During the First World War, and later on during
the « phoney war» at the beginning of the Second
World War, small volunteer units called « corps-francs » were
assigned to carry out lone operations behind enemy lines.
Their missions were to monitor enemy forces, hold their elements
captive, understand their strategies and gather useful information
for the Command. These missions subsequently became known
as « commando
actions », carried out by groups called « commando
units » made up of specially trained soldiers known as « commandos ».
Within parachutist regiments, the Air Force and the Navy were
exceptionally brave commandos some of whom have become quite
famous.
The Infantry, on its part, was not left out. It used to
have and currently still has a number of commando units,
such as
those which participated in contemporary conflicts:
The corps-francs, mentioned earlier.
Shock battalions commandos
of the First Army (1943-1945)
North Vietnam commandos
Pursuit commandos, in Algeria.
Missions of a commando unit might include:
Serving as a homing torpedo for shock troops,
Creating insecurity
inside the enemy’s territory
Localizing enemy elements
Capturing or eliminating them
Furnishing the Command with information.
Nowadays, these
highly specialized units operate within a joint framework.
They are placed under the command of the Army Chief
of Staff.
A commando, whose lifestyle is usually ascetic,
must be exceptionally physically fit, courageous,
determined
and
possess an unshakable
morale in order to be able to single-handedly
brave the extremely dangerous situations commando
operations
entail.