List of defunct special forces units

Afghanistan edit

  • Democratic Republic of Afghanistan[1]
    • Afghan Army
      • 26th Airborne Battalion
      • 37th Commando Battalion
      • 38th Commando Battalion
      • 84th Commando Battalion
      • 85th Commando Battalion
      • 242nd Parachute Battalion
      • 444th Commando Battalion
      • 455th Commando Battalion
      • 466th Commando Battalion
      • 666th Commando Battalion
    • Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Afghan Army (KhAD-e-Nezami)
      • 203rd Special Purpose Battalion (Kabul)
      • 212th Special Purpose Battalion (Kandahar)
      • 230th Special Purpose Battalion (Gardez)

ANA Special Operations Command[2]

Australia edit

Austro-Hungarian Empire edit

Canada edit

Croatia edit

Ethiopia edit

Empire of Japan edit

  Empire of Japan

Japanese Special Attack Units
Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Army Air Force

Germany edit

  German Empire

  Nazi Germany

Abwehr- units later reassigned to Wehrmacht after expanding to divisional size
  • Brandenburg Lehr und Bau Battalion zbV 800 – December 1939
    • 1. Company - Baltic/ Russian
    • 2. Company - English/ North and South Africa
    • 3. Company - Sudeten German/ Balkans
    • 4. Company - Volkdeutshe/ Eastern ethnic German
    • Motorcycle platoon
    • Parachute platoon
  • Brandenburg Lehr-Regiment zbV 800 – 1941–1943
    • 1st Battalion, at Brandenburg
    • 2nd Battalion at Baden
    • 3rd Battalion at Baden
    • Intelligence Battalion
    • Coastal Raiding Company
    • Sonderverbrand 287 - Arab volunteers with brandenburg volunteer core
    • Sonderverbrand 288 - All German
Wehrmacht from 1943- 1945

HQ staff at Brandenburg an der Havel, Brandenburg

  • Verband 801, based in Brandenburg an der Havel
    • I. Battalion
    • II. Battalion
    • III. Battalion
  • Verband 802 (Mountain), base in Admont, Steiermark
    • I. Gebirgsjäger Battalion
    • II. Gebirgsjäger Battalion
    • III. Gebirgsjäger Battalion
  • Verband 803, based in Düren, North Rhine-Westphalia
    • I. Battalion
    • II. Battalion
    • III. Battalion
    • 13. Legionärs Company
  • Verband 804 (Legionärs), based in Langenargen, Bodensee
    • I. Legionärs Battalion
    • II. Legionärs Battalion
    • III. Legionärs Bataillon
  • Verband 805, based in Brandenburg an der Havel
  • Intelligence Detachment 800
    • 5X Company
  • Intelligence Support Detachment 800
    • 4X Company
  • Coastal Rangers Detachment 800, based at Langenargen, Bodensee
    • 4X Company (1, 2, 3 and 4)
  • Signals Detachment 800
    • 3X Company (1, 2 and 3)
  • Training Unit, Gut „Quenzsee“ (or „Quenzgut“), based near Brandenburg
Kriegsmarine
  • Lehrkommandos 200, 250, 300, 350, and 700
Luftwaffe
Waffen-SS

  German Democratic Republic

  Germany

Greece edit

Fiji edit

Indonesia edit

Ireland edit

Israel edit

Kingdom of Italy edit

World War I
World War II

Netherlands edit

Poland edit

  Second Polish Republic

  Polish government-in-exile

  Polish Underground State

  Polish People's Republic

  • 1st Assault Battalion[11]

Portugal edit

Philippine Republic edit

Rhodesia edit

Serbia edit

South Africa edit

Syria edit

Turkey edit

United Kingdom edit

British Army
Royal Air Force
Royal Marines
  • Royal Marine Detachment 385 (Small Operations Group)
  • Sea Reconnaissance Unit (SRU)
  • Royal Marine Demolition Unit
Royal Navy
Combined Operations
Directorate of Military Intelligence
Other

United States edit

The Civil War
World War II
Korean War
Vietnam War
Other

Republic of Vietnam edit

South Vietnamese Rangers At its peak there were 22 ARVN Ranger Battalions organized in 10 Groups.

  • 1st Ranger Group - Da Nang (I Corps/CTZ)
  • 2nd Ranger Group - Pleiku (II Corps/CTZ)
  • 3rd Ranger Group - Biên Hòa (III Corps/CTZ)
  • 4th Ranger Group - Chi Long (initially in the 44 Tactical Zone and later the IV Corps)
  • 5th Ranger Group - Biên Hòa (III Corps/CTZ)
  • 6th Ranger Group - Biên Hòa (III Corps/CTZ)
  • 7th Ranger Group - Saigon, attached to Airborne Division
  • 8th Ranger Group - Formed in 1974-75
  • 9th Ranger Group - Formed in 1974-75
  • 81st Ranger Group (Airborne) - Biên Hòa[13]

Additionally, during the Vietnamization of the CIDG and MIKE Forces, former CIDG units were namely given Ranger status and organized into groups mostly of 3 battalions each, but they were largely local forces without any special forces capabilities.

  • 21st Ranger Group
  • 22nd Ranger Group
  • 23rd Ranger Group
  • 24th Ranger Group
  • 25th Ranger Group
  • 31st Ranger Group
  • 32nd Ranger Group
  • 33rd Ranger Group
  • 41st Ranger Border Defense Group - Chi Long HQ
  • 42nd Ranger Border Defense Group - Chi Long HQ

South Vietnamese Special Forces (LLDB), later reformed as South Vietnamese Special Mission Service

Frogmen Team (LDNN)

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "«Пожарная команда» Кабула | Warspot.ru". 2023-11-15. Archived from the original on 2023-11-15. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
  2. ^ Afghan special forces expand to handle night raids, delicate missions, but training takes time[dead link]. The Washington Post. Retrieved on 2012-01-01.
  3. ^ a b c d e "ANA Special Operations Command (ANASOC)".
  4. ^ "Special Infantry - Ktah Khas (KKA) (Afghan Special Unit)". Globalsecurity.org.
  5. ^ "Ktah Khas - KKA". Afghanwarnews.info.
  6. ^ NPR: New Afghan Commandos Take to the Frontlines
  7. ^ "Afghan National Army Special Forces (ANASF)".
  8. ^ John Young (ed)., 'Peasant Revolt in Ethiopia: The Tigray People's Liberation Front, 1975-91,' Cambridge University Press, 2006, ISBN 0521026067, 164.
  9. ^ Fijian coup colonel took part in SAS blunder. Retrieved on September 19, 2008.
  10. ^ "Komandosi Polskich Sił Zbrojnych". Interia (in Polish). 23 May 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  11. ^ "Jednostka Wojskowa Komandosow". SpecialOperations.com. December 13, 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  12. ^ Popski's Private Army, Vladimir Peniakoff, Nelson Doubleday publisjing
  13. ^ Previously 81st Ranger Battalion (Airborne). Officially upgraded to Groups status, but actually just an overstrength single battalion with 6 rifle companies.