Special forces
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other uses of the term, see Special forces (disambiguation).
Special forces or special operations forces are highly-trained, specialized military units which conduct military operations such as reconnaissance, unconventional warfare, and counter-terrorism actions. Some special forces operations such as counter-terrorism actions may be carried out domestically. Special Forces units are typically composed of relatively small groups of highly-trained personnel equipped with specialist equipment and armament, operating with principles of self-sufficiency, stealth, speed and close teamwork.
Typically, these forces simply perform irregular or special military tasks that demand more training, skill or fitness than regular military personnel possess.
The selection processes and training for special forces units are rigorous. Personnel of some special forces could also require much higher security clearance than regular army personnel, because they have access to sensitive or classified information.
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[edit] Usage of the term
Use of the term varies internationally and at times indiscriminately applies to military, rather than civilian policing, capabilities skilled across a spectrum of employment areas. In the United States a distinction is formally drawn between Special Forces and Special Operations Forces, the term Special Forces reserved for the United States Army Special Forces. Media usage does not always reflect this distinction.
The term does not allude to elite units, an undefined term frequently used to denote particularly high quality, but otherwise regular, units such as Napoleon's Imperial Guard. The term also does not allude to military specialists, personnel with special skills and tasks such as engineers, forward observers, medical personnel and mechanics. Special forces training is generally a specialisation in its own right.
[edit] History of special forces
Special forces have played an important role throughout the history of warfare when the aim has been to achieve disruption by "hit and run" and sabotage, rather than more traditional face to face combat. Other significant roles lay in reconnaissance, providing essential intelligence from close to or among the enemy, and increasingly in combating terrorists, their infrastructure and activities.
In antiquity, Hamilcar Barca in Sicily had specialized troops trained to launch several offensives per day. Later, during the Byzantine-Arab wars, the Arab armies had several naval special operations units, including one which used camouflaged ships to gather intelligence and launch raids, and another which consisted of soldiers who could pass for Crusaders who would use ruses to board enemy ships and then capture and destroy them. [1]
During the Napoleonic wars, rifle and sapper units existed who were not committed to the formal lines that made up most battles of the day. They instead held more specialised roles in reconnaissance and skirmishing. The formation of the Bushveldt Carbineers in the Second Boer War may also be seen as an early manifestation of a unit for unconventional warfare.
[edit] World War I
During World War I Colonel Bassi of the Italian Army formed 27 battalion sized "Reparti d'assalto" (Assault Units) called Arditi. They were assigned the tactical role of shock troops, breaching enemy defences in order to prepare the way for a broad infantry advance. The Reparti d'assalto were successful in bringing a degree of movement to what had previously been a war of entrenched positions. The Arditi were not considered infantry troops, but were seen and organised as a separate combat arm and therefore received extended tactical training, the best and newest weapons and a distinct new uniform. Thus they are some of the modern world's first special forces. On the German side, the success of the Spring Offensive reflected on their successful employment of specially trained stormtrooper or Sturmtruppen units, whose unconventional infiltration tactics made them de facto special forces.
[edit] World War II
During World War II in 1940 the British Commandos were formed following Winston Churchill's call for "specially trained troops of the hunter class, who can develop a reign of terror down the enemy coast." The Commandos were selected from volunteers among existing servicemen and went on to spawn a number of other specialist units including the Long Range Desert Group, the Special Air Service, the Special Boat Service and the Small Scale Raiding Force of the Special Operations Executive.
In the Burma Campaign, the Chindits, whose long range penetration groups were trained to operate from bases deep behind Japanese lines, contained commandos (King's Regiment (Liverpool), 142 Commando Company) and Gurkhas. Their jungle expertise, which would play an important part in many British special forces operations post war, was learnt, at a great cost in lives, in the jungles of Burma fighting the Japanese.
In mid-1942, the United States formed the Rangers who were based on and trained by the Commandos. The United States and Canada also formed a sabotage ski brigade for operations in Norway who became known as the Devil's Brigade during their eventual service in Italy. Merrill's Marauders were modelled on the Chindits and took part in similar operations in Burma.
The German army had the Brandenburger Regiment which became a special forces unit used by the Abwehr for infiltration and long distance reconnaissance in Fall Weiss of 1939 and the Fall Gelb and Barbarossa campaigns of 1940. Later during the war the SS- Jagdverbände, a unit within the Waffen SS commanded by Otto Skorzeny, also conducted many special operations.
On October 21, 1944 Hitler—inspired by an American subterfuge which had put three captured German tanks flying German colours to devastating use at Aachen—summoned Skorzeny to Berlin and assigned him to lead a panzer brigade. As planned by Skorzeny in Operation Greif, about two dozen German soldiers, most of them in captured American army Jeeps and disguised as American Military Police officers, penetrated American lines in the early hours of the Battle of the Bulge and sowed disorder behind the Allied lines by mis-directing convoys away from the front lines. A handful of his men were captured by the Americans and spread a rumour that Skorzeny was leading a raid on Paris to kill or capture General Eisenhower. Although this was untrue, Eisenhower was confined to his headquarters for weeks and Skorzeny was labelled "the most dangerous man in Europe".
In Italy, the Decima Flottiglia MAS were responsible for the sinking and damage of considerable Allied tonnage in the Mediterranean. After the division of Italy in 1943, those fighting with Germany retained the original name and those fighting with the Allies retitled as the Mariassalto. The Z Special Unit was an Australian Navy commando unit which bombed Japanese ships in Singapore Harbour.
[edit] Late 20th and early 21st century
Throughout the later half of the 20th century and into the 21st century, special forces have come to higher prominence, as governments have found objectives can sometimes be better achieved by a small team of anonymous specialists than a larger and much more politically controversial conventional deployment. In both Kosovo and Afghanistan, Special Forces were used to co-ordinate activities between local guerrilla fighters and air power. Typically, guerrilla fighters would engage enemy soldiers and tanks causing them to move, where they could be seen and attacked from the air.
Invariably, special forces were used in military operations such as the Falklands War, The Troubles in Northern Ireland, the first and second Gulf Wars, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Bosnia, first Chechen War and second Chechen War, the Iranian Embassy siege (London), Moscow theater hostage crisis and Japanese Embassy hostage crisis (Lima).
[edit] Special forces units
Many countries have military organisations which describe themselves as being Special Forces, however there is no independent verification of this status.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- U.S. Army Special Operations Command. Official site.
- Special Operations Warrior Foundation. Official Site.
- US Army Special Forces Web Forum
- ShadowSpear Special Operations Community Website & Forum
- United Warrior Survivor Foundation, Supporting Families of Fallen Special Forces Members
- Special Forces Preparation Training Resource
- U.S. Army Special Forces Community Forums and Information
