361:
they had been facing a whole German battalion. Realising that further progress along the valley would be impossible, Tod ordered his men to take up defensive positions. They held these until the following evening, despite being under fire from three sides, and one particularly strong counterattack by the
Germans. Tod was painfully wounded in the early afternoon, but continued to lead from the front. During the German counterattack, German grenades were exploding in his command position. With nightfall, the commando withdrew, bringing in all their wounded. The recommendation especially mentions Tod's "complete disregard for his own personal safety", and his "outstanding display of coolness, courage and leadership at a time when such qualities were most urgently required."
77:
57:
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positions on the southern slope of Mount Ornito. Tod was among the last group to fall back, and had to be supported by the adjutant as they made their way back. He remained in command until 10:30 the following morning when his brigade commander ordered him to seek medical attention. According to the recommendation he "undoubtedly saved a critical situation and had a very steadying influence on his unit". Another officer,
347:
forward to take command of the attack. Tod then lost consciousness for about ten minutes, but after coming round, began to oversee the evacuation of the wounded. The troops detailed to attack the objective managed to attain it, but were taking heavy casualties, so Tod ordered a retreat to defensive
342:
were all killed or wounded by the shelling. Tod retained control, ordering the leading troop to make the attack, supported by two other troops, while the remaining two troops were to take up covering positions to the south, where they would hopefully be out of the majority of the shelling. At this
360:
to his DSO on 20 July 1944. Again the recommendation for the award describes events. The commando's attack began at 02:00, they entered the valley and began to clear it, but it soon became apparent that the defending force was considerably larger than anticipated. Later intelligence showed that
329:
The recommendation for the award describes the events of the night. The commando left its start lines at 19:30, and at about 21:30 came under heavy mortar and machine gun fire. Tod undertook a personal reconnaissance, and the ensuing attack captured a German pill box and 23 men. The commando
330:
resumed its journey towards its objective, but immediately came under heavy artillery and mortar fire which continued to build in intensity as they approached the main objective, "Point 803". As Tod gave orders for the main attack to begin, four out of five
400:. Orders that they were not to enter Athens itself did not reach them, and Tod ensured that the airfield and various strategic points in Athens were under British control prior to Scobie's arrival. Tod was awarded the freedom of the city by
388:, and often found themselves between opposing communist and anti-communist Greek forces. They managed to defuse many of these potential conflicts, saving many lives in the process. Finally they were ordered to take two islands off
267:
No. 6 Independent
Company on 25 April. He held that post until June when he was tasked with raising No. 11 Independent Company. As commander of this company, he led them on two "commando" raids shortly afterwards, one to
355:
Just under a month later, on 19 March 1944, the commando was ordered to carry out a diversionary attack on a dry valley in the Campo di Carne area, and for his leadership on this occasion Tod was awarded a
291:. These were the first two such raids carried out by British commandos during the war. Just before the second of these raids he was confirmed as a temporary major on 2 July 1940.
1058:
247:. His secondment ended on 1 August 1938, and he returned to the UK, taking up regimental duties with 1st Battalion, Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders in early 1939.
365:
1053:
1048:
373:
1063:
1033:
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On 7 August 1948 Tod retired with the rank of honorary brigadier. He remained in the reserve of officers until 3 November 1955. He died on 5 April 1975.
457:
No. 11 Independent
Company was raised on 14 June from volunteers for commando service and members from the recently disbanded No. 9 Independent Company
1043:
404:, and Davy credited him as "one of the two British officers who kept Greece on the free side of the Iron Curtain". Tod was then promoted to acting
319:
730:
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298:, his majority was made substantive on 29 January, and his acting rank was made temporary on 20 April. Later in the year he took command of
425:
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In March 1940, following the outbreak of the Second World War, Tod volunteered to join the
Independent Companies being raised for the
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772:"Recommendations for Honours and Awards (Army)—Image details—Tod, Ronald John Frederick—Bar to Distinguished Service Order"
352:, later described how that morning Tod was far more concerned about the injuries to his RSM than he was by his own wounds.
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851:"Recommendations for Honours and Awards (Army)—Image details—Tod, Ronald John Frederick—Commander of the British Empire"
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in command of the 2nd
Special Service Brigade on 18 October 1944. With them he returned to Italy to lead them in the
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672:"Recommendations for Honours and Awards (Army)—Image details—Tod, Ronald John Frederick—Distinguished Service Order"
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on 22 January 1944. In the follow-up to the landings, the commando was ordered to take two hills to the north of
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in anticipation of the German withdrawal from Greece. Here, British forces were being sucked into the emerging
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minesweepers operating in the area in preparation for the arrival of larger
British force under
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on the night of 23/24 February 1944. For his leadership during the attack, Tod was awarded the
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point, Tod himself was wounded in both arms and both legs, but still managed to order his
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SAS: The First Secret Wars: The
Unknown Years of Combat & Counter-insurgency
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306:. Tod was later commended for his leadership during a raid across the river
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Commandos: The Inside Story of
Britain's Most Elite Fighting Force
854:(fee usually required to view pdf of full original recommendation)
775:(fee usually required to view pdf of full original recommendation)
675:(fee usually required to view pdf of full original recommendation)
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302:. In late 1943 No. 9 Commando was detailed to take part in the
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on 6 June 1935, and took command of one of the battalion's
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and until the end of the war. For this, and in particular
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in the summer of 1944, when 9 Commando was made part of
729:
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Later, on 20 January 1942 Tod was promoted to acting
733:(11 April 1975). "Brigadier R.J.F.Tod". Obituaries.
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Tod was born on 3 November 1905. On graduation from
376:, led by George Davy. Davy ordered the commando to
1059:Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst
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930:. Elite Series # 64. London: Osprey Publishing.
648:(Supplement). 27 January 1942. pp. 493–494.
223:on 29 January 1925. On 14 December 1932 (now a
195:who was instrumental in the development of the
839:(Supplement). 18 September 1945. p. 4669.
1054:Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
1049:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
911:(Supplement). 1 November 1955. p. 6206.
737:. No. 59367. London. col F, p. 16.
426:Commander of the Order of the British Empire
155:Commander of the Order of the British Empire
1064:Royal West African Frontier Force officers
1034:Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders officers
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364:Tod then served in the Greek islands with
757:(Supplement). 18 July 1944. p. 3375.
712:(Supplement). 27 June 1944. p. 3070.
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532:. 30 January 1925. pp. 685–686.
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314:, the Allied amphibious attack on
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135:2nd Special Service Brigade
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986:Saunders, Hilary St George
380:, ready for a move to the
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811:Saunders 1959, p. 179.
658:Saunders 1959, p. 199.
428:on 20 September 1945.
263:on 2 April and became
966:Parker, John (2000).
862:The National Archives
820:Chappell 1996, p. 31.
783:The National Archives
683:The National Archives
414:Spring 1945 offensive
372:under the command of
207:Early life and career
89:Years of service
620:Chappell 1996, p. 5.
374:Land Forces Adriatic
336:intelligence officer
282:Operation Ambassador
945:Jones, Tim (2005).
629:Parker 2000, p. 21.
504:. unithistories.com
424:, he was appointed
908:The London Gazette
888:The London Gazette
836:The London Gazette
802:Jones 2005, p. 34.
754:The London Gazette
709:The London Gazette
645:The London Gazette
589:The London Gazette
569:The London Gazette
549:The London Gazette
529:The London Gazette
296:lieutenant-colonel
265:Officer Commanding
257:Norwegian campaign
239:. He was promoted
977:978-0-7472-7008-9
958:978-1-86064-676-8
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83:British Army
44:(1975-04-05)
42:5 April 1975
18:
1029:1975 deaths
1024:1905 births
903:"No. 40622"
883:"No. 38372"
831:"No. 37274"
749:"No. 36615"
704:"No. 36586"
640:"No. 35438"
584:"No. 34548"
564:"No. 34173"
544:"No. 33903"
524:"No. 33016"
418:the capture
382:Peloponnese
350:George Davy
199:during the
1018:Categories
920:References
432:Retirement
394:Royal Navy
338:, and the
308:Garigliano
225:lieutenant
51:Allegiance
25:Ronnie Tod
988:(1959) .
867:20 August
788:20 August
735:The Times
688:20 August
508:20 August
465:Citations
445:Footnotes
422:Comacchio
410:brigadier
276:known as
245:companies
171:Brigadier
101:Brigadier
92:1925–1948
366:Foxforce
345:adjutant
289:Guernsey
270:Boulogne
127:Commands
69:Service/
406:colonel
390:Piraeus
378:Kythera
241:captain
193:officer
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280:, and
274:France
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332:troop
316:Anzio
261:major
219:as a
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181:,
112:32187
972:ISBN
953:ISBN
932:ISBN
869:2009
790:2009
690:2009
510:2009
185:DSO*
117:Unit
97:Rank
39:Died
31:Born
420:of
358:Bar
272:in
178:CBE
163:Bar
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