Operation Myrmidon

Operation Myrmidon was the planned raid during the Second World War by No. 1 Commando and No. 6 Commando in April 1942. This operation was an abortive raid on the Adour Estuary in south-western France.^[1][2] The plan was to disrupt road and rail transport between France and Spain by landing approximately 3,000 troops, consisting of two commandos, No. 1 and No. 6, who would be followed up by one and a half Royal Marine battalions along with an armoured regiment and a motor battalion.^[3] After embarking on the transport ships Queen Emma and Princess Beatrix, the force spent a month sailing off the French coast disguised as Spanish merchant ships. On 5 April the ships approached the mouth of the estuary in order to carry out the landing. However, amid bad weather, they encountered a sandbar that they had not expected and were unable to pass it; the raid was called off and the ships returned to the United Kingdom.^[2][4]

Lord Louis Mountbatten addresses troops from No. 6 Commando prior to Operation Myrmidon, April 1942

References

1. Saunders 1959, p. 101.
2. Chappell 1996, p. 23.
3. Macksey 1990, p. 109.
4. Saunders 1959, p. 102.

• Chappell, Mike (1996). Army Commandos 1940–1945. Elite Series # 64. London: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-85532-579-9.
• Macksey, Kenneth (1990). Commando: Hit and Run Combat in World War II. Scarborough House. ISBN 978-0-8128-2973-0.
• Saunders, Hilary St. George (1959) [1949]. The Green Beret: The Commandos at War. London: Four Square Books. OCLC 1260659.