Norwegian soldiers at Dieppe?

[Stellan Bojerud (RIP)]

On 12th December 2005 Captain Allan Mann passed away. He was put to rest in Stockholm two days ago.

Allan was a man who was easy to talk with - but not about his activities in WW 2. Once I asked him:

- Allan, you must have been in several dangerous situations during the war.
- Yes, I was.
- Did you ever come close to the edge?
- I did, but there were a lot of guys that faced even worse odds.
- What happened?
- Well, some never returned. As you see I am sitting here.

That was all i managed to get from himself. Witnesses however has told about his gallant actions in Narvik 1940 where he got the French Légion d´Honneur and Croix de Guèrre.

Severely wounded in Narvik he was considered unfit for military service in 1941 but joined the Norwegian underground and made 52 missions in German occupied Norway before joining the Norwegian Army in Scotland. There he got commando training.

He belonged to Norwegian 1st Independant Company "Kompani Linge" which did not operate as an unit but in small groups or individuals. The Company was paraded in full strenght only once and that was when it in 1945 entered Oslo after end of war.

Allan Mann was a Sergeant during most of WW 2 and came out 2nd Lt. In 1951 he left the Norvegian Army as a Captain and joined the Swedish Army.

Today I came across that he had participated in the Dieppe raid in 1942. He got british Miitary Medal and a second Croix de Guèrre - but why? Was it Dieppe or could there be a mixup with some other action?

So my question is: Were there Norvegian commandos participating in the Dieppe raid? As a group or as individuals?

Picture:

Standing middle as 2nd Lt 1945 after liberation of Norway.

[Mark W. Tonner]

Hi Stellan;

In regards to Norwegian soldiers at Dieppe, there were fifteen members of the 'French' Troop (No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando) spread across the three Commandos which took part in the raid, these being No. 3 Commando, No. 4 Commando and the Royal Marine "A" Commando (which after Dieppe was redesignated No. 40 Royal Marine Commando). There is no reference to anyone from the 'Norwegian' Troop, (No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando) being involved in the raid. Also, the only Military Medal awarded to a member of a Commando named 'Mann' at Dieppe, was to Lance-Corporal 'Dickie' Mann, a sniper of "C" Troop, No. 4 Commando.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Sources:

the histories of:

- No. 3 Commando
- No. 4 Commando
- No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando
- No. 40 (R.M.) Commando
- various books/publications on both the Army Commandos/R.M. Commandos
- various books/publications on the raid itself.

[Stellan Bojerud (RIP)]

Thank you very much!

I am still puzzled but on a higher level. Allan Gustav Bertil Mann was 1941 in Sweden and Norway. He seems to have reached Britain late 1941 or in 1942. He was then a private.

We know fou sure that he got the Légion d´Honneur and one Croix de Guèrre in Narvik 1940.

But he later got Military Medal and a second Croix de Guèrre. The latter award is pointing towards an engagement in France.

Should the British and French give him Military Medal and Croix de Guèrre for service with the Norwegian Army in Norway?

Allan was a Swedish citizen and not Norwegian. He could have been a L/Cpl in 1942 and with No 10 Commando, but we have so far no proof of that.

But assuming L/Cpl Mann of No 4 Commando is Allan, why should he then have the nickname "Dickie"?

Best greetings from a Stockholm getting warmer every day,

Stellan

[Lars Ulvestad]

Hi Stellan,

To my knowledge the only Norwegian contribution at Dieppe was the Royal Norwegian Airforce 331 and 332 sq's.

The Norwegian commandos (No 5 Troop 10 Interallied Commando) was only used at the raids against the Norwegian coast prior to Operation Infatuate (Walchern) in november 1944.

According to "Svenskar i Krig (Swedes at war) 1914 - 1945" by Lars Gyllenhaal and Lennart Westberg: Allan Mann was sent from Sweden to UK in the spring of 1944 for training with the Norwegian Independent Company No I (also known as the Linge Company - after Martin Linge) - the Norwegian contribution to SOE.

Regards

[Stellan Bojerud (RIP)]

Thank you Lars!

I had a conversation with Lars Gyllenhaal who also had heard about Allan Mann and Dieppe but found no proof, so he did not mention that in his book.

But the questions become more and more. If Allan went to GB as late as 1944, how did he have time to soldier on from private to 2nd Lt in less than a year?

And how did he got the Military Medal. He must then have been a NCO. And did the British award Military Medal to Norwegian NCOs serving in Norway?

Perhaps it is a mixup and that Allan participated at Walcheren?

Myself I have never heard from Allan himself that he was in Dieppe. That is only second hand talk. Allan himself was very reluctant to talk of the war.

But still: Why the second Croix de Guèrre? I guess the French didn´t give such decorations for Norway (except Narvik where he got his first Croix de Guèrre) or Walcheren.

So Allan must have done someting for Britain (Military Medal) and France (the second Croix de Guèrre). But what and when?

Stellan

[Mark W. Tonner]

Originally posted by Lars Ulvestad
According to "Svenskar i Krig (Swedes at war) 1914 - 1945" by Lars Gyllenhaal and Lennart Westberg: Allan Mann was sent from Sweden to UK in the spring of 1944 for training with the Norwegian Independent Company No I (also known as the Linge Company - after Martin Linge) - the Norwegian contribution to SOE.

Lars/Stellan;

If Allan Mann was SOE and/or with the SSRF (Small Scale Raiding Force) which was run jointly under COHQ/SOE control, there really isn't any paper trail to follow. SOE files are 'closed'. You may what to contact the Public Records Office in the UK to see if this is so.

Originally posted by Stellan Bojerud
But assuming L/Cpl Mann of No 4 Commando is Allan, why should he then have the nickname "Dickie"?.

Stellan;

L/Cpl 'Dickie' Mann of No. 4 Cdo, was a pre-war butcher in Reading.

Cheers

[Stellan Bojerud (RIP)]

Thank you Mark!

Good that "Dickie" Mann can be identified as another person. Than I do not have to work on a dead end.

I was recently reminded of one of Allans "war tales":

- I went into a railway tunnel. Two Germans approached from the other end.
- What happened?
- I was the only one who came out.

That was all we managed to get Allan to tell us.

[Stellan Bojerud (RIP)]

Thanks to Joakim Gröndalen who is a son of Allan´s sister Anita I have got new information.

Allan worked for SOE in ockupied Norway as a courier D 11 under the alias Ola Blitt-Olsen. On 9th June 1942 he travelled with Andrew Croft to Shetland Islands and from there to UK.

He participated in the Dieppe raid 19th Aug 1942 together with a o Ruben Langmoe in "A" Commando Royal Marines.

[maple_leaf_eh]

The official sources are always to best when trying to understand history. However, the war diaries are cold and lifeless or lively and detailed, depending on the author. I know this for a fact because in the late 1990's I wrote the annual history report for my then-unit 2 Canadian Forces Flying Training School in Moose Jaw, SK. As a section clerk given the job by the Adjutant, I piled all sorts of information into the folder, from colour prints of the course and squadron patches, to nominal rolls and newspaper stories. Evidently the history office in Ottawa was impressed because they complemented the CO on his (!) thoroughness.

It would be good if sixty-five year old archives were easily accessed, however the strategic nature of SOE and other special forces operations blurs into nations meddling in the sovereign affairs of other nations, even if done in wartime for grand principles.

There is another complication that some researchers face are very reluctanct veterans. They are old men now, and have reasons all their own to talk or not. A few veterans I know look upon outspoken veterans as braggarts, loudmouths and BS artists. Speaking up draws attention to their role in the war, not the whole effort by all the others. On the other hand, some men did not have good wars. Either they did not adapt well to life in uniform or behave magnificently under fire. How does a researcher determine the difference between the men who actually did well and those who only say they did?

[Stellan Bojerud (RIP)]

Allan Mann on WW 2: "If you have served in the war, you become humble. You remember that you was only one amongst all that did the job and that you are one of the lucky that returned alive."

[Stellan Bojerud (RIP)]

My instructor from the Swedish Royal Military Academy, Cpt Allan Mann.