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British Army unit

Layforce was an ad hoc military formation of the British Army consisting of a number of commando units during the Second World War. Formed in February 1941 under the command of Colonel Robert Laycock, after whom the force was named, it consisted of approximately 2,000 men and served in the Middle Eastern theatre of operations. Initially tasked with conducting raiding operations to disrupt Axis lines of communication in the Mediterranean it was planned that they would take part in operations to capture the Greek island of Rhodes. As the strategic situation in the theatre turned against the Allies, however, the commandos were largely diverted from their original role and were used primarily to reinforce regular troops throughout the Mediterranean theatre. Elements of the force saw action in Bardia, Crete, Syria and Tobruk before they were disbanded in August 1941. Afterwards its personnel either returned to their former units or went on to serve with other special forces units raised in the Middle East.

In February 1941, a force of commandos under Colonel Robert Laycock were sent to the Middle East to carry out raids in the eastern Mediterranean. This force became known as 'Layforce' after their commander and initially they were drawn from 'A' Troop from No. 3 Commando, No. 7 Commando, No. 8 (Guards) Commando and No. 11 (Scottish) Commando, with additional personnel being drawn from No. 50 Commando and No. 52 Commando upon their arrival in Egypt in March. Laycock held the rank of a colonel (rather than brigadier) on the staff, because his command was not formally and organisationally a full brigade, with all its supporting elements; although, with a strength of over 2,000 men, it was equivalent. For reasons of security, the commandos were organised into four battalions and were renamed: No. 7 Commando became 'A' Battalion, No. 8 (Guards) became 'B' Battalion, No. 11 (Scottish) became 'C' Battalion, and No. 50 and No. 52 were amalgamated to form 'D' Battalion. Together they were to operate as a brigade of the British 6th Division, part of Middle East Command. Each battalion was placed under the command of a lieutenant colonel and consisted of: a headquarters; a signals section; a specialist equipment section equipped with a form of collapsible canoe known as a 'folbot'; and two commando companies with five troops, each troop consisting of 50 men.

Although upon Layforce's formation the commando concept was embryonic, when it embarked from the United Kingdom it had been intended that the force would be employed to carry out a campaign of harassment and dislocation against enemy forces in the Mediterranean. The arrival of the Afrika Korps in Cyrenaica and the invasions of Yugoslavia and Greece greatly changed the strategic outlook and by the time that Layforce arrived in Egypt in March, the situation had deteriorated. Circumstances undermined the Layforce concept almost as soon as it became established. The British loss of air superiority severely hampered their ability to carry out landing operations, while the deployment of forces to Greece meant that the commandos became the only troops in general reserve; and as the strategic situation worsened it became increasingly difficult to employ them in the manner for which it had been intended, as they were called upon to reinforce the rest of the army elsewhere. Due to concerns about the force being attacked from the air, it was decided that the raid would take place under the cover of darkness; and, as a result, additional assets in the form of the submarine and a detachment from the Folboat Troop (later known as the Special Boat Section) under Roger Courtney were tasked with providing navigational assistance by marking both the anchorage and landing beach. Despite the lack of tangible success the raid was not a complete failure: the appearance of the commandos forced the Germans to divert the main part of an armoured brigade from Sollum in order to defend against further raids. The island fell to the Germans on 1 June; however, about a week before that there was still some hope that the tide could be turned. A decision was made to deploy the commandos from Layforce to the island to carry out raids on the German lines of communications with a view to either turning back the invasion or enabling an evacuation to take place. They were turned back by bad weather, however, and forced to return to Alexandria where they re embarked upon the Abdiel to make another attempt. As such, upon landing they were ordered to leave all their heavy equipment, including radios and transport, behind. This was a role that they were poorly equipped for, though, as they were lacking in the indirect fire support weapons such as mortars or artillery and were armed only very lightly, mainly with rifles and a few Bren light machine guns. Throughout the entire time they were almost constantly under aerial attack. On 28 May the defenders began disengaging from the enemy and withdrawing along the pass through the central mountains that separated them from the port of Sphakia in the south. The defence of the pass fell to the Commandos along with two Australian infantry battalions (the 2/7th and 2/8th Battalions) and the 5th New Zealand Brigade. In the first two nights of the evacuation approximately 8,000 men were taken off, while on the third night, 30 May, covered by the Australians and Laycock's commandos, the New Zealanders were able to get off too. For the commandos, the fighting was heaviest on that first day. During the height of the German attack on the pass, G Troop from 'A' Battalion (No. 7 Commando), under Lieutenant F. Nicholls, carried out a bayonet assault after a force of Germans took up a position on a hill on the Commando's left flank, from where they began to enfilade the entire position. Although some of them were later able to make their own way back to Egypt, by the end of the operation about 600 of the 800 commandos sent to Crete were listed as killed, missing, or wounded. Only 23 officers and 156 others managed to get off the island.

On 8 June 1941 the Allies launched Operation Exporter, the invasion of Vichy French controlled Syria and Lebanon. Embarking upon the Glengyle under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Richard R. N. Pedder (Highland Light Infantry), the plan called for the Commandos to land on the north bank of the river, near Kafr Bada, and attempt to seize the bridge that spanned the river there before the defenders could detonate the explosive charges that were believed to have been placed on the structure. Although the landing was unopposed, the southern detachment under Keyes soon discovered that they had been put ashore by mistake on the wrong side of the river. As Pedder's detachment advanced on the target, the French colonial troops from the 22nd Algerian Tirailleurs that were defending the area opened fire and in the ensuing engagement Pedder was killed and a number of other officers in the centre detachment were wounded. Nevertheless, the detachment pressed on and, under the command of the Regimental Sergeant Major, they succeeded in securing one of the barracks buildings near the redoubt that formed the key to defence of the position. A short time later, No. 11 Commando returned to garrison duty on Cyprus.

Following their involvement in the rearguard actions on Crete, a detachment of five officers and 70 other ranks from No. 8 Commando were sent to Tobruk, which was at the time under siege. In June, as the Eighth Army launched Operation Battleaxe in an attempt to relieve the garrison from the east, it was decided that the commandos would carry out a raid on an Italian position that was dominating the forward positions of the Indian 18th Cavalry. The position, which was known as the Twin Pimples, consisted of two small hills that sat close together and from where the Italians were able to observe the Allied lines. For a number of days prior to carrying out the raid, the commandos carried out patrols with the Indians to become familiar with the ground and to practise moving over the terrain at night. Finally on the night of 17/18 July they attacked. The operational difficulties that had been exposed during the Bardia raid, the changing strategic imperatives of the situation in the Middle East, and the failure of the high command to fully embrace the commando concept had largely served to make the force ineffective. As a result, the decision was made to disband Layforce. Many of the men went back to their previous regiments following the decision, while others chose to remain in the Middle East and subsequently joined other special forces units that were raised later. his concerns about the way in which his force had been treated. Upon hearing about its disbandment later, British prime minister Sir Winston Churchill—a great advocate for the commandos—ordered the formation of the Middle East Commando, made up from the commandos that had remained in the theatre. When Laycock returned from England he found that, although the Middle East Commando had indeed been set up, there were very few men for him to command. What men there were, were formed into six troops. while 60 men from the disbanded No. 11 (Scottish) Commando made up No. 3 Troop. The men of No. 51 Commando formed Nos. 4 and 5 Troops, and the Special Boat Section made up No. 6 Troop, under Roger Courtney. The raid was part of a larger operation involving Stirling's L Detachment and the SBS to penetrate behind the German lines and cause disruption in the rear areas in order to assist in the general offensive. Although the Middle East Commando remained in existence after this—largely in an effort to placate Churchill—its personnel were mainly absorbed into larger formations. Many of these men joined the Special Air Service, which was expanded by Stirling with Churchill's approval. Laycock was promoted to brigadier and put in charge of the Special Service Brigade, Middle East Command, replacing Brigadier Charles Haydon.