4th Special Service Brigade

4th Special Service Brigade
4th Commando Brigade
Active1944 – 1946
Country United Kingdom
AllegianceBritish Crown
BranchRoyal Navy
TypeInfantry
RoleAmphibious assault
SizeBrigade
EngagementsNormandy landings
Battle of the Scheldt
Battle of Walcheren Causeway
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Brigadier B. W. Leicester
Insignia
Combined Operations
Shoulder Patch
Insignia of Combined Operations units it is a combination of a red Thompson submachine gun, a pair of wings, an anchor and mortar rounds on a black backing

The 4th Special Service Brigade was a brigade-sized formation of the British Commandos formed during the Second World War in March 1944 from battalion-sized units of the Royal Marines. Due to the success of the British Army Commandos' operations in Norway, the Channel Islands, St. Nazaire, and the Middle East, the Admiralty dissolved the Royal Marines Division in late 1942 and reorganized its amphibious assault infantry into eight additional Commando units.

The Brigade was part of the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944 during Operation Overlord; it subsequently participated in the Battle of the Scheldt and the assault of the Walcheren Islands.[1] On 6 December the same year, the Brigade was renamed 4th Commando Brigade, removing the title Special Service and its association with the German SS.[2]

  1. ^ Army Commandos 1940-45 By Mike Chappell, p 31
  2. ^ British Commandos 1940-46 By Timothy Robert Moreman, p 32