The Top Six Military Units You Won't Believe Existed

1. Lovat Scouts (United Kingdom) - See above

Before American major, Frederick Burnham, helped Lord Baden-Powell found the Boy Scouts in 1908, he was the commander of the Scottish Highland Regiment, who were banded together to fight in the Second Boer War in 1900.

Burnham didn't make his troops wear a toggle, instead they were known for introducing the heavily-camouflaged Ghillie suit to the army during the First World War.

Many of their soldiers were elderly (the youngest being 42) gamekeepers from big Scottish estates and were famed for their shooting.

These sharpshooters became the first sniper unit in the British Army, where previously such military tactics were considered uncivilised.

2. 61st Cavalry Regiment (India)

The 61st Cavalry Regiment is the largest cavalry regiment in the world that isn’t ceremonial, remains un-mechanised and is fully operational.

Formed in 1953, the regiment is made up of 270 men. It took part in combat as recently as 2001, when it was involved in Operation Parakram - a stand-off along the Indian Pakistani border.

It's also the only cavalry regiment that reserves a third of its places specifically for Kaimkhani Muslim soldiers.

3. 'A' Force (United Kingdom)

Not just an ordinary unit, 'A' Force was set up by Dudley Wrangel Clarke during the Second World War.

Initially, Clarke was the only soldier in 'A' Force.

His self-directed task was to deceive the enemy by setting up fake regiments and operations - at one point he was even arrested in Cairo while dressed as a woman.

In the end, thankfully, the unit was eventually given real men to work behind enemy lines. 

4. Filthy Thirteen (USA)

Hidden within the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division was the Filthy 13, or, more formally, the Demolition Section.

Actually made up of 18 paratroopers, these wild and unruly men were sent behind enemy lines, with their seemingly suicidal mission to destroy and secure bridges following the Normandy landings of 1944.  

Not only were they unwashed (hence the name), wore face-paint and sported Mohicans, they also, in the words of one of the soldiers, "didn’t do everything we were supposed to do in some ways and did a whole lot more than they wanted us to do in other ways. We were always in trouble."

Fifteen of the eighteen men lived to tell their tale.

5. The "Underground Army" (United Kingdom)

Had Germany's Operation Sea Lion been a success and the Nazis conquered the UK, the fight wouldn't have been over.

Ever ready, Churchill set up the Auxiliary Units to provide resistance, and disrupt and overthrow the enemy in this event.

Although these units hid under the veil of the Home Guard, they were far from looking or acting like 'Dad's Army'.

These men were fully trained in guerrilla warfare, assassination, demolition and sabotage.

3,500 men were recruited to work in small teams. Trained to be self-sufficient and entirely autonomous, they were to live in specially dug-out underground shelters.

Unsurprisingly, many of these men went on to join the SAS at the war's end.

6. Mormon Battalion (USA)

Imagine a battalion made up of over 500 men, women, boys and girls.

Although they were led by US Army officers, the Mormon Battalion was the only religious regiment the US has ever known.

They marched nearly 2,000 miles across America, helping to play a part in the expansion of the United States in the mid-1800s, but they were also enlisted to help, where needed, in the Mexican War.

Not a single battle was fought… apart from a skirmish with some wild bulls where 18 bulls were killed...  

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