Editing Operation Anklet (section)

==Background==
After the [[British Expeditionary Force (World War II)|British Expeditionary Force]] had been evacuated from [[Operation Dynamo|Dunkirk]] in 1940, the then British [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] [[Winston Churchill]] called for a force to be assembled and equipped to inflict casualties on the Germans and bolster British morale. Churchill told the joint Chiefs of Staff to propose measures for an offensive against German-occupied Europe, and stated: "they must be prepared with specially trained troops of the hunter class who can develop a reign of terror down the enemy coast."<ref name=has47/>

One staff officer, [[Lieutenant-Colonel]] [[Dudley Clarke]], had already submitted such a proposal to [[General]] Sir [[John Dill]], the [[Chief of the Imperial General Staff]]. Dill, aware of Churchill's intentions, approved Clarke's proposal.<ref name=has47>Haskew, p.47</ref>

The Commandos came under the operational control of the [[Combined Operations Headquarters]]. The man initially selected as the commander was [[Admiral]] [[Roger Keyes|Sir Roger Keyes]], a veteran of the [[Gallipoli Campaign]] and the [[Zeebrugge Raid]] in the [[First World War]].<ref>Chappell, p.6</ref> In 1940, the call went out for volunteers from among the serving Army soldiers within certain formations still in Britain, and men of the disbanding Divisional [[Independent Companies]] originally raised from [[Territorial Army (United Kingdom)|Territorial Army]] Divisions who had seen service in Norway.{{#tag:ref|The 10 independent companies were raised from volunteers in second line Territorial Army divisions in April 1940. They were intended for [[guerrilla]] style operations in Norway following the German invasion. Each of the 10 companies initially consisted of 21 officers and 268 [[Other ranks (UK)|other ranks]].<ref>Moreman, p.13</ref> |group=nb}}

The Lofoten Islands form part of the north western Norwegian coastline about {{convert|100|mi|km|abbr=on}} inside the [[Arctic Circle]]. Operation Anklet would be the second raid on the islands. The first, [[Operation Claymore]], had taken place in March 1941, and the third raid, [[Operation Archery]], would take place at the same time as Operation Anklet.<ref name=mess15/>

The raid was organised by the [[Combined Operations Headquarters]], and would only use naval and land assets, the [[Royal Air Force]] was not involved. But it would be the last raid undertaken without air support.<ref name=coop>{{cite web|access-date=18 July 2010|publisher=Combined Operations|title=Lofoten Islands 2nd Raid 26/27 December 1941|url=http://www.combinedops.com/lofoten_2.htm}}</ref>

The naval force formed for Operation Anklet consisted of 22 ships from three navies. The [[Royal Navy]] provided the most ships which included the [[light cruiser]] {{HMS|Arethusa|26|6}}; six [[destroyer]]s ({{HMS|Somali|F33|6}}, {{HMS|Ashanti|F51|2}}, {{HMS|Bedouin|F67|2}}, {{HMS|Eskimo|F75|2}}, {{HMS|Lamerton|L88|2}} and {{HMS|Wheatland|L122|2}}); three [[Minesweeper (ship)|minesweepers]] ({{HMS|Speedwell|J87|6}}, {{HMS|Harrier|1934|2}} and {{HMS|Halcyon|J42|2}}); two [[Landing Ship Infantry]] (HMS&nbsp;''Prins Albert'' and ''Prinses Josephine Charlotte''); the [[submarines]] {{HMS|Tigris|N63|6}}, {{HMS|Sealion|72S|6}}; and the survey ship {{HMS|Scott|J79|6}}. The [[Royal Fleet Auxiliary]] provided two fleet tankers ([[RFA Grey Ranger|RFA ''Grey Ranger'']] and [[RFA Black Ranger|''Black Ranger'']]); the [[cargo ship|freighter]] ''[[Gudrun Maersk]]''; and the [[Tugboat]] ''Jaunty''.<ref name=ships>{{cite web|access-date=18 July 2010|publisher=Naval History| title=Background Events, December 1941 to February 1942|url=http://www.patriotfiles.com/archive/navalhistory/xDKWW2-4112-39DEC02.htm}}</ref>

The [[Norwegian Armed Forces in exile|exiled]] [[Royal Norwegian Navy]] provided the [[corvette]]s [[HNoMS Andenes (K01)|HNoMS ''Andenes'']] and [[HNoMS Eglantine (K197)|''Eglantine'']], while the [[Polish Navy]] provided the destroyers [[ORP Krakowiak (L115)|ORP ''Krakowiak'']] and [[ORP Kujawiak (L72)|''Kujawiak'']].<ref name=ships/>

The landing force was supplied by 223 men of [[No. 12 Commando]], supported by 77 men of the [[Norwegian Independent Company 1]].<ref name=coop/>