Continental Marines Essays

On October 19, 1781, the British troops under Cornwallis surrendered to Washington’s combined forces, thus ending the major battle in the American Revolution. After the surrender of the British, all their troops were sent

Some of our ships were in Africa and were being attacked by a group of pirates called the Barbary Pirates. marines would fight a great battle against them on the shores of Tripoli. later Marines would fight in WWII and would be fighting in planes and these battles would be called dogfights. One pilot was especially remembered for his squadron and he was Major Gregory "Pappy" Boyington whose squadron would account for over 203 planes damaged or destroyed during WWII. Major Boyington would later receive the Medal of Honor our nation 's highest award. Later Marines would be fighting in Vietnam and would fight in some of the bloodiest battles during the Tet Offensive. Marines would fight house to house and building to building to clear out the Viet Cong who would literally split the country in half with their attack during the celebration of Tet in Vietnam. These are just a few of the stories that would solidify the Marine Corps ability and willingness to fight on land, sea, and in the air (Eplore the Story, 2011)

Being able to get more men together to form more regiments was a tough challenge. Though there were a lot of men wanting to enlist in the Marines, it was finding officers that would lead them that seemed to be the problem. To find more officers they would go and scout universities, colleges, and military schools and try to find men that would volunteer for enlistment as an officer candidate. Soon the 6th Marine Regiment and the 6th Machine Gun Battalion would be formed. At a point in time almost sixty percent of the 6th Marine Regiment consisted of college boys. Then the 5th and 6th Marine Regiments and the 6th Machine Gun Battalion would combine together and form the 4th Marine Brigade.

United States Marine any longer. As Dawson and Downy follow through on their order of

Brodine, C. (2009). A Look at the birth of the Continental Navy. America’s Navy, Retrieved from: http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=49113

In 1942, World War II had been raging for three years. The United States of America have declared war upon the Axis powers following the devastating Japanese attack upon Pearl Harbor. At this point in the war the Allies are in a grave situation. German forces have pushed the British off mainland Europe, and the Japanese have conquered much of the Pacific region, coming increasingly nearer to the American mainland. In order to combat this rising threat, the American military headship began to search for viable alternatives to replace widely used established tactics. The motive for this search for irregular methods the fact that the Allied forces were not strong enough to meet the Axis powers on a conventional battlefield. In December of 1941 Colonel William J. Donovan, a World War I Army hero and presidential confidant, made a formal proposal to President Roosevelt to create a U.S. military unit that “would infiltrate occupied territory and assist resistance groups.”(Major John T. Hoffman USMCR, 3) In January of 1942, the president’s son, Captain James Roosevelt USMC wrote a letter to Major General Thomas Holcomb, 17th Commandant of the Marine Corps, suggesting the formation of “a unit for purposes similar to those of the British Commandos and the Chinese Guerillas.”(Hoffman, 3) Encouraged by the success of the British commando units, such as the SAS, LRDG, Royal Marine Commandos, and the enthusiastic endorsement of such units by the

Robert Peavey's Praying for Slack: A Marine Corps Tank Commander in Vietnam is a solid first-hand account of young Marine tankers in Vietnam during the bloody days of the late sixties. Peavey narrative is genuine, straight-forward, and pulls no punches. He pays honor to the courage, endurance, and sacrifice of the young men of the USMC, while dealing well-deserved criticism to the American politicians flailing for a political solution and making unfortunate decisions which only imperiled our forces in the field. Peavey extends his criticism to the young, ill-trained junior officers – many simply having their “ticket punched” with a six-month combat tour – who, imbued with the Marine tradition for aggressive action, too often foolishly endangered

Amphibious operations are deeply rooted in The United States Marine Corps’s heritage and traditions. The Continental Marine Corps conducted its first amphibious assault against the British fort at New Providence, Bahamas early in 1776. The Marines, commanded by Captain Samuel Nicholas, surprised the British garrison when they landed on the beach under a covering naval bombardment in their first combined land and sea action. Marine

Since the Revolutionary War the Marine Corps has been an important part of the US military. The Marine corps is one of the most revered and feared military force in the world; they are considered one of the toughest and most effective military forces and are often used by other countries to help them fight their wars. They were first used in the Revolutionary war for ship-to-ship combat before seeing mass use in the first two Barbary Wars in the early 1800s. Then the Marines were used as international peacekeepers for the next several decades before splitting and nearly being destroyed during the Civil War. But the Marine Corps prevailed like it had many times before. They were then used as peacekeepers again until

Navy wasn't the only expansion in the U.S. military to help fight the pirates. There was a new addition added in the same undeclared war against the Barbary pirates, the Marines were the newest asset in the United States military. When the blockade of Tripoli harbor didn’t workout as the U.S. had planned they decided to send troops in,the only problem was that they didn’t have enough ground troops. It wasn’t until General William Eaton and Lieutenant Presley O'bannon led eight other marines and six hundred mercenaries on an attack of Derna. While the Marines had existed before the Barbary war, fighting in the Revolutionary war as well, it wasn’t until they went to battle against the Barbary pirates that they would become an official part of the United States military. The Marines proved their worth during their fight against these pirates who reigned terror on the

Marines and Army leaders. Only the Marines and the Army fought a ground war, whereas the

The Scouts and Raiders were established in 1942 prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor from the Observer Group, a joint U.S. Army-Marine-Navy unit. The Army and Navy assembled in 1942 to begin the Amphibious Scouts and Raiders training. The Amphibious Scout and Raider School was established in 1942 at Fort Pierce, Florida.

Captain O’Hara – US Navy and Captain Luxon – USMC, plan to train Sailors and former Soldiers, Marines was in full swing. The first class, all Sailors, was set to graduate from the Navy’s Advance Combat Course. After a brief stint in the field with the Marines they would be returned to the school to take over the training of the Sailors. The first class of prior service Soldiers and Marines had three more weeks of training to go through, although they started at the same time, their knowledge of infantry skills and tactics was far greater than what was needed by the Navy.

June 17th, 1897 the Hospital Corps as we know it was born, after fear of a Spanish – American War, Congress spurred into action passing a bill which was signed by President William McKinley. From this date forward any enlisted

Government downsized the military budget, in hopes to regulate the nation’s economy. As a result, the resources available dwindled, and each of the branches developed a plan that concentrated on specific efforts for production. Emmel discusses the distinct plans of each branch, and how it hurt the collective efforts of the military. This reduction in military services drove the branches further away from each other, and effectively increased the divide between collective efforts required for an amphibious campaign. The Marine Corp struggled in their own efforts at this time, as the budget constraints resulted in failed missions. They simply did not have enough manpower to seize lands. As a replacement for the lack of funds, the Marine Corps primary objective was placed in the hands of Major General Commandant John A. Lejeune. Emmel goes on to explain how placing an entire branch’s efforts on a single Commander’s tactics is not conducive to successful campaigns. It wasn’t until the Navy and Army participated in Joint Overseas Expeditions that cooperation developed and the amphibious doctrine moved in a positive direction (Emmel, 63). From the mid 1930s up until the brink of World War II, the U.S. military worked together, in hopes of forming a strengthened doctrine that would succeed in the toughest of conditions, such as World War