In most countries special forces (SF) is a generic term for highly-trained military units that conduct specialized operations such as reconnaissance, unconventional warfare, and counter-terrorism actions. A military is an Organization authorized by its Nation to use force usually including use of Weapons in defending its Country (or by attacking This article describes three distinct but related terms military operations Operations as military events and operational level of war Reconnaissance (also scouting) is a military and medical term denoting exploration conducted to gain information Unconventional warfare (abbreviated UW) is the opposite of Conventional warfare. Counter-terrorism or counterterrorism refers to the practices tactics, techniques and strategies that Governments militaries, Police departments (In the United States, the term Special Operations Forces (SOF) is used instead of special forces to refer to the aforementioned units because Special Forces refers to a specific unit, the United States Army Special Forces or "Green Berets". )

Some special forces operations, such as counter-terrorism actions, may be carried out domestically under certain circumstances. Special forces units are typically composed of relatively small groups of highly-trained personnel equipped with specialist equipment and armament, operating under principles of self-sufficiency, stealth, speed, and close teamwork, often transported by helicopter, small boats or submarines, parachuting from aircraft, or stealthy infiltration by land. A general dictionary defines teamwork as a " Cooperative or coordinated effort on the part of a group of persons acting together as a team or in the interests of a common Special forces are sometimes considered a force multiplier, as when they train indigenous forces to fight guerrilla warfare. Force multiplication, in military usage refers to a combination of attributes or advantages which make a given force more effective than another force of comparable size ^[1]

Contents 1 History of special forces 1.1 World War I 1.2 World War II 1.3 Late 20th and early 21st century 2 Special forces units 3 References 4 See also

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. Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening an enemy oppressor or employer through subversion obstruction disruption and/or destruction 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. Reconnaissance (also scouting) is a military and medical term denoting exploration conducted to gain information

In antiquity, Hamilcar Barca in Sicily had specialized troops trained to launch several offensives per day. Hamilcar Barca or Barcas (ca 275 &ndash 228 BC was a Carthaginian general and statesman leader of the Barcid family and father of Hannibal Later, during the Crusade wars, small, highly trained units of Knights Templar attacked individual Muslim units attempting to forage or seize booty. The Crusades were a series of military campaigns of a religious character waged by much of Christian Europe against external and internal opponents The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon (Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Solomonici commonly known as the Knights Templar or the Order Muslim 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. ^[2] In ancient China and Feudal Japan, specially trained martial artists, called Ninja, were employed to fight guerilla warfare as well as engage in espionage. "Ancient" redirects here For other uses see Ancient_(disambiguation. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Feudalism, a term first used in the early modern period (17th century in its most classic sense refers to a Medieval Europe Political system composed For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Martial arts are systems of codified practices and traditions of training for Combat. Guerrilla warfare is the unconventional warfare and combat with which a small group of combatants use mobile tactics (ambushes raids etc

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. The Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815 involved Napoleon's French Empire and a shifting set of European allies and opposing coalitions A sapper is an individual engineer soldier usually in British or Commonwealth military service They instead held more specialised roles in reconnaissance and skirmishing.

For the British Army, it was during the Second Boer War (1899-1902) that the need for more specialised units became most apparent. See also First Boer War,, South African Wars (1879-1915 The Second Boer War ( Dutch: Tweede Boerenoorlog, Afrikaans: Scouting units such as Lovat Scouts, a Scottish Highland regiment made up of phenomenal woodsmen outfitted in ghillie suits and well practiced in the arts of marksmanship, field craft, and military tactics, best filled this role. The Lovat Scouts is now a Platoon of the British Army 's 51st Highland Regiment. The word woodsman, meaning man of the woods, can be applied to any person coming from or living in a wooded area. A ghillie suit, or yowie suit, is a type of Camouflage Clothing designed to resemble heavy Foliage. Shooting is the act or process of firing Rifles Shotguns or other projectile Weapons such as bows or Crossbows Even the firing of Field craft is a term used especially in British Military circles to describe the basic military skills required to operate stealthily at day or night regardless Military tactics ( Greek: Taktikē, the art of organizing an army are the techniques for using weapons or military units in combination for engaging and defeating This unit was formed in 1900 by Lord Lovat and early on reported to an American, Major Frederick Russell Burnham, the Chief of Scouts under Lord Roberts. Brigadier-General Simon Joseph Fraser 14th Lord Lovat KT KCMG KCVO CB DSO ( 25 November 1871 - 18 February Frederick Russell Burnham, DSO (May 11 1861 – September 1 1947 was an American scout and world traveling adventurer known for his service to the Field Marshal Frederick Sleigh Roberts 1st Earl Roberts, VC, KG, KP, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, PC After the war, Lovat's Scouts went on to formally become the British Army's first sniper unit. ^[3] Additionally, the formation of the Bushveldt Carbineers in 1901 may also be seen as an early manifestation of a unit for unconventional warfare. The Bushveldt Carbineers (BVC were a short-lived multinational Mounted infantry Regiment of the British Army, raised in South Africa during

World War I

During World War I Colonel Bassi of the Italian Army formed 27 battalion-sized "Reparti d'assalto" (Assault Units) called Arditi. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All The Italian Army (Esercito Italiano is the ground defense force of the Military of Italy. Arditi was the name adopted by Italian Army elite Storm troops of World War I. They were assigned the tactical role of shock troops, breaching enemy defenses 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 organized 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. The 1918 Spring Offensive or Kaiserschlacht ( Kaiser's Battle) and also known as the Ludendorff Offensive was a series of German attacks along the The Stormtroopers (in German Stoßtruppen, shock troops) were specialist military troops which were formed in the last years of World War I as the German

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. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The British Commandos were first formed by the British Army in June 1940 during World War II as a well-armed but non-regimental raider force employing unconventional Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC, PC (Can ( 30 November 1874 " 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. The Long Range Desert Group ( LRDG) was a British Army unit during World War II. The Special Air Service ( SAS) is a Special forces regiment within the British Army which has served as a model and inspiration for the special The Special Boat Service ( SBS) is the Special forces unit of the British Royal Navy. A Small Scale Raiding Force ( SSRF) was initiated by Lord Louis Mountbatten, Chief of Combined Operations, in February/March 1942 to be a permanent The Special Operations Executive ( SOE) (sometimes referred to as "the Baker Street Irregulars " after Sherlock Holmes ' fictional group of helpers

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. The Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II was fought primarily between British Commonwealth, Chinese and United The Chindits (Officially in 1942 77th Indian Infantry Brigade and in 1943 Indian 3rd Infantry Division) were a British Indian Army "Special Force" that served For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. The King's Regiment (Liverpool was one of the oldest Infantry Regiments of the British Army, having been formed in 1685 and numbered as the 8th Prithvi Naraya Shahdev and Sri Teen Maharaja Jung Bahadur The Way of Sacrifice The Rajputs Pages 28-30 Graduate Thesis South Asian Studies Department Dr 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. Burma, officially the Union of Myanmar ( pjìdàunzṵ mjàmmà nàinŋàndɔ̀ is the largest country by geographical area in mainland Southeast Asia.

In mid-1942, the United States formed the Rangers. Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The United States Army Rangers or simply Army Rangers are specialized elite American light infantry and Special operations troops 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. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Ski warfare, the use of ski -equipped troops in War, is first recorded by the Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus Properly designated as the 1st Special Service Force, The Devil's Brigade was a joint World War II American - Canadian Merrill's Marauders were modelled on the Chindits and took part in similar operations in Burma. Merrill’s Marauders, officially named the 5307th Composite Unit (provisional, was a United States Long range penetration Special forces unit

In late November of 1943, the Alamo Scouts were formed to conduct reconnaissance and raider work in the Southwest Pacific Theater under the personal command of then Lt. The Alamo Scouts (US 6th Army Special Reconnaissance Unit was a reconnaissance unit for the U General Walter Krueger, Commanding General, Sixth U. S. Army. Krueger envisioned that the Alamo Scouts, consisting of small teams of highly trained volunteers, would operate deep behind enemy lines to provide intelligence-gathering and tactical reconnaissance in advance of Sixth U. S. Army landing operations. The Alamo Scouts have the finest record of any elite unit of World War II and, arguably, one of the finest in the history of the United States military. In 1988, the Alamo Scouts were individually awarded the SPECIAL FORCES SHOULDER TAB for their services in World War II and included in the lineage of today's U. S. Army Special Forces.

The German army had the Brandenburger Regiment, which was originally founded as 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 and 1941. The Brandenburgers were members of the Brandenburg German Commando unit during World War II. The Abwehr was a German intelligence organization from 1921 to 1944 In World War II, the Battle of France, also known as the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries Operation Barbarossa ( Unternehmen Barbarossa) was the Codename for Nazi Germany 's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II Later during the war the SS- Jagdverbände, a unit within the Waffen SS commanded by Otto Skorzeny, also conducted many special operations. The Waffen-SS ( German for "Armed SS" literally "Weapons SS" was the Combat arm of the Schutzstaffel ("Protective Squadron" Otto Skorzeny ( June 12 1908 – July 6 1975) was an Obersturmbannführer in the German Waffen-SS

On October 21, 1944 Adolf 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. Events 1512 - Martin Luther joins the theological faculty of the University of Wittenberg. Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently vandalized and vandalism is reverted immediately The Battle of Aachen was a Battle in Aachen, Germany, that took place in October 1944 in World War II. A panzer, pronunced, is a German Tank, especially in the context of World War II. 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. Operation Greif was a special False flag operation commanded by the notorious Waffen-SS Commando Otto Skorzeny during the Battle Jeep is an Automobile Marque (and registered trademark of Chrysler. Military police ( MPs) are normally the Police of a Military Organization. The Ardennes Offensive (16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945 was a major German offensive launched towards the end of World War II through the forested Ardennes Mountains 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. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (October 14 1890 – March 28 1969 was President of the United States from 1953 until 1961 and a five-star general 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. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest The Decima Flottiglia MAS ( Decima Flottiglia M ezzi d' As salto also known as La Decima or Xª MAS) ( Italian for "10th 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. Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

The Z Special Unit was an Australian commando unit which sunk several Japanese ships in Singapore Harbour as part of Operation Jaywick. Z Special Unit, often known as Z Force, was a joint Australian British and New Zealand Commando unit which saw action against For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Singapore Operation Jaywick was a special operation undertaken in World War II.

In Finland, Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols (Kaukopartio) were used extensively to perform reconnaissance missions deep behind Soviet lines. Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol, or LRRP (pronounced and sometimes spelled "LuRP" were special small four to six-man teams utilized in the Vietnam War The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Occasionally they were also used to destroy strategic targets.

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. The twentieth century of the Common Era began on The 21st century is the current century of the Christian Era or Common Era in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. In both Kosovo and Afghanistan, special forces were used to co-ordinate activities between local guerrilla fighters and air power. Afghanistan /æfˈgænɪstæn/ officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ( Pashto: د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت, Guerrilla warfare is the unconventional warfare and combat with which a small group of combatants use mobile tactics (ambushes raids etc Air power redirects here for electrical and mechanical energy supplied by air movement see Wind power Typically, guerrilla fighters would engage enemy soldiers and tanks causing them to move, where they could be seen and attacked from the air. Guerrilla warfare is the unconventional warfare and combat with which a small group of combatants use mobile tactics (ambushes raids etc

Invariably, special forces were used in military operations such as the Vietnam War, 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), Operation Defensive Shield, Moscow theater hostage crisis, Japanese Embassy hostage crisis (Lima) and in Sri Lanka against the LTTE. The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, or the Vietnam Conflict, occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia The Falklands War (Guerra de las Malvinas/Guerra del Atlántico Sur also called the Falklands Conflict/Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the The 2003 invasion of Iraq, from March 20 to May 1 2003 was spearheaded by the United States, backed by British forces and smaller contingents from Australia Afghanistan /æfˈgænɪstæn/ officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ( Pashto: د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت, Bosnia and Herzegovina ( Latin script: Bosna i Hercegovina, Cyrillic script: Босна и Херцеговина is a country on the Balkan The First Chechen War also known as the War in Chechnya was fought between Russia and Chechnya from 1994 to 1996 and resulted in Chechnya's The Second Chechen War, in a later phase better known as the War in the North Caucasus, was launched by the Russian Federation starting August 26 The Iranian Embassy Siege of 1980 was a Siege of the Iranian embassy in London after it had been taken over by Iranian Arab Separatists London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Background March and April 2002 saw a dramatic increase of Suicide bomb attacks against Israelis by Palestinian militant groups such as Hamas, The Moscow theater hostage crisis, also known as the 2002 Nord-Ost siege, was the seizure of a crowded Moscow Theatre on October 23 The Japanese embassy hostage crisis began on December 17, 1996 in Lima, Peru, when 14 members of the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement Lima is the Capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers on a coast overlooking Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( Sinhalese:, இலங்கை known as Ceylon before 1972 is an Island "LTTE" redirects here For the Led Zeppelin bootleg see Listen to This Eddie.

Special forces units

Main article: List of special forces units

Many countries have military organizations which describe themselves as being special forces. Forsvarets Spesialkommando, FSK is the Special forces of the Norwegian army This list is about military units For other units see List of special police units, List of special operations units, Paratrooper forces around the world,

References

See also

• Commando
• List of guerrillas
• Michael G. Vickers

In Military science, the term commando can refer to an individual a Military unit, or a raiding style of military operation. List of famous guerrillas, ordered by region A Afghanistan Abdul Haq Gulbuddin Michael G Vickers (born 1953) is the United States Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict.

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