The 1st Ranger Battalion is a light infantry special operations force of the United States Army that is currently based at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia, United States. It was originally formed shortly after the United States' entry into World War II and was modelled upon the British Commandos. Members from the unit were the first American soldiers to see combat in the European theatre when they participated in the failed raid on Dieppe in France in 1942, during which three Rangers were killed and several more were captured. Later, the 1st Ranger Battalion was sent to North Africa where they participated in the landings in Algeria and the fighting in Tunisia in 1943. Also in 1943 the unit provided cadre for two more Ranger battalions created between the campaigns in Sicily and