208 TURNING THE TIDE 1943 –194 4
Following the Japanese attack on the US
naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in
December 1941, the US joined World
War II. It was clear from the start that the
US Marine Corps—established during the
American Revolution as the navy’s land-
fighting force—would be necessary to
defend and recapture a series of island
groups in the Pacific from the Japanese.Marines on board
Although the Marines were involved
in defensive campaigns early in the war,
they came into their own in August 1942,
when their special forces Raider battalions
mounted highly effective raids during
the invasion of Guadalcanal (see pp.128–129). In the island-hopping
campaigns through the Marshall and Gilbert islands in 1943 (see
pp.210–211), the Marines developed true amphibious assault capability,
landing tanks and other assault vehicles. By 1945, the Marine Corps
had expanded to six divisions, including parachute battalions and
defense garrison battalions. They took part in most major operations,
including the hard-fought battles for the Japanese islands of Iwo Jima
(see pp.250–251) and Okinawa (see pp.254–255), where fierce Japanese
resistance cost the Marines 3,440 dead and 15,487 wounded.US AMPHIBIOUS
WARFARE
In the Pacific, the campaigns were often fought over
far-flung archipelagos. As a result, the US Marine Corps
developed particular expertise in amphibious landings,
which drove the Japanese from their island strongholds.
Beach landing
Marines wade ashore, their rifles held high
above the water, at Cape Gloucester, on the
island of New Britain, Papua New Guinea, in
December 1943. The aim of the operation was
to capture a Japanese airfield that dominated
the island.SPECIALIZED LANDING CRAFT
From mid-1943, the Marines used tank landing ships, with lowerable
bow doors, to deliver tanks and other vehicles directly to beaches.
Among the vehicles they carried was the Weasel—an armored troop
carrier, which sometimes carried weapons and had tracks to prevent
it becoming bogged down in wet sand.An M29C
Weasel△ War tales
The Marine campaigns in the
Pacific sparked a lively industry
in books relating their exploits,
such as this 1961 publication.US_208-209_F_US_marines_and_amphibious_warfare.indd 208 04/03/19 10:47 AM