In 1941 they were involved in successful raids on the Lofoten Islands and Vaagso, in Norway, before taking part in the costly Dieppe raid in August 1942, where the unit was tasked with knocking out a German coastal artillery battery on the eastern flank of the main landings, although due to a chance encounter in the Channel with a German convoy, a large majority of the unit failed to make it ashore.

On D-Day they went ashore on 6 June 1944 as part of the 1st Special Service Brigade tasked with linking up with the 6th Airborne Division on the eastern flank of Sword before being withdrawn.

[13] On 27 December 1941, the Commandos carried out another raid in Norway, this time on the port of Vaagso (Nor:Vågsøy) and the island of Maaloy (Måløy) known as Operation Archery.

[16] Overhead a considerable air battle ensued, while in the anchorage the naval force continued to bombard the shore line and attack German shipping in the port.

3 and 4 Commandos would land at beaches on the eastern and western flanks and neutralise two German artillery batteries that were covering the main anchorage.

[24] As the convoy of landing craft and other vessels ferried the Commandos across the English Channel; however, they had a chance encounter with a German tanker escorted by a number of armed trawlers which proceeded to fire upon them.

In the confusion that followed a number of the landing craft were damaged and forced to turn back, while others were reported as missing and believed sunk.

[26] Nevertheless, unbeknown to their commanders and each other, and having lost communications, the seven landing craft that had been reported missing made for their assigned beaches, determined to press on with the attack.

[28] Major Young's withdrawal was effected with such haste, and under such heavy fire, that he did not have time to board the Motor Launch (ML346, commanded by Lt A.D.

Fear DSC RNVR) on which he returned home; he was towed part of the way, in the water, clinging to a line attached to the stern of the ship.

[32] In January 1943, however, the unit received orders to move to Gibraltar, where they were stationed as a precaution in case Germany decided to invade Spain.

[36] On 10 July 1943, landing ahead of the main force near Cassibile, a few miles south of Syracuse on the Sicilian coast, half of No.

4, 5 and 6 Troops, under the command of Durnford-Slater, carried out a night time attack on an Italian artillery battery without suffering a single casualty.

[39] On 13 July, the Commandos embarked once more upon the Prince Albert[39] with the task of landing in the Bay of Agnone, behind enemy lines and capture the Ponte dei Malati bridge and hold it, intact, until the 50th Division, which formed the vanguard of the advancing British Eighth Army, under General Bernard Montgomery, could relieve them.

[41] The first wave hit the beach near Agnone Bagni, about 7 miles (11 km) from the bridge, at 22:00 hours and took fire from the Italian defenders almost immediately.

Under the leadership of Durnford-Slater, Young and Lieutenant George Herbert, all experienced combat officers, the Commandos eventually managed to fight their way off the beach and push inland.

3 Commando, organised into four troops under Captain Arthur Komrower,[Note 8] embarked from Manfredonia as part of the attack force tasked with capturing the port of Termoli.

[58][59] On D-Day, the 1st Special Service Brigade was tasked with linking up with the 6th Airborne Division on the eastern flank of Sword and securing the high ground near La Plein.

[64] Crossing the bridge, which was still under fire from enemy snipers, Peter Young made contact with the airborne headquarters and was told to take the unit to Le Bas de Ranville instead of advancing on Cabourg.

4 and 5 Troops under command of the second-in-command, Major John Pooley, carried out an attack on the Merville battery near the coast where there were still guns firing on the landing beaches.

[65] The battery had been taken the previous day by a force from the 9th Parachute Battalion, but had been reoccupied later by the Germans[66] and it was heavily defended by mortars and landmines.

4 Troop moved across the open ground before taking up position behind the hedgerows 300 yards from the battery and from where laid down covering fire for No.

[67] After a stubborn defence, in which a number of Commandos, including Pooley, were killed, they took the battery, however, shortly afterwards they were counterattacked by German force supported by self-propelled artillery.

[70] In mid-July a breakout from the beachhead was attempted and the 1st Special Service Brigade moved through the Le Bois de Bavent, a large wooded area, as the Germans began to withdraw.

3 Commando, along with the rest of the 1st Special Service Brigade, were withdrawn from the line and returned to the United Kingdom to prepare to be redeployed to the Far East for operations against the Japanese.

[73] Later in the month, the unit took up positions at Maeseyck and on 24–25 January, with snow falling on the streets and a heavy German artillery barrage on the town, they took part in an assault on Linne.

[76] The assault was only partially successful and due to the destruction of the bridges that spanned the frozen Montforterbeek Canal, the Allies were unable to bring up armour to support No.

[79] The rest did not last long, however, and later in the month they relieved the marines at Smakt and began preparing for Operation Plunder, the crossing of the Rhine.

3 Commando crossed the river in Buffalo landing vehicles and began moving on Wesel, where, on 25 March they cleared the centre of the town and captured a large number of German prisoners.

[82] The next day, they crossed the Weser River in assault boats and under the cover of darkness carried out a flanking manoeuvre on the Germans occupying the town of Leese.