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42-483: Long Range Patrol (LRP) may refer to: Long-range penetration , a technique for military reconnaissance, but which may also involve interdiction of enemy forces Long-range reconnaissance patrol , a military unit which provides the eyes and ears for other forces but ideally has no direct contact with the enemy The original name for the Long Range Desert Group ,

84-618: A "Long Range Penetration Force", recruited from US Army troops trained in jungle warfare in Panama and the continental United States, as well as personnel with recent combat experience in the Solomon Islands and New Guinea campaigns . The unit was formally named the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional) , but became famous as " Merrill's Marauders "; it carried out operations in Burma in 1944. Survivors of " Merrill's Marauders " combined with members of

126-630: A British World War II unit Long Range Patrol (film) , a 2013 Finnish film [REDACTED] Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles about military units and formations which are associated with the same title. If an internal link referred you to this page, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. [REDACTED] Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Long_Range_Patrol&oldid=675967738 " Category : Military units and formations disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

168-667: A clearing at the top of a hill, away from the original base site; empty rations tins; half-cooked food on 'Commando Cookers'; fires seemingly kicked out; a few pieces of silver foil; empty cigarette cartons. They did not question local people about what happened. Croton and Chapman returned to the submarine. Chapman and Mackenzie agreed that the operation had likely been a failure and that no purpose could be served in returning to Merapas, contrary to what had been planned. Tantalus resumed its patrol and arrived back in Fremantle on 6 December 1944 having never returned to Merapas Island. None of

210-462: A detachment led by Captain Ivan Lyon travelled on a small Indonesian fishing boat, from Australia to the vicinity of Singapore , where folding kayaks were used to approach ships and attach limpet mines . These sank or seriously damaged 39,000 tons of shipping, as the raiders returned to Australia. In September 1944, Lyon led a second raid on Singapore, Operation Rimau , which resulted in the deaths of

252-591: A forward operational base at Pedjantan Island . Over the next two nights, 29–30 September 1944, the Rimau commandoes, the SBs, folboats and other stores were transferred from Porpoise to Mustika . Once completed on 1 October 1944 the second conducting officer, Major Walter Chapman and Mustika ' s Malayan crew returned to Australia in HMS Porpoise . (The Malay crew would be transported to Fremantle where they stayed for

294-618: A journey of approximately 2,000 miles by folboat. Willersdorf died of his wounds in Japanese captivity in Dili , East Timor in March 1945. Pace died of starvation several months later in June 1945 in the same facility. Both were buried on a hill approximately 200 metres from the prison facility. Warne was able to evade Japanese patrols until March 1945 but was captured after a bout of delirium brought on by fever. He

336-553: A native boat. It followed Karimato Strait along the Borneo coast. On the afternoon 28 September 1944 the Porpoise stopped a junk from Ketapang named the Mustika off the west coast of Borneo near Pontianak . Seven commandoes boarded the boat and nine Malay crew were taken aboard the submarine. Twelve minutes later, Porpoise submerged with both vessels making their way back west towards

378-515: A thing of the future, those brigades, hidden deep behind the towering wall of mountains would have been unable to communicate with headquarters near the coast at Camp Evans or with approaching aircraft. Operation Rimau Operation Rimau was an attack on Japanese shipping in Singapore Harbour, carried out by an Allied commando unit Z Special Unit , during World War II using Australian built Hoehn military MKIII folboats . It

420-493: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Long-range penetration Though the concept of long range penetration is as old as war itself, in the modern era it is recognized as starting with Major Ralph Alger Bagnold with his 1940 Long Range Desert Group ( LRDG ) in the Western Desert . The LRDG carried out operations of reconnaissance and sabotage far behind

462-613: Is limited. The Singapore Garrison of the Imperial Japanese Army did unleash a punitive force of at least 100 soldiers led by Major Hajime Fujita including army, navy and native police to find the commandoes. It is probable that some of the folboat parties stopped on the headland of north-western Batam and left. Batam had been used during ‘Jaywick’ as a hiding place by Davidson in 1943. On 14 October 1944 some commandos were reported as being on Pankgil Island (thought now to most likely be Page's group). Japanese soldiers were sent to

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504-442: The 124th Cavalry Regiment (Special), Texas National Guard became the 5332nd Brigade (Provisional) and continued operations in Burma until 1945. After World War II, long range penetration operations were primarily conducted by small units of men often varying in size from five to thirty men. Sabotage, surveillance, and seizure of strategic locations were the primary objective carried out deep behind enemy lines. Most notable are

546-456: The Hei Ho , challenged the Mustika near Kasoe Island and Samboe Island. (The Japanese had increased surveillance of the area since Operation Jaywick.) It is unclear why the patrol boat approached the Mustika – various theories offered included: the ship flew the wrong flag; it was a suspicious size; the sailors were identified as white men, and not Malays. Shots were fired between the vessels – it

588-600: The Java Sea and Karimata Straits to Merapas Island. The Rimau Commandos disguised themselves as Malays by wearing sarongs and dyeing their skin. The Mustika had no engine though so the commandoes were dependent on winds. The Mustika arrived at Merapas on 4 October 1944. It appears Lyon decided to divide the party into two groups: 19 commandoes to take part in the raid, while four men would be left behind. These were meant to be Carey, Warren, Craft and Cameron or Pace. The Mustika then headed towards Singapore Harbour, reaching

630-581: The South East Asian theatre . Wingate had ideas of deep penetration operations that could be made possible through improvements in the range of communication devices and airborne supply by long range aircraft. At the Quebec Conference in 1943, Wingate explained his ideas to Winston Churchill , Franklin D. Roosevelt , and many other leaders. Wingate proposed creating strongholds in enemy territory that would be supplied by air and be as effective against

672-539: The 2nd Platoon, Company E, 52nd Infantry, 1st Air Cavalry Division, Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRP), commanded by Captain Michael Gooding and Lieutenant Joseph Dilger, conducted one of the most daring long-range penetration operations of the Vietnam War when they seized the strategic 4,879-foot mountain peak of Dong Re Lao Mountain , dubbed "Signal Hill" by headquarters during Operation Delaware . Signal Hill

714-683: The Allied Services Reconnaissance Department (SRD) for special operations in the South West Pacific theatre . Z Special Unit ("Z Force") was organised under its auspices to conduct commando-style operations behind Japanese lines. The long distances to all potential targets made unconventional, long-range penetration tactics a requirement for Z Force. It recruited Australian , British , New Zealand and Dutch East Indies personnel and, later, amongst indigenous resistance fighters. In Operation Jaywick (September 1943),

756-493: The Allies had broken the Japanese secret codes. So the appointed rescue submarine was not told of the sudden urgency of the situation. The orders to the commander of the rescue submarine, HMS Tantalus , Lieutenant Commander Hugh Mackenzie, were to go to the rescue rendezvous area of Merapas Island on 7 November 1944, and to remain there until 7 December 1944 if necessary. The Tantalus left Australia on 15 October 1944. The orders of

798-932: The British Special Air Service (SAS), The Israeli Sayeret Matkal , the Australian Special Air Service Regiment , the New Zealand Special Air Service (NZSAS), the Rhodesian Special Air Service , the South African 's 32nd Battalion operations after the Angolan Civil War , and the Sri Lanka Army long range penetration units operations during the Sri Lanka Civil War. In April 1968 members of

840-545: The Japanese and their native auxiliaries. A gun battle ensued. Davidson and Campbell were severely wounded. Lyon, Ross and Stewart stayed on Soreh to hold off the Japanese in order for the wounded duo to escape. Lyon, Ross and Stewart held off 80–90 opposing soldiers forcing them to fight for 9 hours and inflicting heavy casualties. Lyon and Ross had climbed trees for an elevated firing position, and remained unseen until muzzle flashes betrayed their positions and they were killed by grenades. Stewart remained at large, but his folboat

882-531: The Japanese, were tried on charges of perfidy and espionage in a Japanese kangaroo court and executed on 7 July 1945. After the success of the earlier Operation Jaywick mission in September 1943, Ivan Lyon started preparing for Operation Rimau. 'Rimau' is the Malay word for 'tiger' and Lyon had a large multi-coloured tiger head tattooed on his chest. The mission consisted of 23 men with an additional two performing

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924-537: The Rimau commandos – Riggs and Sergeant Colin Cameron – were killed in combat on the island, while the remainder now split into two groups and went to different islands. (The bodies of Riggs and Cameron were discovered on Merapas in 1994. ) Australian forces intercepted a Japanese coded message reporting activity by about twenty commandos in the attack area. However, if the Australians had responded, it would have shown that

966-449: The area. He made this decision in consultation with Major Chapman, Z Special Unit's contact on the submarine. Tantalus ' s main objective was offensive action against the Japanese and the orders to the Rimau party were that they might expect to be picked up at any time within a month of the initial rendezvous date. On 21 November 1944 the submarine reached Merapas Island. Chapman and another commando, Corporal Croton, were worried about

1008-474: The captain stated: The Commanding Officer HMS Tantalus is responsible for the safety of the submarine which is to be his first consideration and has discretion to cancel or postpone the operation at any time.... Subject to patrol requirements HMS Tantalus will leave her patrol at dark on 7 November and proceed to the vicinity of Merapas Island.... In the event of the pick up party and the RIMAU party failing to keep

1050-673: The duties of "conducting officers". The plan was to: The main differences from Operation Jaywick were: The members of the team were: (* means participated in Operation Jaywick) Lyon and his men left their base in Garden Island in Western Australia aboard the British submarine HMS Porpoise on 11 September 1944. The submarine reached the island of Merapas off the coast of Pulau Bintan on 23 September 1944. Although

1092-623: The enemy as conventional troops. Wingate was given command of the 77th Indian Infantry Brigade that acquired the name of Chindit from a suggestion by Captain Aung Thin of the Burma Rifles . The name was a corruption of the mythical beast that guards Buddhist temples called ' Chinthé ' or ' Chinthay '. The unit was supported by the United States Army Air Forces 1st Air Commando Group and carried out two major operations. The first

1134-478: The enemy's lines in the Libyan Desert. Bagnold was an experienced desert explorer who had his LRDG trained in desert driving, navigation through using the sun and stars as well as a compass, and knowing their territory. They were supplied by all the equipment that their trucks could carry. In 1942, several British Special Operations Executive (SOE) personnel who had escaped from Singapore to Australia, formed

1176-619: The entire raiding force. During 1943–45, other Z Force operatives conducted intelligence gathering and guerilla operations throughout the Southwest Pacific, including preparations for Allied landings in the Philippines and Borneo campaign . Brigadier Orde Wingate, a professional soldier famous for his unconventional behavior and ideas, had created and led guerrilla units in Palestine and Ethiopia , before being transferred, in 1942, to

1218-479: The island but did not find them. On 15 October, five of the men (Lyon, Davidson, Ross, Stewart and Campbell) were on Soreah Island, or Pulau Asore , a small island just off Pulau Mapur , near Pankgil Island. A Japanese patrol caught up with them and arrived at the island at about 1400 hours and a gun battle ensued. The Australians withdrew to the western end of the northern beach, having selected two defensive positions in an unexposed area. The Australians ambushed

1260-419: The island was believed to be uninhabited, a periscope reconnaissance the following day spotted three Malays beside a canoe on the beach. To ensure that their stores would remain undiscovered by the natives, one of the officers from the Porpoise , Lieutenant Walter Carey, remained on Merapas as a guard. The rest of the party stayed in the Porpoise which moved off on the evening of 24 September 1944 to capture

1302-630: The officials in Australia who knew that the Rimau commandos were in trouble tried to contact the submarine and order them to remain in the area for any survivors. Once the 7 December 1944 final deadline passed, the survivors realised that they would not be rescued. They attempted to make their way home the 3,000-kilometre distance to Australia. Over two weeks nearly all the men were either captured, killed in firefights or drowned. Two men, Willersdorf and Pace were captured on 17 January 1945 on Romang Island, Indonesia , some 350–400 miles from Australia after

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1344-420: The rendezvous for the embarkation, the greatest caution is to be exercised by Tantalus , who should not hesitate to abandon the operation if contact is not re-established, or if he has some reason to suspect that the operation is compromised. On 7 November 1944 ten of the Rimau commandos were in place to meet the rescue submarine but it did not appear, as Mackenzie had instead chosen to hunt for enemy shipping in

1386-483: The rest of the war.) Porpoise arrived safely back in Fremantle on 11 October 1944. On 15 October 1944, Chapman, along with Corporal Ronald Croton, embarked in the submarine HMS  Tantalus under the command of Lieutenant Commander Hugh Mackenzie . This submarine was conducting an offensive patrol in the South China Sea and was due to rendezvous with the Rimau party on 8 November 1944. Mustika returned via

1428-410: The surf and directed their landing folboat around the island to calmer waters, away from the set position at 0200. Chapman wanted to head back to the submarine but Croton drew his pistol and forced Chapman on. Croton and Chapman arrived at the designated meeting point after dawn on 22 November 1944. They found some evidence of the commandos having been there – the beginnings of a large lean-to shelter in

1470-666: The time) with explosive charges. He then ordered his men to divide into four groups and make their way back to Merapas by use of the folboats that they had stored on Mustika . The groups were led by Lyon, Davidson, Page and Ross. Three of the groups headed to Merapas immediately. Lyon led his group into Singapore Harbour. It consisted of himself and a small force of six other men — Lieutenant Commander Donald "Davo" Davidson, Lieutenant Bobby Ross, Able Seaman Andrew "Happy" Huston, Corporal Clair Stewart, Corporal Archie Campbell and Private Douglas Warne. They are believed to have sunk three ships with limpet mines, although evidence confirming this

1512-413: The vicinity of the harbour on or around 6 October 1944. It was thought to have been off the west coast of Pulau Batam . Pulau Laban is located at a distance of 11 miles from Keppel Harbour and was the intended forward point from which the attack was to be launched. On 10 October 1944, two hours before sunset and an hour before the raid was to commence, disaster struck. A coastal Malay Police patrol boat,

1554-536: Was a follow-up to the successful Operation Jaywick which had taken place in September 1943, and was again led by Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Lyon of the Gordon Highlanders , an infantry regiment of the British Army . Originally part of a much larger operation called Operation Hornbill , the aim of Rimau was to sink Japanese shipping by paddling the folboats in the dark and placing limpet mines on ships. It

1596-464: Was deep in enemy territory in the heavily fortified A Shau Valley bordering Laos. After intense fighting against troops of the North Vietnamese Army, the mountaintop was secured, providing a vital communications relay site and fire support base for massive air assault operations to proceed in the valley by the 1st and 3rd Brigades, 1st Air Cavalry Division . Since satellite communications were

1638-540: Was entering Burma on a 200-mile mission in February 1943 with 3,000 troops, with mules and some elephants for the carrying of supplies. Wingate thought the operation a success, but Field Marshal William Slim thought the operation a failure. In 1943, General Joseph Stilwell requested the deployment of US Army special forces to support the Chinese Army regular forces under his command. General George Marshall authorised

1680-539: Was later deduced one of the Australian commandos aboard panicked and started firing at the approaching patrol boat. Some of the patrol boat crew were killed but at least one escaped and managed to get back to report the incident. Lyon knew the patrol boat would seek help from Japanese occupation authorities and decided to abort the mission. He scuttled the junk and the Sleeping Beauties (which were top secret weapons at

1722-645: Was originally intended that motorised semi-submersible canoes, known as " Sleeping Beauties ", would be used to gain access to the harbour, however, they resorted to folboats. After the raiding party's discovery by local Malay authorities, a total of thirteen men (including raid commander Lyon) were killed during battles with the Japanese military at a number of island locations or were captured and died of their wounds in Japanese captivity. A group of ten commandos were transported to Outram Road Jail in Singapore after capture by

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1764-411: Was taken and he was found days later on a subsequent sweep of the island. The wounded Davidson and Campbell made it by folboat to Tapai Island on 16 October 1944. Both men died there, either from their wounds or committing suicide by cyanide capsule. On 4 November eighteen of the group were together on Merapas Island. A small Japanese force landed on the island, and was attacked by the commandos. Two of

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