Elite Units

[Rodion Romanovich]

The LRDG weren't officially an elite unit, but a special forces unit that were quite effective. They did mostly recon but also with SAS I think made raids against axis airfields in North Africa shortly before second El Alamein.

Edit: yes, here's from wikipedia: "Stirling still managed to organise another assault against the German airfields at Aqedabia, Sirte and Agheila, this time [the SAS troops were] transported by the LRDG. They destroyed 61 enemy aircraft without a single casualty."

[English assassin]

IIRC all soviet guards units (and there were a lot) were elite in a sense, even if only meant better equipment or a fuller unit roster.

I'm not sure the British forces really did elite as such. Given that the challenge for both the British and the Americans was to create a large army out of people who a few months before were shopkeepers, it would have been rather counter-productive to have allowed what would presumably have been mostly peace time professional soldiers to swan about lording it over everyone else.

I gather the Germans regarded the various UK Guards regiments as elite but whether they really stood out from their less socially desirable peers in combat effectiveness I doubt. 7th armoured was the first fully mechanised division in the army, and after the North Africa campaign had a reputation. Probably only the paras qualify as a truly elite infantry unit.

Oh and there's the Royal Marines of course, but that's more special forces really.

[Red Peasant]

I gather the Germans regarded the various UK Guards regiments as elite but whether they really stood out from their less socially desirable peers in combat effectiveness I doubt. 7th armoured was the first fully mechanised division in the army, and after the North Africa campaign had a reputation. Probably only the paras qualify as a truly elite infantry unit.

Depends what you mean by elite. My grandfather, from the backstreets of Liverpool (so, less socially desirable to you ), was in the 17/21 Lancers of Light Brigade fame, and they certainly considered themselves as elite ... cavalry. Then, the govt (a Tory govt it should be noted, the so-called guardians of our armed-forces) took their horses off them in the mid 30s and didn't mechanize the regiment for about two years!

[Red Peasant]

Oh, and they were rather annoyed that they were not allowed to wear their Death's Head regimental badges in case they scared the natives over in Europe. An early case of PC thinking.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

German Elite:

Großdeutschland Divisions

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gro%C3%...hland_Division


Fallschirm-Panzer Division 1 Hermann Göring

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallsch...nn_G%C3%B6ring

Those are some that I can recall now.

[hoom]

28th NZ (maori) battalion.
Not officially an elite that I'm aware of but:

Lieutenant-General Lord Freyberg,
VC, GCMG, KCB, KBE, DSO

I am proud to be asked by the Maoris to write a foreword to the history of their Battalion, partly because they had such a distinguished fighting record, but also because they were such excellent wartime comrades. Speaking of their military record overseas—I believe that when this history is published, it will be recognised more widely that no infantry battalion had a more distinguished record, or saw more fighting, or, alas, had such heavy casualties as the Maori Battalion.

[rotorgun]

Has anyone mentioned the famed 10th Mountain Division? The Italian campaign would not have been the same without them. In addition, although not specifically trained as "elite", a unit could attain such a reputation by experience. Take the 30th Infantry Division for instance. By the time of the Ardennes campaign in 1944, this tough group of fighters had earned the apellation of "Roosevelt's Sturmtruppen" from their German enemies. Witness the hard fought battles against Pieper's 1st SS Panzer task force at Stoumont. They certainly fought with the same determination as their foe.

[DukeofSerbia]

Flying tigers in Republic of China?!

[IrishArmenian]

I would call the French Maqui one of the great elite units. They were like a ghost, and when the Nazis thought they were safe, the Maqui were tinkering with their planes/tanks/transports if not assassinating leaders. I think the British (I think mostly Scottish) SAS was a great elite unit. You Americans had something, I forgot what it was, where William Colby accomplished many missions. And yes, many Russian Units were excellent (more of my biases). But I would have to say, THE MOST ELITE UNIT in WWII was Pavlov's platoon. Sgt. Pavlov, along with I think 12 people held a house, and a large on at that, I think 4/5 stories for 59 days against German attacks. They held the house, later nicknamed "Pavlov's house" until Russian reinforcments arrived.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

Well the Elite British Infantry in WWII were:

Royal Army Commandos

Royal Marine Commandos

Parachute Regiments

The Guards were also elite at the time, but in a slightly more mundane way, they fought as normal infantry/mech infantry.

Today the Guards are mainly kept home so that they don't spoil their uniforms, thats a modern failing though.

The SAS, the SBS was originally part of the SAS Brigade, were special forces which is above elite. Elite forces are really just the best of your regular troops.

[Alexanderofmacedon]

German Elite:

Großdeutschland Divisions

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gro%C3%...hland_Division


Fallschirm-Panzer Division 1 Hermann Göring

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallsch...nn_G%C3%B6ring

Those are some that I can recall now.

1st Shutzstaffel (SS) Division Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler

3rd Shutzstaffel (SS) Division Totenkopf

12th Shutzstaffel (SS) Panzer Division Hitlerjugend

[Samurai Waki]

EZ Company 101st Airborne...

1st Infantry Division: Big Red One

3rd Airborne: Pegasus Brigade (UK)

...and etc.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

1st Shutzstaffel (SS) Division Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler

3rd Shutzstaffel (SS) Division Totenkopf

12th Shutzstaffel (SS) Panzer Division Hitlerjugend

And there's more then that...I only named a few.