"Mad Jack" Churchill

Lt. Col. Jack Churchill, nicknamed Mad Jack, of the British Army, deserves mention in my first post here. An Archery Champion before the War, Churchill often led his men into battle with a Scottish broadsword on his belt and a Bow and Arrow in his hand. He is credited with the last confirmed Bow and Arrow kill during modern warfare.

It was in 1940, before the Fall of France, Churchill and his unit ambushed a German patrol near Richebourg. Churchill gave the signal to attack by shooting an arrow at a German Sergeant (Feldwebel), making it the last confirmed kill with a Bow and Arrow

Later, Churchill volunteered for the British Commandos, and was the 2-iC of the No. 3 Commando Battalion in an attack on a German garrison. Coincidentally named Operation Archery, it saw Churchill leading the attack while playing March of the Cameron Men on his bagpipes. He then tossed a Grenade into one bunker and that signaled the start of the offensive.

After the invasion of Sicily, he was ordered to lead 2nd Commando and capture a position in the town of Molina. This position, happened to watch over a pass that led to the beachhead at Salerno. With help from a Corporal, he infiltrated the town and took 42 prisoners, including an entire mortar unit, merely using his trademark sword. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for this feat, which he often mentioned "Looked like a scene from the Napoleonic Wars"

Mad Jack in a training exercise. Bottom Right, sword in Hand

He was later captured while aiding Josef Tito and the Yugoslav Partisans. He and an RAF Officer called Bertram James, attempted to dig under the wire and escape to the coast. But they were captured soon, and sent to Tyrol under the guard of SS Troops, along with 140 other High-level prisoners. A delegation of the prisoners met German Wehrmacht officers, apprehensive that the SS would execute them. A German Army unit, commanded by Capt. Wichard von Alvensleben moved in to protect the prisoners. The SS Guards, outnumbered as they were, had to move out.
After the Germans departed, the prisoners were released, and Churchill walked 150 kilometers to Verona, Italy, where he caught up with an American armored unit.