Gulf War they set fire to nearly 700 oil wells and placed land mines around the wells to make extinguishing the fires more difficult. The war's ground phase was officially designated Operation Desert Saber. The first units to move into Iraq were three patrols of the British Special Air Service's B squadron, call signs Bravo One Zero, Bravo Two Zero, and Bravo Three Zero, in late January. These eight-man patrols landed behind Iraqi lines to gather intelligence on the movements of Scud mobile missile launchers, which could not be detected from the air, as they were hidden under bridges and camouflage netting
British Army during the Second World War Alfred Pile. Each Anti-aircraft division was also responsible for searchlight and barrage balloon units within its assigned area. The first raiding forces formed during the war were the ten Independent Companies, which were raised from volunteers from Second-Line Territorial Army divisions. They were intended for raiding and reconnaissance behind German lines in the Norwegian Campaign, but were disbanded after the campaign was abandoned. The remaining personnel carried out Operation Collar against German-occupied France, before being merged into the Commandos. Later in 1940, the British Commandos were formed following Winston Churchill's call for "specially trained troops of the hunter class, who