(above picture)1st Special Service Force Patch
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Attached Units - The U.S. Airborne during World War II
1st Special Service Force (FSSF)
1st Special Service Force
 he First Special Service Force (FSSF) was activated on 9 July 1942 as an elite joint
Canadian-U.S. force of three small regiments and a service battalion, directly answerable to
the joint Chiefs of Staff during WWII. It was composed of American and Canadian volunteers
and trained in a variety of missions including commando raids, airborne assaults, and winter
warfare. US Army Fort William Henry Harrison in Helena, Montana, was chosen as the primary
training location, due to its flat terrain for airborne training and its close
proximity to mountains for ski and winter training. The training was extremely rigorous, with
recruits learning hand-to-hand combat, demolitions, parachuting, and mountain climbing.
The unique V-42 fighting knife was designed for the unit. The unit was originally created to
conduct sabotage and raids in German-occupied Norway, but the plan was later deemed infeasible.
 The FSSF was initially formed by
Lieutenant Colonel Robert T. Frederick of the Operations Division of the U.S. General Staff. During the Italian
campaign of World War II, it was commanded by Frederick and attached to the United States Fifth Army. In August 1944, the Force
was attached to 1st Airborne Task Force (commanded by then Major General Frederick) (picture left) for the
campaign (Operation Dragoon) in southern France.
The combat force was to be made up of three regiments.
Each regiment was led by a lieutenant colonel and 32 officers and had 385 men.
The regiments were divided into two battalions with three companies in each battalion and
three platoons in each company. Each platoon had two sections.
The FSSF was nicknamed the "Devil's Brigade". Known for its intense training and
specialized skills, the FSSF fought in the Aleutian Islands, Italy, and southern France,
earning a reputation for never failing a mission. The force was deactivated in December 1944,
but its lineage was carried on by the U.S. Army's 1st Special Forces Regiment.
The FSSF's first combat mission was an operation in the Aleutian Islands against Japanese
Forces in July 1943.
Later that year the FSSF joined the U.S. 5th Army in Italy and fought in intense battles,
famously capturing Monte la Difensa and Monte la Remetanea. The unit earned the
"Devil's Brigade" nickname here after a captured German officer mentioned them as "The black devils are all
around us...".
In 1944 the FSSF led the breakout from the Anzio beachhead, which helped lead to the capture
of Rome.
After Italy, the FSSF fought in southern France until being disbanded.
The force suffered significant casualties, with 2,314 casualties out of a total
strength of 2,824, a 134% casualty rate.
The FSSF was deactivated in December 1944. The Canadian members returned to their army,
and the American members were reassigned to other units, including the 474th Infantry Regiment.
The First Special Service Force is the lineal predecessor of the U.S. Army's 1st
Special Forces Regiment. The 1st Special Forces Group (a component of the 1st Special Forces
Regiment) traces its heritage to the FSSF.
The lineage is reflected in the insignia of the Special Forces Regiment,
which includes the V-42 knife and the arrowhead shape of the FSSF patch.
( For more information: "Wikipedia - 1st Special Service Force>
books
R E L A T E D B O O K S
Ambrose, Stephen E D-DAY June 6,1944:
The Climatic Battle of WW II. 6/93, Simon & Shuster ISBN: 0671673343
Annussek, Greg Hitler's Raid to Save Mussolini: The Most Infamous Commando Operation of World War II. Sept 1, 2005, Da Capo Press, 353 pp. ISBN: 0306813963
Archer, Clark Paratroopers
Odyssey : A History of the 517th Parachute Combat Team. 266p., 1985, ISBN: 0961601507
Astor, Gerald 'Battling
Buzzards': The Odyssey of the 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team 1943-1945. 338p.,
7/93, Donald I Fine Pub, ISBN: 0440236932
Badsey , Stephen & Chandler, David G (Editor)
Arnhem 1944:
Operation "Market Garden" (Campaign No.24) 1993
96p. ISBN: 1855323028
Bradley, James Flags of Our Fathers Bantam (May 2,2000), 384 p.
ISBN: 0553111337
Breuer, William B Geronimo! American
Paratroopers in WWII. New York: St. Martin Press, 1989 621 p. ISBN: 0-312-03350-8
Breuer, William B Operation Dragoon:
The Allied Invasion of the South of France. Presidio Press, Sept 1987 261 p. ISBN: 0891413073
Breuer, William B Unexplained
Mysteries of World War II. John Wiley & Sons, Sept 1998 256 p. ISBN:0471291072
Brooks, Victor Hell is Upon Us:
D-Day in the Pacific-Saipan to Guam, June-August 1944.
Da Capo Press, (Sept 2005) 384 p. ISBN: 0306813696
Davis, Donald A Lightning Strike: The Secret Mission to Kill Admiral Yamamoto and Avenge Pearl Harbor. New York: St. Martin Press, (March, 2005) 400 p. ISBN: 0-312-30906-6
D'Este, Carlo
Patton: A Genius for War 1024 pp ISBN: 0060927623
De Trez, Michel
American Paratrooper Helmets: Mediterranean & European Theater of Operations
June, 2010, Histoire & Collections, 272 p. ISBN: 2352501415
De Trez, Michel
American Warriors: Pictorial History of the American Paratroopers Prior to Normandy
July, 1998, D-Day Pub, 212 p. ISBN: 2960017609
De Trez, Michel
Cpl Forrest Guth: E Company 506 PIR 101st Airborne Division (WW II American Paratroopers Portrait Series)
March, 2002, D-Day Pub, 56 p. ISBN: 296001765X
De Trez, Michel
Orange is the Color of the Day: Pictorial History of the American Paratroopers in the
Invasion of Holland April, 2004, D-Day Pub, 506 p. ISBN: 2960017633
De Trez, Michel
At the Point of No Return : Pictorial History of the American Paratroopers in the
Invasion of Normandy 7/98, D-Day Pub, 200 p. ISBN: 2960017617
Devlin, Gerard S
Paratrooper! St Martin's Press, (P) c1976 ISBN: 0312596529
Gavin, James M.
On to Berlin : Battles of an Airborne Commander, 1943-1946 ISBN: 0670525170
Golden, Lewis Echoes From Arnhem Penguin
ISBN: 0718305213
Hove, Duane T American Warriors: Five Presidents in the Pacific Theater of WW II Burd Street Press (Oct 2003) 224 pp. ISBN: 1572493070
MacDonald, Charles B A Time For
Trumpets: The Untold Story of the Battle of the Bulge Wm Morrow & Co
(P), 720 p. ISBN: 068151574
McKenzie, John
On Time, On Target Novato, CA: Presidio, May 15,2000. 304 p. ISBN: 089 141 714 1
O'Donnell, Patrick K. Beyond Valor
Free Press, 2001, 384 p. ISBN: 0684873842
O'Donnell, Patrick K. Into the Rising Sun:
In Their Own Words, World War II's Pacific Veterans Reveal the Heart of Combat
Free Press, 3/13/2002, 320 p. ISBN: 0743214803
Ryan, Cornelius
A Bridge Too Far 670p. ISBN: 0684803305
Yardley, Doyle R
Home Was Never Like This. Yardley Enterprises, Aug, 2002, 312 p. ISBN:0971743908
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