Perhaps the most daring commando raid of WWII took place on March 28, 1942. The British planned Operation Chariot to help win the Battle of the Atlantic. The port of St. Nazaire was near the mouth of the Loire River in France. It was not only a major base for u-boats, but it had a huge dry dock that could be used to repair battleships. The British were afraid of the German battleship Tirpitz and did not want it to have a convenient place to put in for repairs if damaged in battle with the Royal Navy. Instead, they wanted it to have to run the gauntlet to get to a German port. The plan was to use an old American destroyer received in the destroyers for bases deal. The HMS Campeltown was to carry commandos and also a huge amount of explosives. The other commandos came on flimsy wooden motor launches. Two other destroyers accompanied to protect the fleet. Things went fairly smoothly. They made it into the river and sailed four miles with a German flag on the Campeltown and using German recognition signals to fool the enemy until they were within a mile of their target. And then all Hell broke loose. Searchlights turned on and tracers put on a fireworks display. The Campeltown and especially the motor launches could hardly withstand the onslaught. Still, the destroyer rammed into the dock and the commandos got off to blow up machinery and facilities. They were joined by survivors from the small boats. The German garrison fought back and there was no chance of getting back to their boats, plus there were few floating boats anyhow. Of the commandos put ashore, only 5 managed to escape and get to Spain and eventually back to England. The rest were killed or captured. Of the total of 612 naval personnel and commandos, only 218 returned to England on the two destroyers. When the shooting stopped, the Germans celebrated the victory and the failure of the Brits to do any significant damage. And then the Campeltown blew up with forty German officers on board for a tour. The dock was destroyed and not operable until 1948! The raid resulted in numerous medals, including 5 Victoria Crosses (the equivalent of the Medal of Honor). The raid was a big boost to British morale.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Nazaire_Raid
https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2017/april/sacrifice-saint-nazaire
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