General Mark Clark and other officers in Italy. |
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| Another view of same group as in previous photo. |
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| Some of the original Force members, Nice, France, December 4, 1944. |
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| Force officers in Nice, France, December 4, 1944. |
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| Force members. |
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| FSSF members during training. |
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| Forcemen. |
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| Force members, Italy. |
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| Canadian Forceman (right), in the uniform of the FSSF, with his brother who was in the RCAF. |
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| Officers wore a pair of straight CANADA badges in brass in place of the U.S. worn by American officers, with a crossed arrows badge worn below on the lower lapels. |
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| CANADA disc, a screw back design, made in Montreal by William Scully. |
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| FSSF patches. White embroidery on border was not standard and was wearer's method of attaching the badge to the uniform. |
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| Forceman, Anzio, Italy, 1944. |
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| Formation patch worn on Kiska as an FSSF item of dress. One source claims that the only patches issued during the period the FSSF was involved at Kiska were printed, and that embroidered patches were not created until later, and therefore embroidered badges were never worn by the FSSF. |
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| Two Canadian Army officers returning from Kiska in the Aleutian Islands. The 13th Canadian Infantry Brigade Group was part of the Canadian element in the operation to remove the Japanese threat from the northwest Pacific. These officers appear to be wearing the two different types of Kiska patches, the printed version on the officer on the left (Capt R.D. Chaneman) and the embroidered pattern on the officer on the right. This unit was not part of the FSSF, but does show that both versions of the patch were worn during the war. |
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| Brigadier Harry Foster, Canadian Army. He wears the formation patch of the Kiska force on his Canadian battledress, as well as an American pistol belt with first aid pouch and pistol case. |
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| Infantrymen of the 13th Canadian Infantry Brigade Group aboard a landing craft taking part in Operation Cottage in August 1943. The special formation patch of ATF-9 featured a knife on a blue disc with white edge. A mix of Canadian battledress and American gear (including steel helmets) is being worn. American rank insignia is worn on the steel helmets by Canadian officers for ease of recognition by their allies. |
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| Colonel Frederick wearing a printed patch on Kiska. |
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| Forcemen painting their faces before a mission. Note the patch being worn on either arm. |
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| FSSF parachute oval. The ovals were used to back the U.S. metal jump wings. |
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| An FSSF member wearing the FSSF parachute oval and shoulder braid. |
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| Forcemen wearing oval backed jump wings, Montana, October 1942. |
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| Henry Gerlach Bazurto, FSSF, 4th Co., 1st Regiment. He also served in the 7th Cavalry at Fort Bliss, Texas. General Frederick came to talk to them and recruit for the force. He then participated in the invasion of Kiska, Aleutians, in the Anzio beachhead, in the battle of La Difensa, Italy, in the battle of Rome, and in the battle of Ceppagna, Italy. |
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| Lieutenant D.I. McWilliams, of Toronto, photographed in Ottawa in June 1944. He wears Canadian Service Dress with Canadian parachute wings, the FSSF red/white/blue fourragère, and the arrowhead shoulder sleeve insignia. His cap, of Canadian design, bears the cap badge of the "Canadian Parachute Corps", and his collar badges are also for the "Canadian Parachute Corps." Some officers had attempted to obtain badges of the Canadian Parachute Corps, having no time to design their own Force badges. The Corps, however, was nominal; it did not exist in reality, and the Force was so informed by National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa. The 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion nonetheless was using the badges of the non-existent corps as its insignia (as were parachute school staff in Canada), and so a number of Force officers purchased the insignia directly from the manufacturer, William Scully, in Montreal. |
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| 5th Company, 1st Regiment, FSSF. |
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| V-42 Special Forces Knife used by the FSSF. The FSSF stiletto—a type of knife designed for thrusting—was based on the Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife issued to British (and Allied) Commandos in Britain as early as 1941. The Type V-42 Fighting Knife featured a narrower, double-edged stiletto blade made of high carbon steel, and a scored indentation below the hilt for the wielder’s thumb, the latter intended to provide optimal orientation of the weapon for thrusting. (One veteran confessed that the knife probably opened more tin cans that enemy throats. However, the slim blade was quite brittle and ill-suited for this sort of domestic work.) Today, badges of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, and the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command, bear the V-42 stiletto. |
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| Colonel Robert T. Frederick (center) reviews new arrivals at Fort William Henry Harrison in Helena, Montana, August 1942. |
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| Forcemen of the First Special Service Force boarding a Douglas C-47 aircraft during parachute training at Fort William Henry Harrison, Helena, Montana, August 1942. |
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| Forcemen skiing during training in Montana. |
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| Forcemen ski training along the Continental Divide at Blossburg, Montana. |
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| Forceman melting snow for coffee. |
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| Forcemen training in Montana. |
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| Force parade, Helena, Montana, April 1943. Parachute wings without backing ovals are visible. |
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| The Vemork hydro-electric power plant outside Rjukan, Norway—shown above in 1935—produced heavy water (deuterium oxide) as a by-product of fertilizer production. After Germany invaded Norway in 1940, the British hatched numerous schemes to destroy the facility. The plant was one of several targets that the FSSF would have been tasked with destroying. In February 1943, Norwegian commandos succeeded in sabotaging part of the plant and destroying all of the heavy water stored on the site. A year later, when the Germans tried to export heavy water, a Norwegian saboteur sank the ferry transporting the barrels. German scientists never did acquire enough heavy water from the plant for the purpose of developing nuclear weapons. |
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| The FSSF landing on Kiska. |
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| T-24 cargo carrier used by the FSSF. |
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| FSSF members in Italy. |
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| Forcemen ham it up in Italy, 1943. |
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| T-4 Harold R. Owen, 4-3 (Santa Monica, California) helps Private Barney Snyder, 4-3 (Coraopolis, Pennsylvania) with his gear. In December 1944, the pair graced the cover of the European edition of Yank magazine. Note the field-expedient modifications made to the M1919A4 light machine gun beside them. The Force was not issued with the M1919A6, which had a bipod and a lighter barrel. The M1919A4 below is fitted with a bipod from a BAR and a shoulder stock removed from a German MG13. Owens has stuffed rifle grenades in his trademark mountain trousers. |
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| An Italian civilian guides members of the FSSF through a recently liberated town, Radicosa, Italy, near Cassino, January 4, 1944. |
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| Forceman Private Norton L. Shaver (Battle Creek, Michigan), escorts a German prisoner through the village of Borgata Le Noci, near Venafro, Italy, January 1944. |
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| Note Italian mountain troops and pack mules being used to bring up supplies and ammunition. |
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| Forcemen outside Radicosa, near Cassino, January 4, 1944. |
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| Sangar near Radicosa, Italy, January 4, 1944. It was almost impossible to dig into the rocky mountainsides. Building a sangar was laborious, but in the exposed landscape, it offered some welcome protection, especially from enemy mortar fire. Note the trademark mountain trousers on the prone Forceman. |
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| Forcemen outside Radicosa, near Cassino, January 4, 1944. |
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| Machine gun squad members from the 2nd Regiment prepare supper near the crest of the Apennines near Radicosa, January 1944. |
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| A Forceman with a captured German MG 42 machine gun on the Winter Line. During training in the U.S., each member of the Force became proficient in the use of enemy small arms. This training paid dividends during the fight or Monte Majo in January 1944. When their ammunition ran out, Forcemen used captured German weapons to repel repeated enemy counterattacks and hold their ground. |
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| Forceman loaded down with captured German weapons, two MG 42s and three MP40s. |
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| Lt. W.H. Langdon, carrying full kit, joins up with the FSSF north of Venafro, Italy, January 1944. |
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| Winter Line, Venafro. |
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| Winter Line, Venafro. |
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| Harlan S. Morgan, 3-2 manpacks medical supplies up to the front in January 1944. He and others of 3rd Company have left their weapons behind in order to demonstrate their temporary non-combatant status. During the assault on la Difensa and la Remetanea, the men of the 3rd Regiment and the Service Battalion had labored as human pack mules, in an effort to keep the troops atop Hill 960 resupplied. It was then that Forcemen began to call themselves “Freddie’s Freighters,” after their commander Colonel Frederick. |
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| Winter Line, Venafro. |
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| Winter Line, Venafro. |
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| Winter Lien, Venafro. |
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| Forcemen, Italy, 1944. |
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| Canadian personnel of the First Special Service Force awaiting medical evacuation, near Venafro, Italy, January 1944. (Left to right): Sgt. Roy Cooper, Portage LaPrairie, Manitoba; Sgt. Fred Hill, Havelock, Ontario; and Sgt. N.D. Torpe, Metiskou, Alberta. |
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| Lieutenant J. Kostelec of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and Lieutenant H.C. Wilson of Olympia, Washington, United States, both officers of the First Special Service Force, standing outside a clearing station at Noci, near the Force's next objective, Radicoso, Italy, January 2, 1944. |
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| Canadians and Americans wear the same uniform in the First Special Service Force. Lieut. J. Kostelec (Calgary, Alberta) and Lieut. H.C. Wilson (Olympia, Washington) resting on the steps of the Force's Clearing Station, near Venafro, Italy, January 2, 1944. |
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| Lt Kostelec of 1st Company, 3rd Regiment, photographed a month after the raid on Mt Difensa on January 2, 1944. Notice that his lieutenant bars have been embroidered on to his M43 field coat. Kostelec, originally from Calgary, Alberta, was reported missing in action on March 4, 1944, and was presumed dead. |
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| Members of the First Special Service Force preparing a meal in Anzio, Italy, in April 1944. |
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| FSSF outpost at Anzio. |
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| Patrol in no man's land blasts Germans out of a farmhouse in the Anzio beachhead, April 14, 1944. |
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| Forcemen mount a daylight patrol for the cameraman, Anzio, April 14, 1944. The soldier on the right is armed with a Johnson light machine gun. |
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| FSSF M1919A4 Browning light machine gun section, 1st Platoon, 5-2. |
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| Forcemen of the First Special Service Force in the Anzio beachhead, April 20, 1944. |
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| Forcemen with a variety of weapons. |
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| Forcemen of the First Special Service Force who received medals in the Anzio beachhead. April 20, 1944. |
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| Unidentified sergeant of the First Special Service Force, wearing the distinctive USA-CANADA spearhead shoulder title. April 20, 1944. |
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| An unidentified major of the First Special Service Force, Anzio beachhead. 20-27 April, 1944. |
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| FSSF chaplain. |
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| Forcemen of 5-2, First Special Service Force, preparing to go on an evening patrol in the Anzio beachhead, Operation Shingle, Italy, ca. 20-27 April 1944. |
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| Forcemen of the First Special Service Force preparing to go on an evening patrol in the Anzio beachhead. April 20-27, 1944. |
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| Forcemen of the First Special Service Force with a Browning light machine gun in the Anzio beachhead, April 20-27, 1944. |
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| Forcemen of 3-1, First Special Service Force, in an M2 60mm mortar pit. April 20-27, 1944. |
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| A 6-2 Section of the First Special Service Force during a battle drill in the Anzio beachhead, April 20-27, 1944. |
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| Two Forcemen help themselves to some local refreshment. |
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| Third Regiment men rest on the way to the front, in Remetanea area. |
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| First Regiment troops move up railroad tracks in the Anzio area. |
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| Forcemen of 5-2, First Special Service Force, with an M1941 Johnson light machine gun on the Anzio beachhead, Italy, April 1944. They are in the process of disassembling (or reassembling) the gun. |
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| Firing Johnson light machine gun. |
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| Forceman with Johnson light machine gun. |
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| Forceman Pvt. John Johnston of Montreal, Canada, aims a Johnson light machine gun in the Radicosa area. |
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| Forceman Pvt. John Johnston with a Johnson light machine gun, near Radicosa, Italy, January 4, 1944. |
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| Private Donald B. Rew, 4-1, Lynbrook, New York, cradles a Johnson light machine gun. He wears mountain trousers and the distinctive 1942 pattern reversible parka worn by the Force. |
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| Forceman with BAR, near Radicosa or Cervaro, Italy, January 1944.. |
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| Three Forcemen after receiving Silver Stars at headquarters in the Nettuno area, spring 1944. The Royal Union (Jack) flag was raised and lowered alongside the Stars and Stripes during FSSF ceremonies. From 1904 until 1945, the Union Flag supplanted the Canadian Red Ensign as the "official" flag of the Dominion of Canada. In January 1944, the Ensign—the de facto national flag since Confederation, in 1867—became the official battle flag of the Canadian Army. However, it appears that the Union Flag remained the official flag of the Canadian element of the FSSF, as shown during this award ceremony. |
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| Sgt. Vernon Doucette, 4th Company, 3rd Regiment, First Special Service Force, poses for a photo near Cori, Italy. |
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| 2nd Platoon, 4-2, France, October 1944. |
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| Forcemen of 6-3 in southern France. |
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| Forcemen of 4-3 in the Alpes Maritime, October 1944. |
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| Forcemen, southern France, 1944. |
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| Elements of the First Special Service Forces, the "Devil's Brigade," are among the first to enter the Buchenwald Death camp during World War II. In this picture, Edward R. Murrow (left), Richard Barber (middle), and an unidentified prisoner of Buchenwald is seen standing. |
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| Lieutenant Colonel Akehurst examines the Military Medal awarded to Sergeant Tommy Prince at an investiture at Buckingham Palace in 1945. The FSSF received many individual awards in addition to their unit accolades. Prince was recognized as the most decorated Native soldier in the Canadian Army. Note also the return to Canadian uniforms by members of the Force following its disbandment, and the repatriation of Canadian soldiers from the U.S. Army. |
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| Sergeant G.A. Rainville, a former Canadian member of the First Special Service Force receives the Silver Star from Brigadier-General E.F. Koenig, Commander of U.S. Forces in the United Kingdom, Canadian Repatriation Unit, in England, on April 24, 1945. |
