Following the announcement by Lord Mountbatten, first commander of the British Commandos that refugee commandos served with distinction in the British forces in World War II, it was learned today that units composed completely of German and Austrian Jewish refugees participated in the decisive European campaign.
One such combat unit fought with the British 21st Army Group in Northwest Europe from a week after “D-Day” until the final collapse of the German forces. It was revealed that refugee soldiers frequently persuaded groups of surrounded Germans to surrender. The largest bag of prisoners taken by such tactics was a force of 1,500 Germans captured in a forest near Cherbourg. The monitoring group of the British headquarters was composed almost entirely of Jewish refugees.
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