1st Special Service Force The Devil’s Brigade

The Devils brigade The official title of the elite unit was 1st Special Service Force Created July 1942, the unit consisted of selected American and Canadian Soldiers The soldiers of this unit received specialized training in Stealth Tactics, hand-to-hand combat, the use of explosives, amphibious warfare, rock climbing, Mountain Fighting and skiing

1st Deployment Following a training period the unit was deployed to the Italian Campaign (same time as the Battle of Ortona) The unit quickly proved its worth by capturing and destroying many German installations that previously had repelled Allied Attacks

Myths and Legends The nickname of the 1st SSF came from the diary of a dead German soldier who wrote “The black devils are around us all the time while in the line” The soldiers would use black boot polish to paint their faces The myth of the unit spread throughout the German Ranks as night after night the 1st SSF would make raids behind German lines (killing Germans or capturing outposts)

Psychological Warfare Often the unit would leave behind their trademark sticker on buildings and dead German soldiers which read “The worst is yet to come” Often these stickers would appear in locations that the Germans thought to be well safe behind the lines. Following the Italian Campaign the unit participated in the invasion of Southern France before being disbanded

Post War The unit never failed to achieve it objective During the 1950’s the US military began a new special forces unit based upon the 1st SSF unit. This new unit evolved into the Green Berets, Navy SeALS, and Delta Force. The Canadian military began the elite and secret JTF2