Early Allied amphibious operations during the war were hampered by poor organisation and control of the landing beaches.

[3] The first Royal Naval Commandos were formed from these beach parties shortly after Operation Ironclad, the initial Allied landings on Madagascar to capture the Vichy French-held port of Diego Suarez in early May 1942.

[5] Of note, 'W' Commando was largely formed from personnel drawn from the Royal Canadian Navy.

[2] Due to their specialised skills, parties from the Royal Naval Commandos took part in every amphibious operation carried out by Allies from early 1942 to the end of the war.

As a result, casualties among the naval commandos were high and when the operation was eventually abandoned, many of them were captured.

[1] Spread across the three task forces, the naval commandos—wearing American uniforms in some cases, in order to placate the Vichy French defenders—landed among the first wave of troops at Casablanca, Oran and Algiers.

[1] Later in June 1944, 'A' and 'O' parties suffered heavy casualties when they were involved in Operation Brassard, the capture of the island of Elba.

[1][10] These operations were limited in scope after the effort of D-Day, but included participation in the assault on Walcheren with the Royal Marines Commandos from the 4th Special Service Brigade and attempts by 'L' and 'M' Commandos to cross the Rhine at Arnhem during Operation Market-Garden.