U.S. Marine Corp History
The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is an elite military organization that enjoys a high esprit de corps. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that the marines take pride in their history and traditions. Tracing their origins to the Continental Marines of the Revolutionary War, for more than two centuries American marines have seen almost continuous action around the world in engagements great and small.
Revolutionary Precursor
The precursors of the USMC are the Continental Marines. These were formed by a November 1775 order of the Continental Congress that two battalions of marines should be raised for naval combat duties. Marines regard November 10, 1775 as the Corps's birthday, but these marines were disbanded along with the Continental Navy in 1783.
The Re-Establishment of the Marines
The War Department of the new United States government first began enlisting individual marines for service aboard U.S. Navy warships in 1794, with the marines being formally established by Act of Congress in 1798. The new U.S. marines soon found themselves engaged in combat during the First Barbary War of 1801 to 1805. It was during this conflict that the marines attacked Tripoli, an engagement that has been made immortal in the Marine Corps Hymn. The marine nickname of "leatherneck" also stems from this period. According to legend, the marines wore thick leather stocks around their necks to protect them from decapitation by Barbary scimitars, but the leather stock was actually a popular fashion item for military uniforms at the time. It was therefore likely that the leather stocks were just a normal part of the marine's kit. Marines also took part in the famous frigate actions of the U.S. Navy during the War of 1812, as well as the fighting at Bladensburg and the Battle of New Orleans.
Mid-to-Late 19th Century Actions
President Andrew Jackson attempted to abolish the marines by folding them into the US Army, but Congress blocked this and instead placed the marines formally under the jurisdiction of the Navy Department. Marines participated in both the 1835 Seminole War and the 1846 Mexican War. The latter contributed the "Halls of Montezuma" to the Marine Corps Hymn. However, the marines played little part in even the amphibious operations of the Civil War. In the late 19th century, the marines were involved in more than two dozen separate interventions and actions in Central and South America, culminating in leading U.S. Army forces ashore in the 1898 Spanish-American War in both Cuba and the Philippines.
World War One
The U.S. marines continued to be the light expeditionary force of choice for the United States in the early 20th century. They saw action against guerrillas in the Philippines and Cuba, in the Boxer Rebellion in China, in Central and South America again and in Morocco. When the United States entered World War One, the marines were seasoned combat veterans, and unlike the Army were not radically expanded in a massive mobilization. The result was that they were a small, but crack outfit that gained the respect of their enemies. The fought a major battle at Belleau Wood in 1918, and earned the nickname "Devil Dogs" from the Germans, who regarded the marines as the equal of their own elite stormtroopers.
World War Two
USMC Commandant John Lejeune led the Corps to develop amphibious assault techniques between the two World Wars, which ultimately became the Corps's bread and butter. During the war, the USMC expanded to almost a strength of almost half a million men (including its own air force), and became the primary ground force of the Pacific War. However, the marines saw no combat in Europe. After the war, the USMC saw the second major effort to abolish the Corps and fold it up into the U.S. Army, but this too was defeated. By 1952, the USMC was established by law as an organization with three divisions, and its Commandant was given an equal footing with the other Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Korea and Vietnam
Marines were heavily engaged in the early efforts to stop and throw back the 1950 North Korean invasion of South Korea. Their amphibious assault at Inchon turned the Communist flank and resulted in the collapse and retreat of their army. The Marines were thereafter involved in combat operations until the end of the war in 1953, once again expanding in size from a strength of about 75,000 to 261,000. In a practice that would become standard for the USMC, they got around the limitations of their three division establishment by making those three divisions much bigger. They also fought in Vietnam, with famous battles like Hue and Khe Sanh being USMC operations.
Recent Years
The USMC has been involved in every major American military operation since the Vietnam War. It was the marines who were sent on a peacekeeping mission to Lebanon in 1983, and were truck bombed there. Marines were involved in the invasions of Grenada and Panama, the Persian Gulf War, the initial security and relief operations in Somalia, the Iraq War and the Afghan War.
Tags: United States, Marine Corps, marines were, amphibious assault, Central South, Central South America