A WWII History Question...

[TheMightyFavog]

Did the Marines ever fight in Europe? Or were they used only in the Pacific?

[el_bryanto]

1. it looks like it according to wikipedia

I thought the marines were involved in Italy/Sicily but, again according to Wikipedia, apparently not.

Bryant

[JackintheGreen]

8. I thought small detachments served in Italy, too

And I don't just mean Bobby Shaftoe.

Cryptonomicon? Anybody? Anybody?

[arbusto_baboso]

2. Marine formations in Europe were small ones, like embassy guard detachments...

and shipboard detachments on Battleships, Heavy Cruisers, etc. They did not fight in large, divisional size units in Europe.

Now, there WAS a sizeable marine garrison in Londonderry, Northern Ireland for a short time, but it was a provisional unit, only.

[timtom]

3. Yes.

But the vast majority fought in the Pacific.

http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1082

[arbusto_baboso]

4. The Iceland garrison never saw action, though, so "fought" isn't the right word.

[timtom]

9. Oops. Tee Hee!

I was thinking "served."

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

5. many were consultants for the

Army and Coast Guard for D-day

[bpj62]

6. Marines

In the Pacific both the Marines and the Army fought together in several campaigns, most notably Guadacanal and Okinowa. I don't know if the Marines were involved in the Phillipines campaign. The Marines did fight in Europe during World War I.

[leveymg]

7. That is not a period-correct USMC uniform. Nor is the hair.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

17. yeah, it is, they have just mixed

the desert and island camo patterns... this pattern was used, Iwo Jima, Saipan, Okinawa

[deaniac21]

10. Marines serve on fighting ships. Each one has a marine

contingent.

[Thothmes]

12. Only on aircraft carriers and battleships.

[RamboLiberal]

13. And cruisers n/t

[Thothmes]

14. Only the heavies.

[Posteritatis]

15. Of which, to be fair, there were a hell of a lot

The US navy now, in terms of hull count (and, hell, possibly tonnage too), might as well be the Mongolian navy compared to what it was by 1945.

[Thothmes]

18. True, there were well over 2,000 ships in the fleet at the end

of WWII. However, the current Navy is almost as large as the combined navies of the rest of the planet.

[RamboLiberal]

11. One of the Leatherneck Forum Members has an interesting post

Overshadowed in history by Marines who fought World War II's
Pacific island battles, fewer than 6,000 Marines participated
in the Atlantic, North African and European campaigns.

Before World War II, Marines served in various European and
North African embassies as attaches. However, that role
changed with the outbreak of hostilities between the United States
and the Axis powers in 1941.

The first Marine unit of combat troops to serve on land in the
Atlantic theater was the 1st Marine Provisional Brigade. More
than 4,000 Marines commanded by Brigadier General John
Marston arrived in Reykjavik, Iceland, in July 1941. The Marines
augmented the British forces already in place to prevent Iceland
from falling to the Germans. Iceland was strategically located
for air and naval control of the North Atlantic lifeline between the
British Isles and North America.

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Marines assigned under
Marston received orders to leave Iceland. They began
departing on Jan. 31, 1942, and were completely gone by March
9, 1942.

Masters of amphibious warfare tactics, Marines served as
planners for the North African, Mediterranean and Normandy
invasions. The brief and violent raid by a 6,000-man Canadian
and British commando force on the French port city of Dieppe
on Aug. 19, 1942, was planned in part by Marine Brigadier
General Harold D. Campbell, the Marine Corps advisor to the
British Staff of Combined Operations. He was awarded a Legion
of Merit for his expertise in developing techniques for
large-scale amphibious operations against heavily defended
beaches.

http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1082

Also check out: http://www.nps.gov/archive/wapa/indepth/extcontent/usmc/pcn-190-003125-00/index.htm

http://www.nps.gov/archive/wapa/indepth/extcontent/usmc/pcn-190-003118-00/index.htm

[The Midway Rebel]

16. Semper Fi!

K