0:00:06 > 0:00:08Autumn 1942.
0:00:11 > 0:00:15A raiding party glides through dark, freezing waters.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21Special forces. A British military elite.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25Trained to expect anything.
0:00:37 > 0:00:44Lethal fire screams out from the shoreline. The bullets are real.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48The raid isn't.
0:00:48 > 0:00:52Attackers and defenders are both British.
0:00:52 > 0:00:56This operation, under live fire, is the conclusion
0:00:56 > 0:00:59to a terrifying ordeal in the wilds of Scotland.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04A new kind of training, for a new kind of soldier.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08The commando.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16Prime Minister Winston Churchill had called for their creation.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21A band of highly-trained elite soldiers,
0:01:21 > 0:01:24designed to hit back at Nazi-occupied Europe.
0:01:24 > 0:01:29This wilderness would become their training ground.
0:01:29 > 0:01:34A Highland estate, Achnacarry.
0:01:34 > 0:01:39A place rooted in the bloody history of the Scottish Highlands,
0:01:39 > 0:01:43transformed into a paramilitary academy,
0:01:43 > 0:01:45a finishing school for elite forces.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49With its ferocious and occasionally fatal training regime,
0:01:49 > 0:01:53Achnacarry built a new generation of fighting men.
0:01:53 > 0:01:55It also built a legend.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22'The news from France is very bad...
0:02:24 > 0:02:28'..and I grieve for the gallant French people.'
0:02:38 > 0:02:43Winston Churchill had been Prime Minister for all of 16 days.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47In that short time, Hitler's Blitzkrieg, or lightning war,
0:02:47 > 0:02:51had overrun the Low Countries and northern France.
0:02:53 > 0:02:57Over 200,000 British troops retreated towards the Channel ports.
0:02:58 > 0:03:02From the beaches of Dunkirk, most escaped back to England.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04A brave yet undignified rescue.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09This was the end of May 1940. The situation was desperate.
0:03:09 > 0:03:14But the Prime Minister's rhetoric was uncompromising.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21'We have become the sole champions now in arms
0:03:21 > 0:03:24'to defend the world cause.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28'We shall fight on, unconquerable,
0:03:28 > 0:03:32'until the curse of Hitler is lifted
0:03:32 > 0:03:34'from the brows of men.'
0:03:37 > 0:03:41On 3rd June 1940, the Prime Minister wrote to his Chiefs of Staff.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47'It is of the highest consequence to keep the largest numbers
0:03:47 > 0:03:51'of German forces all along the coasts of the countries
0:03:51 > 0:03:54'that have been conquered, and we should immediately set to work
0:03:54 > 0:03:58'on organising raiding forces on these coasts.'
0:04:03 > 0:04:06It's a simple military equation.
0:04:06 > 0:04:11You've got no heavy forces. You've got command of the sea,
0:04:11 > 0:04:16but you can't take soldiers and all the equipment needed back across
0:04:16 > 0:04:18to the continental mainland. So, what do you do?
0:04:18 > 0:04:23You try to work out how you can get small parties of soldiers
0:04:23 > 0:04:27into key positions on the European mainland, especially on the coast,
0:04:27 > 0:04:31where they can do great damage to the German war effort.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33There are two things there.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35One is, it makes the Germans realise that Britain hasn't
0:04:35 > 0:04:39thrown in the towel, and secondly, and perhaps more importantly,
0:04:39 > 0:04:44it shows the British people who are being bombed day in and day out that
0:04:44 > 0:04:48it's still possible to take the war to the Germans. Terrific for morale.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54Britain already had elite amphibious raiding troops -
0:04:54 > 0:04:58the Royal Marines, under the command of the Royal Navy.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01Churchill's new force would be established by their deadly rivals,
0:05:01 > 0:05:03the British Army.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11This sort of job calls for selected and highly-trained men
0:05:11 > 0:05:14who can work and fight in small parties, or even alone.
0:05:14 > 0:05:15What are they, then?
0:05:15 > 0:05:19Specialists, my son. Specialists.
0:05:19 > 0:05:21- Highly-trained amphibious soldiers.- See?
0:05:22 > 0:05:27This 1945 propaganda film tells the story of their early years.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32Thanks, pal. What I call service!
0:05:33 > 0:05:36And how these new soldiers recruited
0:05:36 > 0:05:39a new word into the English dictionary.
0:05:39 > 0:05:47"Commando - a term used during the Boer War. A body of armed burghers."
0:05:47 > 0:05:50- Blimey, nobody can call me that and get away with it!- That's an insult!
0:05:50 > 0:05:54Forget it, mate. The bloke who wrote this dictionary can't even spell.
0:05:54 > 0:05:59Commandos were all volunteers, from every regiment of the British Army.
0:06:01 > 0:06:05Jimmy Dunning worked in the family butchers in Southampton.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09He played drums in a dance band.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15In June 1939, he decided to join up.
0:06:18 > 0:06:23I saw in the musical magazine Melody Maker that
0:06:23 > 0:06:28the 11th Hussars in Egypt wanted a drummer
0:06:28 > 0:06:32with experience in a dance band. I thought, "That's a job for me."
0:06:32 > 0:06:33I was then 19 years of age.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39Jimmy signed up, but the war interrupted his plans.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43The posting to Egypt was cancelled.
0:06:43 > 0:06:44After a year at a desk job,
0:06:44 > 0:06:47the young sergeant was looking for something new.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53The orders appeared,
0:06:53 > 0:06:56calling for volunteers for special service.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00It didn't say what it was, but the list of things,
0:07:00 > 0:07:03the details they gave, able to swim,
0:07:03 > 0:07:07not prone to seasickness, willing to parachute.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11It is your opportunity to become
0:07:11 > 0:07:13a first-class British fighting soldier.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16That's exactly what a commando is.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20If you are in earnest, we want you, and we want you badly.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23There was no test at all. Just an interview.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26And it seemed to be, if your face fitted
0:07:26 > 0:07:31and you had the right sort of attitude to this, you were in.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33- Cough. - HE COUGHS
0:07:33 > 0:07:34- Louder. - HE COUGHS LOUDER
0:07:36 > 0:07:40They were given an allowance of six shillings and eight pence,
0:07:40 > 0:07:43which in today's currency is 33p,
0:07:43 > 0:07:46and a ration card, and had to find our own billets.
0:07:49 > 0:07:51British seaside towns had no shortage
0:07:51 > 0:07:53of bed-and-breakfast billets for this new fighting force.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57Jimmy Dunning joined No. 4 Commando,
0:07:57 > 0:08:01based initially in Weymouth, and later on the Clyde Coast.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10Those first months were beset with difficulties.
0:08:10 > 0:08:14All too often, Churchill's special forces seemed far from special.
0:08:16 > 0:08:20We didn't have any suitable landing craft. So in Weymouth, for instance,
0:08:20 > 0:08:25we had to carry out amphibious exercises
0:08:25 > 0:08:31from either requisitioned fishing boats or borrowed rowing boats.
0:08:31 > 0:08:35It was a bit shambolic, from that point of view.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38And also, we suffered from a lack of weapons.
0:08:40 > 0:08:44The newborn British Army commandos had no shortage of critics.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47Evelyn Waugh, the celebrated English novelist and satirist,
0:08:47 > 0:08:49transferred from the Royal Marines
0:08:49 > 0:08:52to become intelligence officer for 8 Commando.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55He was less than impressed.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02'Took the morning train to Largs.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05'A smug, substantial, modern pleasure resort.
0:09:05 > 0:09:09'Or rather, pleasure as the Scots perceive it.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17'Two night operations in which I acted as umpire showed
0:09:17 > 0:09:21'great incapacity in the simplest tactical detail.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25'The indolence and ignorance of the officers seemed remarkable.
0:09:25 > 0:09:29'One troop leader was unable to read a compass.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32'Setting out, drunk, for one of the operations,
0:09:32 > 0:09:35'I fell down and cut my lip, but nobody thought the worse of me.'
0:09:38 > 0:09:41Waugh was a ferocious drinker, a ferocious snob.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44His accounts of the early commandos should be seasoned with
0:09:44 > 0:09:46more than a pinch of salt.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49But his description of these supposedly elite soldiers
0:09:49 > 0:09:51wasn't entirely fictional.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56They had to learn as they went along. It was the only possible way.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58And so, inevitably, mistakes were made.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01Inevitably, egos were punctured.
0:10:03 > 0:10:08And no ego was more punctured than that of Admiral Sir Roger Keyes,
0:10:08 > 0:10:12the man in overall charge of the commandos.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15His letters to his superiors at the War Office reveal
0:10:15 > 0:10:18a desperate struggle for support.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27'The Navy has failed to provide the ships and landing craft
0:10:27 > 0:10:29'to prosecute amphibious warfare.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36'The Air Ministry puts every obstacle
0:10:36 > 0:10:39'in the way of carrying them overseas by air.'
0:10:44 > 0:10:47Time and again, the Prime Minister was called on
0:10:47 > 0:10:48to intervene personally
0:10:48 > 0:10:53to demand more and better resources for his commandos.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57But to survive, the commandos needed more
0:10:57 > 0:11:00than the support of their Prime Minister.
0:11:00 > 0:11:05They needed better organisation, and above all, better training.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09A solution came from the north.
0:11:22 > 0:11:26In May 1940, a young Scottish nobleman set out on a journey
0:11:26 > 0:11:28to the north and west,
0:11:28 > 0:11:33to Fort William and beyond, to the untamed Lochaber hills.
0:11:35 > 0:11:40That young man was Lord Shimi Lovat, chief of the Fraser clan,
0:11:40 > 0:11:42an outdoorsman, a soldier and hunter.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45Lovat, his cousin David Stirling
0:11:45 > 0:11:49and their gang of upper-class military mavericks had a plan
0:11:49 > 0:11:52to toughen up Britain's elite soldiers.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55They wanted to build a top-secret Highland academy,
0:11:55 > 0:11:58teaching the dark arts of guerrilla warfare.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03At the head of Lochailort, Lovat found the ideal location -
0:12:03 > 0:12:04Inverailort House.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15Their first mission was to evict the owner,
0:12:15 > 0:12:17the 80-year-old Mrs Cameron-Head,
0:12:17 > 0:12:21something they achieved with ruthless haste.
0:12:21 > 0:12:23'When I arrived at Lochailort station,
0:12:23 > 0:12:27'there were only two officers, who said the castle was half emptied,
0:12:27 > 0:12:29'and they had no accommodation for me.'
0:12:32 > 0:12:34Her family home was about to become
0:12:34 > 0:12:37the British military's school of irregular warfare,
0:12:37 > 0:12:41staffed by a unique team of specialist instructors -
0:12:41 > 0:12:45mountaineers, Arctic explorers, Olympic marksmen.
0:12:47 > 0:12:51They had this sense of the tradition of the Highlands
0:12:51 > 0:12:54and of the sporting culture, the field sports in the Highlands,
0:12:54 > 0:12:56of this being a testing ground,
0:12:56 > 0:13:00a place where men's individual character
0:13:00 > 0:13:03and worth and endurance could be put to the test.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06People could use the sea lochs, the mountains for the training.
0:13:06 > 0:13:10There's a railway line here that they used for demolitions.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12So, you've got practical reasons.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14So, all that combines with this older idea
0:13:14 > 0:13:17about this being a place where hard men are bred.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23Lovat himself remembered just how hard the training could be.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28'Gales of wind and rain swept the glens
0:13:28 > 0:13:33'all through October and November. We worked hard to keep warm.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37'The elements combined to provide new and dangerous conditions
0:13:37 > 0:13:39'for day and night training exercises.
0:13:41 > 0:13:43'30% of students failed to last the course.'
0:13:45 > 0:13:48As the commandos really get going,
0:13:48 > 0:13:52small groups of commando officers and NCOs and selected men are coming
0:13:52 > 0:13:55from their units. Their units are training all the time,
0:13:55 > 0:13:56but they come here
0:13:56 > 0:13:59to get a particularly intensive training scheme,
0:13:59 > 0:14:02which they are intended to take back to their units and pass on.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07The Lochailort curriculum included sabotage, climbing,
0:14:07 > 0:14:10navigation and weapons training.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14Men arrived from every area of the military to take the course.
0:14:16 > 0:14:17And none more famous than
0:14:17 > 0:14:20a 30-year-old veteran of the Highland Light Infantry
0:14:20 > 0:14:22who arrived in July 1940.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26David Niven was already a major movie star.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29He deserted his contract with Sam Goldwyn
0:14:29 > 0:14:31and re-enlisted in the British Army.
0:14:34 > 0:14:39'I was to report to a prohibited area in Scotland, Lochailort Castle.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41'After two months running up and down
0:14:41 > 0:14:43'the mountains of the Western Highlands,
0:14:43 > 0:14:45'crawling up streams at night
0:14:45 > 0:14:49'and swimming in the loch with full equipment, I was unbearably fit.'
0:14:52 > 0:14:56But the real stars of Lochailort were not from the movie business.
0:14:58 > 0:15:05They were two mature gentlemen - Mr Fairbairn and Mr Sykes...
0:15:06 > 0:15:08..masters of dirty fighting.
0:15:10 > 0:15:15They were former Shanghai policemen in the '30s, Shanghai being a place
0:15:15 > 0:15:18of particular problems with gangs and violent crime,
0:15:18 > 0:15:22and this pair had developed ways of dealing with that
0:15:22 > 0:15:24for the Shanghai Police,
0:15:24 > 0:15:27particularly in unarmed combat and knife fighting
0:15:27 > 0:15:30and in close-quarter shooting.
0:15:31 > 0:15:36Fairbairn even published a guidebook to this ruthless new philosophy.
0:15:36 > 0:15:40This is All-In Fighting, which is a training manual,
0:15:40 > 0:15:42and it runs the range from
0:15:42 > 0:15:45straightforward knee in the groin-type actions
0:15:45 > 0:15:47to how to break someone's back.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54As soon as you're up on that target, you're going to want him
0:15:54 > 0:15:56down on the ground, telling him what to do,
0:15:56 > 0:16:01giving him directions of exactly what you want him to do from then.
0:16:04 > 0:16:08Hands out to the side!
0:16:08 > 0:16:11Inverailort developed methods and philosophies of fighting
0:16:11 > 0:16:13still relevant to today's commandos.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16Loads of aggression, get him on the floor, put his face in the dirt,
0:16:16 > 0:16:20get that weapon off him, let him know you're in charge.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26Get on the floor!
0:16:26 > 0:16:28Disarm pistols from behind.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32It's exactly the same technique you've just seen demonstrated
0:16:32 > 0:16:33by my guys here.
0:16:33 > 0:16:40The fact is that this manual that was first brought in by WE Fairbairn
0:16:40 > 0:16:43has stood the test of time. A lot of these techniques have been used
0:16:43 > 0:16:4556 years later, not just by British forces,
0:16:45 > 0:16:48not just by British commandos, but around the world.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51# Don't lets be beastly to the Germans
0:16:51 > 0:16:55# When we've definitely got them on the run
0:16:55 > 0:16:57# Let us treat them very kindly
0:16:57 > 0:16:59# As we would a valued friend
0:16:59 > 0:17:02# We might send them out some bishops As a form of lease and lend... #
0:17:05 > 0:17:08Some of the methods of unarmed combat outlined by Fairbairn were
0:17:08 > 0:17:09deeply controversial.
0:17:09 > 0:17:14Strangulation, the deadly bronco kick, and even eye gouging.
0:17:18 > 0:17:22Fairbairn talks about moral scruples in doing this kind of thing.
0:17:22 > 0:17:24"Some may be appalled at the suggestion
0:17:24 > 0:17:27"that it be necessary for human beings in the 20th century
0:17:27 > 0:17:30"to revert to the grim brutality of the Stone Age in order to live.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33"But when dealing with an utterly ruthless enemy
0:17:33 > 0:17:35"who has clearly expressed his intention
0:17:35 > 0:17:37"of wiping this nation out of existence,
0:17:37 > 0:17:39"there is no room for any scruple or compunction
0:17:39 > 0:17:42"about the methods to be employed in preventing it."
0:17:42 > 0:17:46# London pride has been handed down to us
0:17:46 > 0:17:49# London pride is a flower that's free... #
0:17:49 > 0:17:53Late in 1940, Fairbairn and Sykes travelled from Lochailort to London
0:17:53 > 0:17:57for a meeting with designers from the Wilkinson Sword company.
0:17:58 > 0:18:04The result was a commando legend - the Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10What strikes me about this is that it's just got one purpose,
0:18:10 > 0:18:13and that is to kill.
0:18:14 > 0:18:16Whereas a modern-day commando will have
0:18:16 > 0:18:19a variety of knifes for a variety of purposes,
0:18:19 > 0:18:21this just had one task, and it just really proves
0:18:21 > 0:18:27how "in your face" and how personal the commandos got with their enemy.
0:18:29 > 0:18:30Pull. Down.
0:18:31 > 0:18:32Nice.
0:18:32 > 0:18:37This shows how long it would take to lose consciousness or death.
0:18:37 > 0:18:42The interesting thing for me is this chart is still being used today
0:18:42 > 0:18:44and the timings are exactly the same.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46This book is from the 1940s.
0:18:56 > 0:19:00Britain's commandos had come to life in 1940,
0:19:00 > 0:19:03a year marked by frustration, disappointment
0:19:03 > 0:19:05and battles with the War Office.
0:19:07 > 0:19:12In 1941, now better organised and better trained,
0:19:12 > 0:19:14the commandos began to build a reputation.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20Raids on German-occupied Norway, at Lofoten and later Vaagso,
0:19:20 > 0:19:23were spectacular successes.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27The combined operation continued its successful course
0:19:27 > 0:19:31with fires gutting the German positions, their ammunition dumps
0:19:31 > 0:19:34and the industries forced to work for them.
0:19:38 > 0:19:42Men drawn largely from 3 Commando, some trained at Inverailort,
0:19:42 > 0:19:44overpowered the German garrison
0:19:44 > 0:19:48and obliterated Nazi-controlled industry.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54That was a fish oil factory, that was.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57Then they disappeared back to sea.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01They'd been ashore for less than eight hours.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03It was called the perfect raid.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09Vaagso forced Hitler to deploy extra men to defend Norway
0:20:09 > 0:20:12and forced the British War Office
0:20:12 > 0:20:15to recruit and train even more commandos.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22This very specialised course that's run at Inverailort,
0:20:22 > 0:20:25isn't quite doing what's needed any more.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28The commandos become something that's going to be much bigger
0:20:28 > 0:20:32and that's going to work more closely with conventional military forces.
0:20:32 > 0:20:34The feeling was that some sort of
0:20:34 > 0:20:37dedicated commando training centre was needed.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46The answer wasn't far away.
0:20:46 > 0:20:4730 miles east was Achnacarry,
0:20:47 > 0:20:51a strip of land between Loch Lochy and Loch Arkaig,
0:20:51 > 0:20:53home to the Cameron Clan.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59This ivy-clad chimney is all that remains
0:20:59 > 0:21:01of the first Achnacarry Castle,
0:21:01 > 0:21:05burned to the ground by the British Army in 1746,
0:21:05 > 0:21:09punishment for the Camerons' support of the Jacobite rising.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15200 years later, the British Army were back,
0:21:15 > 0:21:19this time as a force of occupation.
0:21:22 > 0:21:24My grandfather was a military man.
0:21:24 > 0:21:29He raised three battalions of Cameron Highlanders in the First World War,
0:21:29 > 0:21:33one of which got wiped out at Loos with very few survivors.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36I don't think he ever really recovered from that,
0:21:36 > 0:21:40but he was a proud man and I think he thought that Achnacarry,
0:21:40 > 0:21:44if it could help the war effort, would be fine to be requisitioned.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46He was, indeed, quite proud of the fact.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55What was being planned in these Lochaber hills
0:21:55 > 0:21:57had never been done before.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01Achnacarry was to mass-produce elite fighting men
0:22:01 > 0:22:03on an industrial scale.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09Recent raids into occupied Europe had proved the Commandos' worth.
0:22:09 > 0:22:14Britain was desperate to produce more.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16Thousands and thousands more.
0:22:34 > 0:22:39If Achnacarry was to be a success, it needed the best talent available.
0:22:39 > 0:22:44Men like Sergeant Major Jimmy Dunning.
0:22:44 > 0:22:48At the age of 23, the butcher's son from Southampton headed north
0:22:48 > 0:22:52to become an instructor at Achnacarry.
0:22:52 > 0:22:59Like thousands after him it began at Spean Bridge Railway Station.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03This unassuming Highland village welcomed commando recruits
0:23:03 > 0:23:07from the Army, then later the Royal Marines, and even the Police.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12Blow me if we didn't start training as soon as we got there.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15No getting out onto the platform. That's too civilised.
0:23:15 > 0:23:20They made us get out on the wrong side and scramble across the lines.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23Inverailot had taught men by the dozen.
0:23:23 > 0:23:31Achnacarry's all new Commando course was preparing to train hundreds and thousands of men.
0:23:32 > 0:23:37Trainees arriving, most of these lads in their early twenties,
0:23:37 > 0:23:41and they hadn't been more than a hundred miles from their home.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44And coming up to Scotland to see these hills and mountains
0:23:44 > 0:23:49was quite an eye-opener for them. No idea of what it was like.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52As you imagine, men are marching down here in the introduction,
0:23:52 > 0:23:56"God, have we got to climb these hills in full kit?"
0:23:56 > 0:23:59And it was quite a... Well, it was a shock.
0:24:02 > 0:24:06'But the scenery hit us right in the eye, all the way to the camp.
0:24:06 > 0:24:10'Hills, rivers, mountains. Bonnie Scotland.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12'It's a hell of a place, Steffi.'
0:24:12 > 0:24:14Turn right up here.
0:24:14 > 0:24:19It all comes back to me after nearly 70 years.
0:24:19 > 0:24:23I suppose it was firmly implanted on my mind then.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31- What a pleasure. - What an honour.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35I'm sure this place brings back many happy memories.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39- Yes. 70 years nearly. - Since you've been here?- Yes.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41- Oh, golly.- It's a long time, isn't it?- Long time.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44And do you remember a lot about it?
0:24:44 > 0:24:48- Yes, I was here for about 20 months. - Right.
0:24:50 > 0:24:56We lived rough here, you know. We had canvas beds and no water.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58We had buckets, canvas buckets.
0:25:01 > 0:25:0470 years ago, this first floor bedroom
0:25:04 > 0:25:07was home to Jimmy Dunning and four fellow instructors.
0:25:16 > 0:25:21That's a photograph taken from this room.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25And you see our views were the Nissen huts down here,
0:25:25 > 0:25:29and the barrack square, just out there.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35Most recruits would never see the inside of the castle.
0:25:35 > 0:25:39Norman Rose arrived as a 17-year-old Royal Marine.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42His experience of Achnacarry was radically different to Jimmy's.
0:25:42 > 0:25:46None of this greenery behind the wire fence was there.
0:25:46 > 0:25:50And in its stead was a row of Nissen huts
0:25:50 > 0:25:52that went the whole way
0:25:52 > 0:25:55right as far as the far end of the field.
0:25:55 > 0:25:57This side of the Nissen huts,
0:25:57 > 0:26:00there were tents, and I lived in a tent.
0:26:00 > 0:26:05I never got into a Nissen hut, except the one that was the dining hall.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08You only remember the good bits, you know. We had some good fun.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10As I say, we were all 17-year-olds.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13But, uh, it was pretty grim.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16I was always a bit cold and always wet.
0:26:16 > 0:26:20And always terribly hungry.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25For the privileged few living inside the castle,
0:26:25 > 0:26:30officer and instructors, this was the mess room.
0:26:30 > 0:26:32- That's this room, you see.- Ah, yes.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35But, you see, there weren't windows,
0:26:35 > 0:26:38- there and there. We knocked those through.- Yes, quite.
0:26:40 > 0:26:46And I think people said that the wood was stained more here than anywhere else,
0:26:46 > 0:26:48because of all the drinking.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55A young instructor called Brian Mullen transformed the room
0:26:55 > 0:26:57into a temporary art gallery.
0:27:02 > 0:27:03And he died on D-Day, did he?
0:27:03 > 0:27:07He died on D-Day, one of the first casualties going up the beach.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10He was in the Engineers and he had quite a creative mind.
0:27:10 > 0:27:14Right. You've got an amazing memory for all these people. Well...
0:27:14 > 0:27:17- Etched into your brain, are they?- I know.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20But I can't remember what happened last Tuesday!
0:27:20 > 0:27:25I think he was a very good artist, actually. They're all quite fun.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28But my mother felt she couldn't live with them so we...
0:27:28 > 0:27:31Yeah. I think she's right, really.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36Jimmy Dunning was the camp's youngest instructor.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43In overall charge was the Laird of Achnacarry,
0:27:43 > 0:27:45camp commandant, Charlie Vaughan.
0:27:47 > 0:27:49He was an ex-guardsman.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52He'd been an NCO. He'd become a commissioned officer.
0:27:52 > 0:27:53Very experienced soldier.
0:27:53 > 0:27:58He'd been an administrative officer with the commandos for some time.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01He brought a mix of the commando idea,
0:28:01 > 0:28:05which he fully endorsed and understood,
0:28:05 > 0:28:10but he also had this regular kind of Army Guards discipline approach.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14Charlie had a wonderful understanding of human nature.
0:28:14 > 0:28:18He knew just when to give a chap a real...what we'd call a bollocking,
0:28:18 > 0:28:21and when to praise him.
0:28:21 > 0:28:26And he didn't mince his words. He had a lovely delivery.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31The best surviving examples of Vaughan's vernacular
0:28:31 > 0:28:34are in the pages of Castle Commando,
0:28:34 > 0:28:37written by Vaughan's great friend, camp adjutant Donald Gilchrist.
0:28:41 > 0:28:45Setting out on an exercise, a young officer asks Vaughan
0:28:45 > 0:28:48if transport will be laid on to bring his men back to base.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54Transport? Transport? Good God.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57Here I am, I've done my best to help you,
0:28:57 > 0:28:59I lay on a very pleasant day on Ben Nevis.
0:28:59 > 0:29:03You'll like that hill. It belongs to Loch Eil and he's very proud of it.
0:29:03 > 0:29:06But all you can think of is transport! Gah!
0:29:18 > 0:29:20Charlie Vaughan's training school
0:29:20 > 0:29:23was radically different to anything that had gone before.
0:29:23 > 0:29:29This one remarkable photograph shows the sheer scale of the operation.
0:29:32 > 0:29:37This is a photograph from Achnacarry here in front of us from June 1944.
0:29:37 > 0:29:39Probably, this is the operation at its height.
0:29:41 > 0:29:44Achnacarry had a production line of commandos in training.
0:29:44 > 0:29:48You've got the staff at the front here and there's the pipe band.
0:29:48 > 0:29:50Achnacarry had its own pipe band,
0:29:50 > 0:29:53which was a kind of nod towards the Highland heritage of the place.
0:29:53 > 0:29:57It would greet the trainees when they arrived from the train at Spean Bridge.
0:30:05 > 0:30:07From the moment we arrived here,
0:30:07 > 0:30:09we were run round the hills,
0:30:09 > 0:30:14assault courses, forced marches, never a minute to ourselves.
0:30:14 > 0:30:15Even a bit of...
0:30:17 > 0:30:20..perverse sadism in it, because when you thought the day was over
0:30:20 > 0:30:23and everything was finished, the whistle would blow
0:30:23 > 0:30:28and they'd say, "Right, up the mountain here," and right into the dark at night.
0:30:28 > 0:30:32It was four or five weeks of absolute hell.
0:30:32 > 0:30:34As a trainee at Achnacarry,
0:30:34 > 0:30:38you are put through a daily diet of different lessons, if you like.
0:30:38 > 0:30:40It's almost like an intensified schooling.
0:30:40 > 0:30:44So you would have different disciplines going on at different times of the day.
0:30:44 > 0:30:49So you might in the morning be on the rope assault course.
0:30:49 > 0:30:52In the afternoon, you might be doing hand-to-hand fighting.
0:30:53 > 0:30:58The difference from Inverailort is there's more unit fighting going on here.
0:30:58 > 0:31:01They're training together. It's a combination of
0:31:01 > 0:31:05preparing them for combat and testing them as individuals
0:31:05 > 0:31:07to see whether they were good enough for the job.
0:31:13 > 0:31:15And the first test was fitness.
0:31:15 > 0:31:18Even today, Achnacarry's gruelling forced marches
0:31:18 > 0:31:21remain part of commando folklore.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24Left, right, left, right, left.
0:31:26 > 0:31:30What's it like being back here now? Does it bring back all the memories?
0:31:30 > 0:31:32Yeah. First time back, this is,
0:31:32 > 0:31:36the first time I've seen this place since May 1943.
0:31:36 > 0:31:39It's a long time.
0:31:40 > 0:31:44The wartime commando course lasted between four and six weeks.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50'Commando basic training centre, forced marches,
0:31:50 > 0:31:52'number of 40-minute periods, 19.'
0:31:54 > 0:31:58Today's Royal Marine basic training course lasts 32 weeks,
0:31:58 > 0:32:00held at Lympstone in Devon.
0:32:00 > 0:32:0470 years on, the objectives haven't changed.
0:32:05 > 0:32:10The aim of commando training is to produce somebody who's strong
0:32:10 > 0:32:13and tough and fit and resourceful.
0:32:13 > 0:32:16Resourceful because when things don't go as planned,
0:32:16 > 0:32:19and they never do, you've got to have people
0:32:19 > 0:32:21who can make up their own minds as to what's best to do.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24I'm delighted we're filming in this weather.
0:32:24 > 0:32:26This is very much what we do.
0:32:26 > 0:32:29It's doing your job under these conditions.
0:32:29 > 0:32:32The sort of training they did here is exactly the sort of training
0:32:32 > 0:32:36which Royal Marines commandos do today at Lympstone.
0:32:38 > 0:32:42We've got a nine-mile speed march, endurance course.
0:32:42 > 0:32:46We used to do the speed marches and assault courses.
0:32:46 > 0:32:48My uniform was never dry.
0:32:50 > 0:32:54You think, "This is going to hurt, this is going to be painful. I can't do this."
0:32:54 > 0:32:57The test, or whatever it is, is explained to you and you do it,
0:32:57 > 0:32:59and it gives you confidence.
0:32:59 > 0:33:03And a commando, having done the training they do today,
0:33:03 > 0:33:06and the training that took place at Achnacarry,
0:33:06 > 0:33:10gives you confidence that you can overcome obstacles in your path,
0:33:10 > 0:33:11whatever they may be.
0:33:11 > 0:33:14One, two, three, four. One...
0:33:14 > 0:33:17'There's quite a big dropout rate in all this.'
0:33:17 > 0:33:23About 30%, and sometimes 50% of every squad never got through.
0:33:23 > 0:33:27'I can remember I was absolutely determined
0:33:27 > 0:33:29'I would do the course, even if I was dead at the end of it.
0:33:29 > 0:33:31'But lots didn't.'
0:33:31 > 0:33:34They said, "No, sorry, Sarge, I can't do any more,
0:33:34 > 0:33:37"I can't live this life any more."
0:33:37 > 0:33:39And they were just sent back.
0:33:42 > 0:33:44Troops, halt!
0:33:49 > 0:33:54To be honest, the kit we've got these days
0:33:54 > 0:33:56gives us a significant advantage, I think.
0:33:56 > 0:34:01I can't imagine what the likes of Norman had to do that march in.
0:34:01 > 0:34:06To be honest, that's the sort of basic minimum standard I expect from my Marines.
0:34:11 > 0:34:13I've remembered the aspects all my life,
0:34:13 > 0:34:16though it's a long, long time ago.
0:34:16 > 0:34:19Other things I've forgotten, they're gone for ever,
0:34:19 > 0:34:21but this bit I'll always remember.
0:34:30 > 0:34:34Fitness was the foundation of the commando course.
0:34:34 > 0:34:37But fitness alone didn't win battles.
0:34:37 > 0:34:42The recruits were taught to survive and strike out from the harshest conditions -
0:34:42 > 0:34:44a skill the Army called...
0:34:44 > 0:34:48Fieldcraft. Number of 40-minute periods, 40.
0:34:50 > 0:34:55A fieldcraft was basically the teaching of troops to go over
0:34:55 > 0:34:57all types of ground in action.
0:34:57 > 0:35:02Tactical movement by day and by night.
0:35:02 > 0:35:05It really meant just being able to appreciate
0:35:05 > 0:35:09the folds in the ground where there was cover here and there.
0:35:09 > 0:35:11I had two wonderful assistants.
0:35:11 > 0:35:16One was a chap called Davidson, who was out the Lovat Scouts,
0:35:16 > 0:35:18and by profession, he was a ghillie.
0:35:18 > 0:35:23All I needed to say to the troops... I used to say, "Watch Davidson,"
0:35:23 > 0:35:25and he'd move as though he was stalking a prey.
0:35:25 > 0:35:29He'd see a quarry, like a deer or an enemy,
0:35:29 > 0:35:32and he'd move to the ground almost like a cat
0:35:32 > 0:35:36and his rifle would come up to the shoulder all in one movement.
0:35:36 > 0:35:38I said, "That's what you've got to aim for."
0:35:38 > 0:35:40GUNSHOTS
0:35:45 > 0:35:49Achnacarry still bears the scars of those wartime fieldcraft lessons,
0:35:49 > 0:35:52souvenirs of the famous Tarzan course.
0:35:54 > 0:35:57The beech trees that supported the commandos
0:35:57 > 0:35:59had been planted in the summer of 1745,
0:35:59 > 0:36:03just as Bonnie Prince Charlie arrived in the Highlands
0:36:03 > 0:36:07and prepared for battle against the British Army.
0:36:10 > 0:36:12Two centuries later,
0:36:12 > 0:36:16this Highland terrain had become the perfect classroom.
0:36:16 > 0:36:20Now the commandos were fit and ready for any environment.
0:36:21 > 0:36:23The next stage was weapons training.
0:36:29 > 0:36:33We don't only just look at them, but actually handle and fire them.
0:36:37 > 0:36:42If you couldn't see where the enemy was when they'd opened fire,
0:36:42 > 0:36:47you could, by training, determine where they were by sound.
0:36:47 > 0:36:50We used to do a demonstration called Crack And Thump.
0:36:50 > 0:36:54I used to put chaps out, just over here at the back here,
0:36:54 > 0:36:58armed with a rifle and ammunition
0:36:58 > 0:37:00and they'd be concealed.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03And I used to challenge the trainees and say, "Can you see anybody?"
0:37:03 > 0:37:05They couldn't. I'd blow the whistle
0:37:05 > 0:37:08and they'd fire a couple of rounds over their heads.
0:37:08 > 0:37:11Of course, when a bullet goes over your head, there's a crack.
0:37:11 > 0:37:13CRACK!
0:37:13 > 0:37:17And then it's followed by a thump of the actual explosion.
0:37:17 > 0:37:19THUMP!
0:37:19 > 0:37:20So you hear the crack.
0:37:20 > 0:37:22I'd say, "That's all right.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25"If you hear the crack, the bullet's missed you.
0:37:25 > 0:37:29"It's gone. But look for the thump." And you'd just hear it.
0:37:29 > 0:37:30And that was a technique.
0:37:40 > 0:37:43This one Highland estate was mass-producing
0:37:43 > 0:37:46thousands of highly trained men.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49But it was also producing a potent propaganda message.
0:37:50 > 0:37:53The commandos had a public persona, and actually,
0:37:53 > 0:37:58Achnacarry and the legend of Achnacarry grew up very quickly,
0:37:58 > 0:37:59because it served that purpose.
0:37:59 > 0:38:02Publicity was always part of the commando concept.
0:38:02 > 0:38:05We were talking about the special training in Inverailort -
0:38:05 > 0:38:09that was secret. No-one knew about it. That didn't come out until after the war.
0:38:09 > 0:38:12There was nothing secret about Achnacarry, about the commandos.
0:38:12 > 0:38:14Standby, beach defences.
0:38:14 > 0:38:18The gentlemen of the press were given the ringside seats
0:38:18 > 0:38:21to the great Achnacarry set piece -
0:38:21 > 0:38:22the opposed landing.
0:38:24 > 0:38:25Rapid.
0:38:27 > 0:38:29Fire.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37Live bullets flew overhead.
0:38:37 > 0:38:41No records were kept of the number of men killed or injured during training.
0:38:43 > 0:38:47'Commando basic training centre. Safety precautions.
0:38:47 > 0:38:49'It must be remembered that we are training for war
0:38:49 > 0:38:52'and that if any degree of realism is to be reached,
0:38:52 > 0:38:56'the chances of accidents occurring cannot be completely eliminated.'
0:38:57 > 0:38:59As a performance,
0:38:59 > 0:39:02the opposed landing impressed the most cynical spectators.
0:39:02 > 0:39:06'A fine series of exercises and demonstrations
0:39:06 > 0:39:08'by the passing out squad of police recruits.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11'Bullets whistling everywhere.
0:39:11 > 0:39:14'They had killed a man two days earlier.'
0:39:21 > 0:39:24The landings took place by day and night.
0:39:25 > 0:39:27MUSIC FROM LAPTOP
0:39:27 > 0:39:29This is a night opposed landing,
0:39:29 > 0:39:33which was the showpiece of many of the courses.
0:39:35 > 0:39:39'No sissy stuff, but real bullets, real bombs and real explosions.
0:39:39 > 0:39:41'Training with the lid off.'
0:39:41 > 0:39:46Bullets going over the head, but they get the sensation of being fired at.
0:39:46 > 0:39:50They get that familiar crack of the bullets passing by.
0:39:53 > 0:39:56'It was a performance fit to top any bill,
0:39:56 > 0:40:00'a spellbinding affair in widescreen and glorious Technicolor,
0:40:00 > 0:40:04'a dazzling cross between the Blackpool Illuminations and Guy Fawkes Night.'
0:40:08 > 0:40:12"Widen the shore, get off those boats as quick as you can
0:40:12 > 0:40:14"and clear the beach as quickly as possible."
0:40:14 > 0:40:18That's one thing we learned right from the beginning in 1914 -
0:40:18 > 0:40:21when you land on the beach, get off it as quickly as possible.
0:40:21 > 0:40:25Don't try and go to ground to cover. You'll be a sitting target if you do.
0:40:25 > 0:40:28Take a chance and go like hell.
0:40:45 > 0:40:49After weeks of intense training, the recruits were fighting fit.
0:40:49 > 0:40:51The commando reputation was at a peak.
0:40:52 > 0:40:56Their audacious raid on Saint-Nazaire in March 1942
0:40:56 > 0:41:00had destroyed docks vital to Germany's lethal battleships.
0:41:02 > 0:41:06The commandos were glamorous, exciting and under new management.
0:41:07 > 0:41:11The well-connected Lord Louis Mountbatten had taken charge.
0:41:12 > 0:41:14In the early summer of 1942,
0:41:14 > 0:41:18he was preparing Britain's most ambitious raid yet.
0:41:19 > 0:41:23How would the men of Achnacarry cope when it was their turn to fight?
0:41:30 > 0:41:35Among the first graduates of Achnacarry were 50 former policemen,
0:41:35 > 0:41:38dispatched to No. 4 Commando in Troon.
0:41:38 > 0:41:40Their new boss was Shimi Lovat.
0:41:42 > 0:41:48Two years had passed since Lovat had established that first training base at Inverailort House.
0:41:48 > 0:41:51He'd risen to the rank of lieutenant colonel.
0:42:01 > 0:42:06In the summer of 1942, he and his men had been selected
0:42:06 > 0:42:08for an audacious mission into occupied France -
0:42:08 > 0:42:11a raid on Dieppe.
0:42:11 > 0:42:15Dieppe was not important as a military target in its own right.
0:42:15 > 0:42:19What was important about the Dieppe raid was it allowed the British,
0:42:19 > 0:42:20at a very bleak time in the war,
0:42:20 > 0:42:23to send a signal about their aggressive intent.
0:42:23 > 0:42:26That was important in implicating the Americans and the Russians.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29Things were going very badly on the Russian front,
0:42:29 > 0:42:32and the Russians needed pressure relieving on that front.
0:42:34 > 0:42:37The new boss of the commandos, Mountbatten, had a plan.
0:42:37 > 0:42:40A straightforward plan.
0:42:40 > 0:42:43The town was to be taken by a direct frontal assault,
0:42:43 > 0:42:46spearheaded by the Canadian infantry.
0:42:46 > 0:42:49But before they could get anywhere near Dieppe,
0:42:49 > 0:42:51the Canadians faced a deadly threat.
0:42:52 > 0:42:55MAN SPEAKS GERMAN
0:42:58 > 0:43:02Huge German guns to the east and west of the town,
0:43:02 > 0:43:07guns that could sink a troopship ten miles away.
0:43:07 > 0:43:11Those guns were to be silenced by the commandos.
0:43:13 > 0:43:17In London, Lovat was shown aerial photographs of the gun battery.
0:43:17 > 0:43:20He identified flaws in the plans for the raid
0:43:20 > 0:43:23and insisted on two crucial changes.
0:43:25 > 0:43:29First, he was able to demand that 4 Commandos' attack would not take place during daylight,
0:43:29 > 0:43:33but that landing would take place while it was still dark,
0:43:33 > 0:43:35and second he was able to demand that he and only he
0:43:35 > 0:43:38would have the final say in how the plan was actually structured.
0:43:46 > 0:43:49No 3 Commando, led by John Durnford-Slater,
0:43:49 > 0:43:52would attack German guns to the east of the town.
0:43:54 > 0:43:584 Commando, led by Lovat, would attack the guns to the West.
0:43:58 > 0:44:01They would clear the way for the main force
0:44:01 > 0:44:03to begin its assault on Dieppe.
0:44:05 > 0:44:07On the evening of 18 August 1942,
0:44:07 > 0:44:12Lovat and the men of 4 Commando prepared to take the battle back to France.
0:44:16 > 0:44:20We were sailing from Southampton, and I was Southampton born and bred.
0:44:20 > 0:44:27As I got on the deck, I just looked over into the area of Southampton
0:44:27 > 0:44:32where my widowed mother was living and I just pondered and thought
0:44:32 > 0:44:35and I thought, "Mum, you don't know where I am
0:44:35 > 0:44:37"and you don't know what I'm going to do."
0:44:40 > 0:44:43This was to be the biggest raid of the war.
0:44:43 > 0:44:4550 squadrons of aircraft.
0:44:45 > 0:44:47250 ships.
0:44:47 > 0:44:5210,000 men, among them, for the first time, graduates of Achnacarry.
0:44:55 > 0:44:584 Commandos' target was the Hess gun battery,
0:44:58 > 0:45:02a kilometre inland from the cliffs at Vasterival, west of Dieppe.
0:45:07 > 0:45:10Lovat split his force in two.
0:45:10 > 0:45:13One section, led by Derek Mills-Roberts,
0:45:13 > 0:45:15to make a direct assault.
0:45:16 > 0:45:21The other, which he led, would loop around and attack from the rear.
0:45:24 > 0:45:25Shortly before 5am,
0:45:25 > 0:45:30Lovat and his 250 men landed on the shingle beach of Sainte-Marguerite.
0:45:34 > 0:45:37The Germans had seen the landing craft approaching the beach
0:45:37 > 0:45:41so they were putting fire down on the landing craft as they arrived.
0:45:41 > 0:45:45They crossed the beach at a run. Lovat had insisted any man who went to cover on the shingle
0:45:45 > 0:45:48would be court-martialed for that. Speed was of the essence.
0:45:48 > 0:45:53At the top of the beach, there were wire entanglements that they had to cross in order to move inland.
0:45:53 > 0:45:55Some were wearing thick leather jerkins
0:45:55 > 0:46:00and they threw themselves down, rolled around in the wire to help crush it and create a path.
0:46:01 > 0:46:04A private took a couple of quick glances,
0:46:04 > 0:46:08one up at the arc of enemy fire, the other across at me.
0:46:08 > 0:46:11Out of the side of his mouth, he panted, "Jesus Christ, sir,
0:46:11 > 0:46:14"this is nearly as bad as Achnacarry."
0:46:18 > 0:46:21Two kilometres to the east, the 88 men of group one,
0:46:21 > 0:46:25led by Derek Mills-Roberts, had landed under the Vasterival cliffs.
0:46:27 > 0:46:28Lovat had banned cameras.
0:46:28 > 0:46:32This illicit photograph is the only known record of the landing.
0:46:34 > 0:46:37Jimmy Dunning was in charge of a mortar section.
0:46:39 > 0:46:43We had a choice of two cliffs.
0:46:43 > 0:46:46There were gullies in the cliff to go up.
0:46:46 > 0:46:51The left-hand one was choked full of barbed wire
0:46:51 > 0:46:54and possibly mined as well, so we said, "That's not on."
0:46:54 > 0:46:57We tackled the right-hand one.
0:46:57 > 0:46:59With the aid of Bangalore torpedoes,
0:46:59 > 0:47:03which are six-foot iron tubes filled with explosives,
0:47:03 > 0:47:07we cleared our way to get up, to scramble up the cliff.
0:47:07 > 0:47:09EXPLOSION
0:47:09 > 0:47:11On the way along, we decided...
0:47:11 > 0:47:14Well, it was already decided that we'd knock at one or two doors
0:47:14 > 0:47:17to find out if there were Germans in the locality
0:47:17 > 0:47:18billeted with the people.
0:47:21 > 0:47:2514-year-old Gerard Cadot lived in a cottage just above the gorge.
0:47:27 > 0:47:30He'd grown up playing beside the deadly German guns.
0:47:30 > 0:47:34That morning he was woken by the sound of fighter planes.
0:47:34 > 0:47:37He and his father went out to investigate.
0:47:38 > 0:47:42- TRANSLATION:- Directly opposite with their faces blackened
0:47:42 > 0:47:45were four soldiers in khaki uniforms.
0:47:45 > 0:47:46I was surprised to see khaki,
0:47:46 > 0:47:48we were so used to seeing German uniforms!
0:47:53 > 0:47:59Just down the coast, Lovat's section had left the beach at St Marguerite
0:47:59 > 0:48:02and started the long circular track around the battery.
0:48:02 > 0:48:07Unfortunately, the Germans had flooded the valley of the River Saane so the banks were very boggy.
0:48:07 > 0:48:11One of the commandos said it was like running through rice pudding.
0:48:11 > 0:48:13Obviously, that puts a great physical demand on them
0:48:13 > 0:48:18and this is where the training they'd done at Achnacarry came in really useful.
0:48:18 > 0:48:23When they got about 1,000 yards inland, Lovat's men moved east across the slopes
0:48:23 > 0:48:26towards the battery position, still more than half a mile away.
0:48:26 > 0:48:29And as they did so there was a real sense of urgency in their movement
0:48:29 > 0:48:32cos they could hear that the German guns had opened fire.
0:48:35 > 0:48:39The battery opened up, they could obviously see the main convoy
0:48:39 > 0:48:40so Derek Mills-Roberts,
0:48:40 > 0:48:45who was commanding our particular party decided to speed everything up
0:48:45 > 0:48:49and to get in position and open fire as soon as possible.
0:48:49 > 0:48:52We positioned the mortars
0:48:52 > 0:48:57and I had decided that I'd aim at the centre of the battery.
0:48:57 > 0:49:02At first, a shell went slightly to the left...short, rather.
0:49:02 > 0:49:05The second one was slightly to the right but the third one...
0:49:05 > 0:49:06Wahey, bingo.
0:49:10 > 0:49:13Troop Sergeant Major Jimmy Dunning with his two-inch mortar
0:49:13 > 0:49:15in the tree line a few hundred metres to the north.
0:49:15 > 0:49:19It's the bomb from that mortar that ignites the German cordite charges
0:49:19 > 0:49:22within a few metres of where I'm standing, so a huge explosion.
0:49:22 > 0:49:24Only a few minutes later,
0:49:24 > 0:49:26the commandos come storming in from the south.
0:49:26 > 0:49:29Lovat with B and F troops, bayonets fixed,
0:49:29 > 0:49:32grenading the Germans as they come in, close-quarters combat.
0:49:32 > 0:49:36Scenes of almost mediaeval savagery.
0:49:36 > 0:49:39SHOUTING AND GUNFIRE
0:49:46 > 0:49:50Lovat himself described the brutality of the fighting.
0:49:50 > 0:49:55'Considerable numbers of Germans who'd hidden in underground tunnels
0:49:55 > 0:49:59'were either bayoneted or shot at close range by machine gun.'
0:50:08 > 0:50:11'Lovat's next words brought me to my feet.
0:50:15 > 0:50:18'"Set them on fire", he ordered,
0:50:18 > 0:50:20'with a gesture at the surrounding building.'
0:50:23 > 0:50:25'Burn the lot.'
0:50:31 > 0:50:35'These were not the words of a commanding officer of the British Army.
0:50:35 > 0:50:40'They were the words of a Highland Chief bent on the total destruction of the enemy.'
0:50:56 > 0:50:58TRANSLATION: My father said,
0:50:58 > 0:51:02let's go and see what's happening at the cliffs.
0:51:02 > 0:51:05My mother didn't want us to go, she was nervous.
0:51:05 > 0:51:09The two of us went to the cliff and saw the boats in front of the gorge.
0:51:09 > 0:51:11We saw soldiers coming down the path.
0:51:15 > 0:51:19The commandos began the difficult task of withdrawing back towards
0:51:19 > 0:51:23this beach where Jimmy Dunning and his men had landed two and a half hours earlier.
0:51:23 > 0:51:25They were under sporadic German fire
0:51:25 > 0:51:28but they moved down the gully and onto the beach
0:51:28 > 0:51:32and waded through the water to the landing craft waiting offshore, up to their shoulders.
0:51:32 > 0:51:36Once they were on the landing craft, they could set off back to the UK,
0:51:36 > 0:51:39satisfied that they had carried out with great success
0:51:39 > 0:51:42the mission they had been assigned to complete.
0:51:47 > 0:51:50The big guns would never fire again.
0:51:52 > 0:51:55The way was clear for the main assault on Dieppe
0:51:55 > 0:51:56by the Canadian infantry.
0:51:59 > 0:52:03Their first task was to capture the cliffs surrounding the town centre.
0:52:05 > 0:52:07Despite heroic efforts, they failed.
0:52:07 > 0:52:12The Canadians who landed here on the morning of the 19th were slaughtered.
0:52:12 > 0:52:17They landed on the shingle against German opposition that was fully intact,
0:52:17 > 0:52:19no preliminary bombardment by air or sea.
0:52:19 > 0:52:22The Germans were not surprised, they were in control
0:52:22 > 0:52:26of their firepower in place on the headlands and in the town.
0:52:26 > 0:52:28The Canadians fought with extreme bravery.
0:52:28 > 0:52:34They tried to get into the town. Maybe 100 men, out of 2,000 who came ashore, succeeded in doing so.
0:52:34 > 0:52:38Most of the rest spent their last few hours pinned down on this beach.
0:52:38 > 0:52:43Hundreds of them were killed and almost all of the remainder were rounded up and captured.
0:52:57 > 0:53:00We had no idea of the tragedy, really,
0:53:00 > 0:53:04because the newspapers that came out the next day
0:53:04 > 0:53:07just talked about a successful commando raid
0:53:07 > 0:53:13and didn't give the full details of the Canadian and naval losses.
0:53:19 > 0:53:23The raid on Dieppe achieved little, except casualties.
0:53:23 > 0:53:29From the navy, from the air force, from the commandos.
0:53:29 > 0:53:32Over 900 Canadian soldiers lost their lives.
0:53:34 > 0:53:38And yet, to his death, Mountbatten remained convinced
0:53:38 > 0:53:40that despite the human cost,
0:53:40 > 0:53:43it had been a worthwhile rehearsal for D-Day.
0:53:44 > 0:53:49The Duke of Wellington said that the Battle of Waterloo was won
0:53:49 > 0:53:51on the playing fields of Eton.
0:53:51 > 0:53:57I say that the Battle of Normandy was won on the beaches of Dieppe.
0:53:57 > 0:54:00For every one man who was killed in Dieppe,
0:54:00 > 0:54:05at least ten or more had their lives spared on the beaches of Normandy.
0:54:09 > 0:54:14If you need to put 2,000 men ashore against a prepared German defence
0:54:14 > 0:54:16with wire, machine guns, artillery pieces and so forth
0:54:16 > 0:54:20in order to learn that a frontal assault is likely to be
0:54:20 > 0:54:23a suicidal disaster in those circumstances,
0:54:23 > 0:54:25then you need your head examined.
0:54:25 > 0:54:29But regardless of the rights and wrongs of the Dieppe raid,
0:54:29 > 0:54:31of one thing we can be absolutely certain.
0:54:31 > 0:54:33The 4 Commandos role demonstrated
0:54:33 > 0:54:38that effective training, especially mission-specific training,
0:54:38 > 0:54:40was likely to create success.
0:54:40 > 0:54:43And certainly the commandos could go away from this operation
0:54:43 > 0:54:47with their head held high about a job well done.
0:54:56 > 0:54:57Back in the Highlands,
0:54:57 > 0:55:00the Achnacarry machine continued, relentless,
0:55:00 > 0:55:02but with one notable addition.
0:55:04 > 0:55:07In the months after Dieppe, the commandos were given a new
0:55:07 > 0:55:10and distinct symbol of identity.
0:55:10 > 0:55:13Beginning in the late summer of 1942
0:55:13 > 0:55:18Charlie Vaughan presented every graduate with a green beret.
0:55:19 > 0:55:21This was the birth of a military legend.
0:55:23 > 0:55:26But just as the commandos gained their identity,
0:55:26 > 0:55:29they were losing their original role.
0:55:31 > 0:55:35By 1943, the time for small raids in Europe was over.
0:55:35 > 0:55:41And we were working up for D-Day which of course was in June, 1944.
0:55:41 > 0:55:43And the Royal Marines
0:55:43 > 0:55:47and army commandos were preparing for that in every way possible.
0:55:49 > 0:55:52For the remaining months of the European conflict,
0:55:52 > 0:55:56the British commandos successfully waged an unfamiliar war.
0:55:57 > 0:56:02The idea was that they would be used as the assault troops
0:56:02 > 0:56:05to break the crust of the enemy defences.
0:56:05 > 0:56:08They weren't actually used for commando raiding
0:56:08 > 0:56:11from the sea for the rest of the war in Europe.
0:56:15 > 0:56:20The Germans defeated, Britain erupted in the joy of victory.
0:56:20 > 0:56:21CHEERING
0:56:21 > 0:56:25For the army commandos, this would be their final victory.
0:56:32 > 0:56:35On 25th October 1945,
0:56:35 > 0:56:39Brigadier Bob Laycock broke the news to the men of 1st Commando Brigade.
0:56:42 > 0:56:46'It is a feeling of very deep regret that it has fallen to my lot
0:56:46 > 0:56:50'to tell you today that you are to be disbanded.'
0:56:54 > 0:56:56The green beret would live on,
0:56:56 > 0:57:00but as the sole responsibility of the Royal Marines.
0:57:01 > 0:57:04Achnacarry was returned to Cameron of Lochiel...
0:57:05 > 0:57:07..a little the worse for wear.
0:57:07 > 0:57:11The house was a bit of a mess. There'd been a fire inside.
0:57:11 > 0:57:14My grandfather said that the last time the English
0:57:14 > 0:57:17had come to Achnacarry in force they'd burned the old house down,
0:57:17 > 0:57:20so the second time that they'd allowed them back,
0:57:20 > 0:57:24they'd done exactly the same again, all those years afterwards!
0:57:25 > 0:57:28The Commando training depot, Achnacarry,
0:57:28 > 0:57:34closed its gates for the last time on 31st March 1946.
0:57:36 > 0:57:40A remarkable 25,000 men had come here
0:57:40 > 0:57:43and passed the commando basic training course.
0:57:56 > 0:57:58Today, on a hill between the camp
0:57:58 > 0:58:01and the railway station at Spean Bridge,
0:58:01 > 0:58:04those early commandos are immortalised in bronze.
0:58:04 > 0:58:09Scott Sutherland's three soldiers have their eyes forever fixed
0:58:09 > 0:58:12towards the wild Highland hills.
0:58:12 > 0:58:15No-one forgets going to Achnacarry
0:58:15 > 0:58:19and that lovely statue of the men looking beyond.
0:58:19 > 0:58:22That's a symbolism and one does feel proud
0:58:22 > 0:58:24because it conjures up a lot of memories,
0:58:24 > 0:58:27conjures up some very fine men.
0:58:35 > 0:58:38Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:38 > 0:58:40E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk