British Commandos

British Commandos played a key role in the D-Day landings of 6 June 1944 and the Normandy campaign that followed. They were elite, lightly armed volunteers, known for their green berets and tough training.  Army and Royal Marine Commando units came ashore with the first assault waves. Their job was to clear German coastal strongpoints, link up the separate landing beaches, and push inland to join the airborne troops who had landed overnight.

One of the best-known moments of the day came when Commandos waded ashore to the sound of bagpipes and fought their way inland to relieve the paratroopers holding the vital bridges over the Orne River.  Free French commandos fought alongside them, the only French troops to land on D-Day.

After the landings, the Commandos were asked to do something they weren't trained for:  hold a defensive line for weeks on the exposed eastern edge of the beachhead.  They beat off repeated German counterattacks and took heavy losses.  They held on until the Allied breakout in August, which earned them a reputation for courage and endurance that remains part of their legacy today.