After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and Hitler’s subsequent declaration of war, the United States found itself fighting on two fronts: in Pacific Asia and Europe.
To prepare for these arduous campaigns, with the expectation that amphibious landings would certainly form part of the coming battles, the US Navy founded the Amphibious Training Base at Little Creek, Virginia, in August 1942. Two naval special forces units known as the Amphibious Scouts and Raiders (S&R) were established to prepare for Operation Torch in North Africa. They were tasked to conduct beach reconnaissance and lead night assaults on landing beaches.
At the same time, Little Creek developed a specialised team under the Naval Demolition Project. Consisting of 19 men, including two officers, the team was made up of experienced naval frogmen who had trained in salvage diving. Their skills were expanded to include training in demolitions, rubber boat use, cable cutting and commando combat. For the rest of 1942 and into early 1943, these frogmen were known as the Special Mission Naval Demolition Unit (SMNDU).
From 6 June 1943, the S&R and SMDNU inspired the formation of the Naval Combat Demolition Units (NCDUs) whose training school was established at Fort Pierce, Florida. Every NCDU team consisted of one officer and five sailors that would operate from a single boat. They paid particular attention to destroying submerged enemy beach obstacles. A majority of NCDU teams were deployed to the Pacific while the others were sent to the Mediterranean and Britain.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der Issue 119-Ausgabe von History of War.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der Issue 119-Ausgabe von History of War.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
COUPS & CHAOS
How the French armed forces lost the war in Algeria and almost destroyed French democracy in the process
BATTLE OF ALGIERS
When the Front de libération nationale FLN) took its war to the streets of the capital, France’s military responded with merciless wrath
THE RISE OF ALGERIAN RESISTANCE
How the anti-colonialist struggle around the globe helped inspire Algeria’s liberation movement to organise and fight back
ROOTS OF REVOLUTION
A century of French occupation led to a genocide in Algeria that provoked one of the bloodiest showdowns of the modern age
DWIGHT W BIRDWELL
In the opening hours of the North Vietnamese Tet Offensive, this Specialist Five led his armoured cavalry detachment in repulsing a fierce communist assault against Tan Son Nhut Air Base near Saigon
THE FIVE STRATEGY AND LEADERSHIP
Phillips O’Brien discusses how this quintet of national leaders impacted the course of the Second World War
Great Battles FLODDEN
On the morning of 9 September 1513, King James lV of Scotland stood atop Flodden Hill with what seemed an insurmountable advantage over the English. Yet by the day's end he would lay slain and his army shattered
FERDINAND 'THE BLOODY'
Known for his brutal martial punishment and execution of his own men, Ferdinand Schérner’s ruthlessness was matched only by his devotion to Nazi ideology
AIRBORNE UNDER SIEGE ARNHEM
For nine days the heroic 1st Airborne fought desperately, waiting vainly for relief that never came
SCANDINAVIA UNDER ATTACK
Hitler’s forces smash through Denmark and Norway ina grim foretaste of the terrible fate awaiting the rest of Western Europe