1. Ghost Army
Gospel Coalition
Although the Ghost Army, a US special tactical unit deployed in World War II, wasn’t actually made up of ghosts, it was comprised of a very unique bunch of “soldiers”. The 1,100 “soldiers” in the Ghost Army (23rd Headquarters Special Troops) had no previous combat training, as they were actors, illustrators, designers, radio operators, artists and sound engineers. The lack of training and preparation for combat didn’t deter the unit from successfully completing their mission – all without firing a single shot.
PBS
The Ghost Army was assembled to find creative ways to mislead and deceive the German army. They blasted noises over speakers, sent phony radio transmissions, built fake constructions to draw enemy, and pretended to be drunk generals in bars to weed out spies. Over 20 missions were carried out by the Ghost Army, estimated to have saved 15,000–30,000 lives.
2. 61st Cavalry Regiment
Military Photos
As military technology continued to advance, horses were eventually phased out of cavalries in exchange for engines and wheels. However, there is still one cavalry unit that views horses as an indispensable part of the army. The 61st Cavalry Unit of India is, to this day, the largest non-ceremonial horse-mounted unit in the world.
3. The Filthy Thirteen
One of the most iconic war movies in history, The Dirty Dozen, was actually based off of a real group of soldiers known as the Filthy Thirteen. Although the real unit didn’t consist of murderers and convicts, they were misfits nonetheless.
The Filthy Thirteen were a part of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division during World War II. The unit was known for reckless and rowdy behavior, but also for being tasked with (and accomplishing) incredibly dangerous and essential missions during the war. Knowing they were indispensable for their skills, the Filthy Thirteen went AWOL to party every weekend, stole cars and trains, and even blew up barracks for fun. Not exactly the kind of guys you’d picture in the military today.Daily Mail
4. The Scallywags
During World War II, when much of Europe was either allied or occupied by Nazis, plans were made for an underground resistance movement that would later become known as the Scallywags.
The Scallywags were auxiliary units that carried out covert missions at night, using tactful guerrilla warfare. The strange part about Scallywags were that their identities and the nature of their assignments were kept highly secretive. Each group operated without about seven or eight people (ranging from dentists to clergymen), but no one knew anything about anyone outside of their group (this was to ensure no information is leaked if any of them got caught).
5. Ritchie Boys
Ritchie Boys
The Ritchie Boys was a special US military unit from World War II, made up of young Jewish teenagers from Germany and Austria. Members of the unit were either drafted or voluntarily entered into the army when they arrived in the US, seeking salvation.
Trained in Fort Ritchie, these boys focused on military intelligence rather than armed combat. Despite some of them being children, the Ritchie Boys were on the front lines or behind enemy lines during the entire war. After the D-Day landing, the Ritchie Boys interrogated German prisoners, defectors and civilians and even conducted psychological warfare on Nazi higher-up’s.
6. Jessie Scouts
Son Of The South
The Jessie Scouts was a small group of 60 soldiers in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The uniqueness of the Jessie Scouts lies not in who they were, but what they wore.
The Jessie Scouts took on the “undercover” military tactic and often dressed in Confederate uniforms to collect information from enemy forces. Captain Charles Carpenter, the leader of the Jessie Scouts, even recounted an incidence where he dressed as a woman to deliver a telegram to a rebel officer.
7. Mormon Battalion
Photobucket
The Mormon Battalion is the only religion-based military unit in all of US history. Formed in 1846, the Mormon Battalion fought in the Mexican-American War. Composed of roughly 550 Latter-day Saints, the Mormon Battalion not only in the war, but also helped colonize California and ensure a positive relationship between the US and Mormon immigrants.
The Mormon Battalion continue to differ from traditional military units as its members ranged from as young as 14 to as old as 67. The Mormon Battalion was also accompanied by 33 women and 51 children. A rather bizarre and yet extreme demographics for a battalion. Who would of ever thought that a battalion would have such a wide age range and include women and children?
8. Merrill’s Marauders
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Milsurps
The 5307th Composite Unit, also known as Merrill’s Marauders, was a special unit charged with a dangerous mission during World War II. The Marauders were trained for long-range penetration jungle warfare to go behind enemy lines in Southeast Asia.
Merrill’s Marauders was unusual in deploying with a high percentage of combat veterans. With over 3,000 volunteer soldiers, the Marauders took part in five major combats in Japanese-controlled Burma.
9. A Force
Listverse
The Ghost Army wasn’t the first to band together untraditional soldiers to form an army. They were actually inspired by the A Force, a British covert intelligence unit created by British spy Dudley Clarke
The A Force started out as a fictional unit made up by Clarke, who as working solely on a Middle East operation. Later, in came to life as Clarke invited others to join him on Operation Treatment, a mission to trick the Germans into thinking that the counteroffensive at El Alamein would arrive two weeks later than actually planned.
10. Lovat Scouts
Skerray
In 1900, a special regiment was created by a British lord to be commanded by an American major and fight in a South African War. Sound confusing?
Librart and Archives Canada
The Lovat Scouts, made up of Scottish Highland yeomanry units, was formed by Lord Joseph Fraser to fight in the Second Boer War against the South African REpublic. The unit was under the command of Major Frederick Russell Burnham, who later founded the Boy Scouts of America. After the Second Boer War, the Lovat Scouts went on to fight in World War I, where they became the first British sniper unit in British Army history.
Source: Listverse
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