4th Special Service Brigade

4th Special Service Brigade 4th Commando Brigade
Active	1944 – 1946
Country	United Kingdom
Allegiance	British Crown
Branch	Royal Navy
Type	Commando
Role	Amphibious warfare Anti-tank warfare Artillery observer Bomb disposal Close-quarters battle Cold-weather warfare Direct action Long-range penetration Mountain warfare Patrolling Raiding Reconnaissance Special operations Special reconnaissance Tracking Urban warfare
Size	Brigade
Engagements	Normandy landings Battle of the Scheldt Battle of Walcheren Causeway
Commanders
Notable commanders	Brigadier B. W. Leicester
Insignia
Combined Operations Shoulder Patch

The 4th Special Service Brigade was a brigade-sized formation of the British Commandos formed during the Second World War in March 1944 from battalion-sized units of the Royal Marines. Due to the success of the British Army Commandos' operations in Norway, the Channel Islands, St. Nazaire, and the Middle East, the Admiralty dissolved the Royal Marines Division in late 1942 and reorganized its amphibious assault infantry into eight additional Commando units.

The Brigade was part of the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944 during Operation Overlord; it subsequently participated in the Battle of the Scheldt and the assault of the Walcheren Islands.^[1] On 6 December the same year, the Brigade was renamed 4th Commando Brigade, removing the title Special Service and its association with the German SS.^[2]