Commando Men

An Epic Mini Series - The story of British Commandos at War

We live, fight and die with the men of Able Troop 45 Commando drawn from the destruction of wartime Britain through selection and training for their Green Berets, landing in the cross fire of D Day, then fighting through the bleak winter of Holland and burning hell of Germany 1942 - 1945

Commando Men
The story of British Commandos at War

OVER VIEW:
You asked for it, yes you did!
A British Private Ryan and Band of Brothers (at last!)

COMMANDO MEN is the story of men at war, the Second World War but it could be any war.
Thrown together out of patriotism, circumstance, peer pressure or fear of missing out, they are all from very different social backgrounds:

Career soldiers fresh from the fight and volunteers from a blitzed burnt out city they are melded together and transformed into Churchill's ‘Hunter Class’ and ‘Leopards’ trained to ‘Butcher and Bolt’ and ‘Set Europe Ablaze’.

Now the Officers and Men of a newly formed Commando Unit they will have to learn on the job, learn to fight and die.
We follow our Band of Brothers on their real war time journey fighting the Nazi’s through Normandy, Holland and then Germany between 1943 - 1945.

Our story is based on real characters and events.

We watch our men, they could of been our Grandfathers, Husbands, Fathers, Brothers and boys, we know them,

They live with humour and love for each other, in fear before an action, with senses heightened in the heat of battle, in sadness at the senseless waste of fallen comrades
Their lives change daily with each new challenge, as they watch the body count rise as the enemy becomes more fanatical by the day.
Envisaged as a 10 episode series but could be condensed into a Movie.

Most characters are based on real members of the Unit, a few fictional characters are sewn in to join up the dots.

THE EPISODES:
#Episode 1 - Hunting the Leopards#

Walter and Lenny are best friends.

17 years old and volunteers during the Liverpool blitz they survive an ammunition ship exploding in the docks, they see a newly Wedded couple decapitated and decide it is time to take the fight back to the enemy.

Everyone's motivation is different, Derek imagines joining the Navy and when his card says Royal Marines he is unsure, his Father reminds him, you go where you are needed son, the hard part will be telling your Mum!

He turns out to be one of the finest Commando Snipers of the War.

#Episode 2 - The Tip of the Dagger#

Proud of the new opportunity our Commanding Officer and RSM will mold our Royal Marines into Commandos, neither will make it past the first day of battle.

There first challenge is to make it through at the famous Commando Training Centre in Scotland their instructors are as infamous as their methods.

Officers and men face the same hardships and have the same pride in receiving their Green Berets.

#Episode 3 - Training for the Fight#

How do you prepare young men for war, some have not started to shave, some are still virgins.

Walter meets his first American, and she is a tall blond Texan.

They box, play football, and learn of their mission.

Then after an inspirational briefing from the enigmatic Lord Lovat a passing photographer asks the men to stand.

Then we hear the trucks.

Come on men, look sharp, we are off to war!

#Episode 4 - Into the Fire#

The landing craft that will take them to war are flimsy, wooden affairs.
Where are the real boats, I thought these were just training craft?

We see the mighty flotilla in Southampton and follow their rough crossing of the English Channel, with songs and rum and exploding soup.

Off shore we see the battleships bombarding the coast as our matchwood boats approach the beach.

All hell breaks loose as our small flotilla is smashed by German guns and our boys slip on blood as they struggle to get clear of the landing craft, over broken ramps and often into deep water struggling onto an equally dangerous beach, they won't all make the first 12 minutes let alone the next 11 months.

#Episode 5 - March to the Bridges#

Mustered by a hunting horn and carrying rubber boats and bicycles they advance through French villages to the bridges.
Here the Paras have landed over night in a Coupe de Main, green and red berets welcome each other with jest and teasing.

The next few days are intense, as the tempo builds, as the young Marines, many too brave, are bloodied but begin to hone their skills and learn their craft.

#Episode 6 - The Thin and Green Red Line#

The German counter attacks are ferocious.

It is time to take the fight back to the enemy, but at what cost?
What is the butchers bill Dolly?

Nearly 50% Sir.

#Episode 7 - The Devils Cauldron#

Expecting to remain ashore for only a few days the men of our Commando spend over a 3 months in the line.

They dig in, deep! Get shelled, conduct raid’s, snipe, and swim on the beach.

They learn to fight at close quarters, yards from an offensive enemy who attack with ruthless vigor.

Even here there are moments of humour, humanity and understanding, interspersed with moments of violent death.

Minutes before the end we cry as we lose our best friend. Maybe he should not have been here at all, he should have stayed with his Grandmother.

#Episode 8 - VC At The Windmill#

They were expecting to go to the jungles of the Far East, instead they are thrown into the bleakest winter and the ice and snow of Holland.

Eric Harden, the Medic who has looked after his fellows like his own children will not see young men left wounded on the battle field to die on the freezing ground.

He returns three times under fire to ensure they live, but he does not, his Victoria Cross is guaranteed for his family by a slight of hand from his grateful Commanding Officer.

#Episode 9 - Crossing the Rhine#

Like Hannibal on his Elephants, you will be able to tell your Grandchildren you crossed the Rhine on a Buffalo!

Wesel is a dangerous place, and here we loose one of our favourite characters.

There is a huge hole in the troop. Fred will never forgive himself.

#Episode 10 - A Tough Finish#

As the men go through a devastated Germany they see the smoke from the camps, the roads full of refugees but still the Nazi’s cling on.

There is conflict as the Command tries to decide whether to recognise the white flags, who will miss a few more SS, a couple of German cottages, maybe they are better off dead.

The last man to die a veteran is killed accidentally by a very young face, just a few days from the end of the war and is buried next to another veteran and the last German they will see killed.

EPILOGUE:

Roberts can no longer manage life alone with his demons, and in his last moments we finally we understand he was not a awful man, he just did some awful things.

Walter stands on the beach, behind him the shadows of the past, ahead of him a memorial service and those that are left.

They move into the café bar at the top of the beach.

Here we remember those that made the next dawn.
But not todays, without them all, none of us would be here now.

As we leave them they sing their favourite song, the memory of a smoky pub 44 years ago.

Hundreds of poppies drift from a Falklands era landing craft and wash up on the beach.

The chorus of ‘Goodbye Dolly Gray’ fades as we leave them to remember.

FADE TO WHITE

I hope this synopsis has excited you to know more.

I would be delighted to share the full script with you which is around 80% finished with some rewrites completed. It is segregated into 10 episodes please ask for the full script or a specific episode.

Lets roll!

Si Biggs
April 2025