In 1942 the Allies had a serious problem. Germany was believed to be moving full-steam
ahead on its program to create a nuclear weapon, and the Russian front was increasingly looking
like a lost cause. Something had to be done, and fast, or the
war might soon be lost. That something would be the creation of the
US’s first special forces force. Norway was of great strategic importance to
Germany, as it gave them access to iron and other minerals needed for the war effort,
but also to heavy water facilities which were used in their nuclear weapons program. Further, their control of Norway prevented
the Allies from having an easy year-round route to Russia, which the United States was
steadily feeding as many military supplies and food as it could fit into cargo ships. Without this aid, Russia would collapse under
the Nazi onslaught. If the Allies could take Norway, it would
open up a direct route to Russia and severely hamper the Nazi war effort- but Norway was
easily fortified, and a major assault would be disastrous. Instead, an English intellectual proposed
a bold idea: land a small, but highly trained and well-equipped force onto the mountain
glaciers of Norway, from which they could conduct raids on vital German targets and
retreat back into the safety of their mountain bases. The British high command thought highly of
the idea, but ultimately realized it didn't have the manpower or logistics to pull off
such a daring feat. So instead, they kicked the idea over to the
Americans. For the Americans, forcing the Nazis out of
Norway could spell the end of the European war, something they wanted very much as it
would free up the allies to fight in the Pacific. Plans to land an elite commando force behind
enemy lines which would live off the mountains were quickly adopted, and the First Special
Service Force was born. Recruitment for the FSSF was undertaken via
posters at various military bases. The advertisements asked for daring individuals
in good physical shape and who had experience as mountaineers, skiiers, hunters, game wardens,
lumberjacks and the sort. The US wouldn't undertake this effort alone
though, and the unit would end up being made up of half Americans and half Canadians. The FSSF would consist of 3 regiments and
one services battalion, with half of the officers and one third of the enlisted men being Canadian. While remaining members of the Canadian military,
all expenses were paid for by the US Army and the men would wear American uniforms. An American officer was placed in charge of
the unit, but a Canadian officer was made second in command. The FSSF's training was brutal, even by modern
standards. Within 48 hours of arrival at Helena, Montana-
chosen for its difficult terrain and cold weather- FSSF recruits would earn their parachutist
wings. The men spent nearly a full year in training,
with August through October dedicated to parachuting, weapons and demolitions usage, small unit
tactics and physical training. October to November was spent on unit tactics
and problem solving. November to July consisted of skiing, rock
climbing, adaptation to cold climates, and the operation of the specially constructed
all-terrain vehicle the M29 Weasel Training consisted of not just American and
Canadian equipment and tactics, but also of the use of German equipment, until the men
were as proficient with German weapons as they were with their own. They were trained in hand-to-hand combat and
bayonet fighting techniques, even sparring against each other with unsheathed bayonets-
leading to many injuries. Once the snows fell, Norwegian ski instructors
took over, and within two weeks the Americans and Canadians had mastered the basics. The training would continue until their Norwegian
instructors were confident the men were up to Norwegian army standards. It was an irregular unit which would soon
be fighting in highly irregular ways. The FSSF's first combat deployment would be
to the Aleutian Islands in 1943. Their wintertime and mountain training made
them perfect for the Alaskan environment, but upon reaching their destination it was
discovered the Japanese had already evacuated the island. The FSSF was then redeployed to Europe, where
the possibility of an insertion into Norway had come and gone. Instead, the men would ship off to Italy,
to join in the stab at Hitler's soft underbelly. Here they would have their baptism by fire,
trying to take an objective many Allied troops had lost their lives trying to take. Immediately upon arrival, the FSSF had their
mountaineering skills put to the test. The Allied push into Italy was being severely
hampered by two strong German defensive positions, one at Monte La Difensa, and another at Monte
La Remetanea. Previous assaults on these strongholds had
yielded nothing but terrible losses for the Allies. The FSSF would have to prove they could succeed
where everyone else had failed. If they didn't, the Allied push to Rome would
falter. La Difensa would be the first target to be
attacked. On 2nd December, the 2nd Regiment was trucked
to within 6 miles of the base of the mountain, after which the men disembarked and moved
on foot through the forest. Ahead of them lay a six hour march, uphill,
through difficult terrain, with a hornet's nest full of Nazis waiting for them. A force of 600 men reached the base of the
mountain and took a rest, then under the cover of dusk began their ascent of La Difensa. The assault was covered by a brutal Allied
bombardment, with one soldier remarking that it looked as if they were marching into hell,
as if the entire mountain was on fire. The men managed to sneak all the way to the
base of the final cliff they would have to climb without the Germans ever realizing they
were there- such was the intensity of the incoming artillery. But Mother Nature helped too, lashing out
at all the combatants with freezing rain, which helped cover the approaching soldiers
as they climbed a 1,000 foot cliff- but it also exhausted the men and threatened to blow
them off their perilous holds and to a very ugly death on the rocks below. Incredibly, the men climbed to the top of
the cliff and then moved into position in a shallow depression just across from the
enemy's lines. They were supposed to hold their fire until
dawn, when the assault would begin, but the loose gravel giving way under the feet of
the soldiers gave their positions away to the Germans. Flares shot into the air, revealing to the
utter shock of the defending Germans the 600 Americans and Canadians that had scaled a
cliff to reach them. The FSSF put up a fierce battle, and despite
Allied commanders expecting that the fighting would last for up to a week, the Germans retreated
to their second defensive position in only two hours. Such was the ferocity of the Devil's Brigade
attack, through terrain so treacherous no regular infantry unit could have managed the
feat. The follow on attack on Monte La Remetanea
had to be briefly halted due to the death of 1st Battalion CO Lt. Colonel T.C. MacWilliam. Instead, the men were ordered to wait for
resupply and dug in, expecting a German counter-attack at any time. The Germans however would be unable to mount
a counter-attack due to the fierce pounding they received from Allied artillery. The flooding of two nearby rivers also prevented
them from regrouping during their retreat, leaving the Nazis off-balance and allowing
British forces to break through German lines at Monte Camino. With the British breakthrough, the FSSF continued
its attack on La Remetanea, taking three days to seize their objective. The next month, the FSSF would continue showcasing
its mountain fighting expertise by taking several more Nazi positions. They would be pulled out of the mountains
to join a new allied beachhead at Anzio which sought to flank the German line, but they
paid dearly for their time in the Italian mountains, with a whopping 77% casualty rate. 91 men lay dead, 9 were missing in action,
313 were wounded, and 116 had to be hospitalized for exhaustion. After a brief recovery and replenishment period,
the FSSF replaced the 1st and 3rd Ranger Battalions at Anzio, which had suffered heavy casualties
as well. Their job was to hold the line while also
launching raids into enemy territory in order to keep the Germans off-balance. This is where the FSSF would earn their nickname
of the Black Devils, for their propensity to launch daring night raids with completely
blacked out faces. The night raids undertaken by the FSSF were
so aggressive in fact, that the Germans were forced to retreat a full half-mile from their
original positions in order to avoid their patrols. But the very presence of the FSSF in the area
led the Germans to reinforce their positions with more men than were necessary, tying down
German forces desperately needed to counter Allied attacks elsewhere. The Black Devils had earned a reputation amongst
the Germans, who believed they were facing a full on division rather than three under-strength
regiments. One note found on a German prisoner warned
that they would be “fighting an elite Canadian-American Force. They are treacherous, unmerciful, and clever. You cannot afford to relax. The first soldier or groups of soldiers capturing
one of these men will be given a 10-day furlough.” With their raids penetrating deep behind enemy
lines, the Germans grew increasingly fearful of these Canadian and American night devils. To further wreak havoc on German morale, the
FSSF began to leave a unique calling card on the corpses of Germans killed and equipment
destroyed in the middle of the night- a sticker with the unit's patch which read in German,
“The worst is yet to come.” That summer, the FSSF would have the honor
of being one of the first Allied units to enter an enemy capital, as they rushed into
Rome under the cover of night in order to ensure that the retreating Germans didn't
blow up key bridges. With Italy falling to the Allies, the FSSF
would be shipped to the sunny southern coast of France- but they weren't there for a vacation. With the successful Allied landings at Normandy,
the FSSF would help envelop German forces in France in a pincer movement, but first
the Axis had to be kicked out of the Mediterranean for good. This would require the taking of several key
islands along the southern French coast, eliminating German airfields and naval facilities. Here, the FSSF would prove they could not
just fight in mountains or invade from the sea, but bring victory from the sky as well
as they were air-dropped onto the island of Port-Cros. The Nazis had fortified the strategically
important island with five forts, but their naval support was quickly eliminated by a
single American destroyer as it surprised two German ships defending the island. After sinking both, the USS Somers turned
its attention to providing fire support for the airborne assault on the island's forts. In just one single day of fighting, the FSSF
captured three of the five forts, with the other two surrendering without resistance. They suffered only nine dead for their efforts. Soon, the FSSF was joining in the invasion
of southern Italy, where it fought several tough-won skirmishes against the German occupiers. As the war swung against Germany, the FSSF
was moved for a well-earned rest along the French and German border to act as a blocking
force and deterrent against a German breakout as the Allies pushed into Germany itself. On the 5th of December, 1944, the FSSF was
officially disbanded. There was no more need for its specific expertise,
and both the Canadian and American military would be better served by having the men moved
to other units within their respective militaries. On the day of disbandment, the American troops
honored their Canadian brethren with a Pass in Review, eyes right, officers salute. The FSSF would be the direct descendant of
the US Army Special Forces, and laid the groundwork for training, doctrine, and tactics employed
by American special forces to this day. Every 5th December, American and Canadian
special forces still celebrate December 5th, along with surviving members of the FSSF. Now go watch Hitler's Secret Weapon- Germany's
Most Dangerous Black Ops Soldier, or click this other link instead.
