The courageous Airborne Division and other Allied formations that fought at Arnhem 80 years has been widely commemmorated this week. The story, which was brilliantly told in one of the most iconic war films ever made A Bridge Too Far, has made Operation Market Garden into something akin to the Charge of the Light Brigade. However, to my mind, the media narrative for World War II focuses too much on this operation and not enough on the other fierce fighting elsewhere in Europe, such as in Finland, Italy and the Balkans.
One of the greatest tensions in the British Armed Forces during the past fifty years has been the about the utility and efficacy of early entry forces between the Royal Marines and the Parachute Regiment. So on the eightieth anniversary, it is worth remembering a long forgotten amphibious landing on the same day that Arnhem was effectively lost, that led to the defeat of the German army in Greece and Albania – Operation Mercerised.
The beach chosen for Numbers 2 and 40 Commando was Kakome, six miles north of Sarande. The successful landing followed by a brutal two-week fight in monsoon conditions against 2,000 German soldiers led to the capture of the port and the surrender of the German garrison on Corfu. After the war, the Albanian leader whitewashed all British involvement from the records and it was only much later that a memorial was created in Tirana to commemorate the British soldiers and airmen (and Chaplain) who fell in this “side-show”.
With thanks to commandoveterans.co
Rupert Wieloch 