Covert operations in the Middle East in respect of who-was-who and who-did-what get quite involed. Following is some 'scene setting' leading up to the Raid on Rommel, and information on the raid itself. As this is lengthy I'll split the posts.

Outline of British Special Forces Middle East
31 January 1941, Bob Laycock left the Isle of Arran with some 1700 men comprising Nos. 7, 8 (including Roger Courtney’s Folboat Section – later to become the SBS) and 11 Commando, and one Troop of No.3 Commando. They were formally designated as Z Force which became renamed Layforce. Their objective was to sail to the Middle East and take the island of Rhodes. In the Middle East since July 1940 were Nos. 50, 51 and 52 Commando. After sailing round the Cape, Layforce arrived at Suez on 7 March they found No.52 Commando there (from the Sudan) and No.50 Commando arriving about the same time from Crete. Nos.50 and 52 were amalgamated and placed under command of Layforce.

Layforce was now formed-up into four battalions, A=No.7 Commando; B=No.8 Commando; C=No.11 Commando and D=No.50/52 Commando. Though they prepared for the invasion of Rhodes with the Folboat Section (SBS) conducting reconnaissance of the island, the operation was called off due to various developments. Rommel launched an offensive at the end of March driving back the Western Desert Force which itself was seriously depleted due to Churchill bullying Wavell into sending troops to Greece, (arguably, if Wavell had been allowed to continue securing the major ports, Rommel would have been denied somewhere suitable to land in February?); 6 April the Germans invaded Greece and Yugoslavia; by 11 April Rommel had taken Cyrenaica, Bardia and Sollum. Layforce now reverted to former Commando role in the Middle East, raiding the North African coast behind enemy lines.

Various actions and missions took place including Crete and Syria (Litani River) which stretched and depleted Layforce. As the original purpose of Layforce was gone and the Navy was unwilling to provide craft for continued amphibious missions, Wavell decided the Commando Brigade was an expensive commodity and the men should be deployed among his depleted regiments rather than on independent offensive missions which he was not really in a position to mount. In mid June he ordered Layforce to be disbanded except for No.11 Commando who was to take up another spell of garrison duties on Cyprus, then under threat of invasion. Wavell was replaced by Auchinleck who concurred with this view. August 1st, 1941 Layforce ceased to exist. Most of No.7 Commando under Cpt. Nicholls went on to form Mission 204 which supported the Chinese forces in Burma. 75 Men of No.8 Commando (which were originally formed from the Guards), volunteered for a mission to raid out of Tobruk, only to find the obnoxious CO there told them on arrival ‘we don’t need any Special Forces’ and were subsequently advised they were disbanded. They then found themselves attached to the 18th Indian Cavalry (Mechanised) which proved to be a good home as the Commandos found the officers and men to be first class soldiers, eager and capable of conducting raids with them. Also from No.8 Commando was David Sterling who had his idea for a Small Scale Raiding Force (66 men) approved and was informed it would be known as L Detachment SAS. This to lend credence to the fictitious SAS devised by Dudley Clarke (ironically the man who first named the ‘Commandos’) to mislead the Axis powers.

Bob Laycock returned to England in July and began petitioning for the reconstitution of a Middle East Special Forces Brigade. His pleas reached Churchill who minuted the Chiefs of Staff to effect this with Admiral Cunningham in charge of Combined Operations out there. Subsequently Churchill switched this charge to Auchinleck. All this did not prevent the disbandment of 11 Commando under command of Geoffrey Keyes, (son of Sir Roger Keyes - W.W.I hero, friend of Churchill and Director of Combine Operations 1940/41). It was not until October 11th that GHQ met to decide what could be Brigaded from the remains of the various units. A number of men had returned to their former regiments or joined the Long Range Desert Group, (formed by Brigadier Bagnold – a W.W.I soldier and between wars academic who studied deserts – whose primary job was reconnaissance and intelligence), or, David Sterling’s new SAS. Sterling got many men from No.11 as many of No.8 (his old Commando), had gone to Tobruk. Sterling recruited Blair ‘Paddy’ Mayne (who was to succeed Sterling after his capture) while Mayne was under detention for decking his CO, Geoffrey Keyes.

Bob Laycock's new Middle East Brigade comprised:
HQ and Depot Troop (at Geneifa)
No.2 Troop (L Detachment SAS – under Sterling)
No.3 Troop (No.11 Commando with some other British of Layforce – under Keyes)
No.4 and No.5 Troops (No.51 Palestinian Commando – under Cator)
No.6 Troop (SBS – under Courtney)
[No.51 Commando was found still intact in Abyssinia as was the SBS who had been ‘borrowed’ by Admiral Maund for covert operations.]

Auchinleck was to mount Operation Crusader, a general offensive, on 18 November. On 17 November he wanted the SAS to raid 5 airfields in the Gazala-Tmimi area and No.11 Commando (Operation Flipper) to mount an attack on Rommel’s HQ at Beda Littoria, the Italian HQ at Cirene, the Italian Intelligence Centre at Appolonia and telecommunications in the area. Sterling was advised there was adverse weather conditions for his raid, but his was the decision whether or not to abort. Sterling was eager to go and believed his men were also. He went ahead with the mission which was unsuccessful. Following is the full story from No.11 Commando – The Raid on Rommel.

No.9