Second World War Between September and November 1943, in Scotland, 102nd Brigade,
Royal Marines Division, was detached from the division, to form the independent 3rd Special Service Brigade – a joint British Army-Royal Marines formation. The founding commander was Brigadier Wilfrid Nonweiler and it was composed of the following units: •
No. 1 Commando (Army); •
No. 5 Commando (Army); •
No. 42 Commando (Royal Marines); and •
No. 44 Commando (Royal Marines). Nos. 1 and 5 Commandos had already earned battle honours as units in, respectively, the
North African and
Madagascar campaigns. Because "Commando", at the time, implied a company/battalion-sized unit, the name "Special Service" was instead used for British commando brigades. (However, the term "Commando Brigade" was often used informally, because "Special Service" was unpopular and had a
superficial similarity to the name of the notorious German
Schutzstaffel (SS).) The brigade was later officially renamed
3rd Commando Brigade. On 10 November 1943, elements of the brigade embarked at
Gourock, bound for
India. It was intended that the brigade would be used in operations against
Japanese forces in the
South-East Asia theatre, such as the
Burma campaign. However, the limited shipping capacity available at the time meant that the relocation was prolonged and the components of the brigade were not reunited until late 1944. Lt Col.
Peter Young was transferred from the
Normandy campaign to become
second-in-command of 3rd Commando Brigade. Young succeeded Nonweiler as commander of the brigade. During January 1945, the brigade was involved in the
campaign to recapture Arakan, including the
battles of Myebon peninsula and Kangaw. The brigade was then withdrawn to India to prepare for
Operation Zipper, a proposed amphibious operation to recapture the Malayan peninsula. The
atomic bombs against Japan precipitated an earlier
surrender of Japan than expected. The 3rd Commando Brigade moved to secure
Hong Kong – a British
crown colony that was under Japanese occupation in 1941–45. During 1946, British Army personnel and units within the 3rd Commando Brigade were demobilised or transferred elsewhere and it became a Royal Marine formation.
Post Second World War 3 Commando Brigade's most high-profile operation after the war was the
Suez Crisis, when it took part in the
amphibious assault against
Egyptian targets. During
Operation Musketeer, units of the brigade made a
helicopter-borne assault. 1971 saw the withdrawal of British forces from the Far East and
Persian Gulf. The brigade returned to the UK with other British units. It moved to
Stonehouse Barracks in
Plymouth, where it remains to this day.
Operation Corporate The brigade's next large operation was in 1982.
Argentina invaded the
Falkland Islands, and 3 Commando Brigade, reinforced by
2 Para and
3 Para, was one of the two main British land formations that took part in operations to recapture the islands (the other was
5th Infantry Brigade). The brigade landed at
San Carlos Water and marched across
East Falkland to
Stanley. Argentine units were defeated in several sharp engagements, and their forces surrendered on 14 June.
Gulf War In the aftermath of the 1991
Gulf War, the brigade was deployed on a
non-combat task in northern
Iraq. The Iraqi
Kurds had suffered immensely during the war and in its aftermath, and the brigade was used due to its rapid deployment ability. It provided
humanitarian aid to the Kurds and saved many from
starvation.
21st century armoured vehicle of 3 Commando Brigade, Royal Marines, on patrol during Operation Fibonacci near Kuh-e Baba and Shin Ghar,
Helmand, Afghanistan. Recently, the brigade has been involved in two major campaigns, including
Operation Veritas in
Afghanistan, 2001 and 2002, and
Operation Telic during the
2003 invasion of Iraq. Iraq, however, saw heavy fighting occur in the early stages of the campaign, as the brigade made its first
amphibious assault in over 20 years by landing on the
Al-Faw peninsula in south-east Iraq. In 2006, the brigade returned to Afghanistan on
Operation Herrick, replacing
16 Air Assault Brigade, where intense fighting occurred. In 2022, 3 Commando Brigade was rebranded to the
United Kingdom Commando Force (UKCF), a process that started in 2020 and completed in 2024. == Falklands War order of battle ==