What Does FSSF Stand For?

This weekend I had the great pleasure of interviewing an FSSF man in Montana.  That’s a lot of F’s and S’s, I know, and I can’t help thinking of all the words that characterize this unique and courageous band of men that start with F and S:  Fierce, Secret, Fearless, Silent, Fearsome, Superb, Ferocious…just for starters.  Actually, FSSF stands for the First Special Service Force, a brigade of commandos commissioned in 1942 to carry out raids behind enemy lines against the Germans in Norway.  Trained in Helena, Montana, this elite but very secret unit made up of both Americans and Canadians became jump qualified, trained in skiing and mountain warfare, and learned judo hand-to-hand combat skills.  One dilemma arose, though.  Without practice, how could the men feel confident about their night combat skills?  Luckily, Helena was able to supply ample local miners and cowboys who without hesitation selflessly offered themselves up at local watering holes to test the Force men in bare-fisted fighting techniques.

Once duly tested and thoroughly trained, the Force man learned their Norway operation was cancelled.  Diverted briefly to the Aleutians, where the Japanese didn’t stay to fight, the Force was then sent into the line at Mt. Difensa in Italy, where the 36th Infantry Division had taken a terrible beating.  Using ropes to climb up the steep side of the mountain at night shortly after a massive artillery strike hit the Germans from the front, the Force took the German occupiers completely by surprise.

Although armed and supplied with only what they could carry, the 600 Force men of the 2nd Regiment took the German positions and held off counter-attacks while being supplied by their own 3rd Regiment.  Despite coming under extremely accurate mortar fire from the Germans, 3rd Regiment never failed in their task of taking loaded pack boards up and wounded back down the mountain.

Exhausted, hungry, and low on ammunition, the Force was continually called on to take additional peaks and hold them.  Vastly outnumbered by combat-hardened German panzer grenadiers, paratroopers, and mountain troops, the Force never failed a mission.  How did they do it? According to Capt. Mark Radcliff as quoted in The Black Devil Brigade: The True Story of the First Special Service Force, “we moved just like a bunch of ghosts all over the mountain.  We would knock out their command posts and machine-gun positions, and we did this all in the dark.” Trained in German weapons in Helena, the Force had no problems taking over captured German mortars and machine guns when their American ammunition ran low.

It was at Anzio, though, that the Force learned to enjoy its mission and reputation.  Put into the line on the right, only 900 men of the Force held eight miles against the renowned Hermann Goering Division.  In other areas of Anzio, whole divisions  (division = 14,000 men) guarded the same amount of territory.  In order to give the impression of more numbers and strength, Force men started aggressive reconnaissance and combat patrols (raids).

Going deep into enemy territory at night, Force men would silently do away with their adversaries with their hands or knives, leaving Force stickers on the foreheads of the dead to strike terror into the survivors.  Or, they might simply capture entire platoons or companies.  This made an impression on the Germans, who pulled back over two miles from the line at the Mussolini canal, leaving a large no-man’s land where the Force roamed at night with near-impunity.

The raids were continual, and many of the Force men came to enjoy their nocturnal adventures.  They developed a multitude of stealth techniques and perfected the ambush, and trained Rangers who came in as replacements how to own the night, just as they did. Sgt. Joe Glass in The Black Devil Brigade says, “we loved those raids.  Esprit de corps made us go each night.  The raids were so exciting and we didn’t lose too many men.  We actually captured more Germans than our own force lost.  Many, many more. Every night we went out, we returned with new prisoners.”

The Force played an instrumental role in the victory at Anzio and the drive to Rome, entering Rome before the main US forces arrived.  After invading southern France the Force was disbanded in 1944 and sent as replacements to other units.

Force men were expected to carry out audacious and wildly courageous acts, and were rarely recognized for their achievements.  We owe so much to these largely unrecognized men.  Their legacy as one set of founding fathers of today’s elite special forces should never be forgotten.