US Marine Corps

Between the World Wars
1927 3rd Marine Brigade in China

by Loren Wiseman and Greg Novak

The Marine Corps entered the "Time Between the Wars" beset by a dichotomy. On one hand, it still served as a Colonial Army which while having Regiments and Battalions, still numbered its companies consequentially through the Corps as a whole (Hence the 1st Battalion, 4th Marines had a Headquarters Company, and the 10th, 27th, and 28th (MG) Companies in 1925). The Marine Corps continued to expand, gaining additional supporting elements to the point that when the 3rd Marine Brigade was sent to China in 1927 it consisted of the following, including its own Marine Corps aviation sections:

3rd MARINE BRIGADE: China

Troop Quality: Experienced +
Morale: 10

Brigade Headquarters: with

    1 command stand
    1 car
    1 Staff Radio Truck
    2 Support Stands
    2 Supply Trucks

4th Marine Regiment
Regimental Headquarters with

    1 Command Stand
    1 Car
    1 Band Stand
    1 Support Stand
    1 Supply Truck

Service Company with 2 Support Stands and 2 Supply Trucks
1st Battalion: with
    Headquarters Company, with
      1 Command Stand
      1 Recon Infantry Stand

    25th, 26th, 27th Companies: each with

      1 Command Infantry Stand
      1 Infantry Stand

    28th Company: with
      2 MMG Stands
      1 Stokes Mortar Stand (DS)

Provisional Battalion: with

    Headquarters Company, with
      1 Command Stand
      1 Recon Infantry Stand

    88th, 89th, 90th Companies: each with

      1 Command Infantry Stand
      1 Infantry Stand

    91st Company: with

      2 MMG Stands
      1 Stokes Mortar Stand (DS)

3rd Battalion: with

    Headquarters Conpany, with
      1 Command Stand
      1 Recon Infantry Stand

    19th, 21st, and 22nd Companies: each with
      1 Command Infantry Stand
      1 Infantry Stand

    24th Company: with
      2 MMG Stands
      1 Stokes Mortar Stand (DS)

6th Marine Regiment (as 4th Regiment)

    (Company Numbers not Known)
    Regimental Headquarters
    1st Battalion
    2nd Battalion
    3rd Battalion

1st Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment: with

    Battalion Headquarters: with
      1 Command Stand
      1 FO Stand
      2 Support Stands
      2 Cars
      2 Trucks

    3 Batteries, each with

      1 75mm Gun
      1 Gun Crew (DS)
      1 Tractor

    Tank Company: with 2 FT- 17 Light Tanks
    Engineer Company: 1 command engineer stand and 2 engineer stands

Aviation

    Marine Fighter Squadron 3 (VF-3M): 2 FB-1 Fighters
    Marine Observation Squadron 5: 2 O2B-1 Observation Aircraft

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© Copyright 1992 by Greg Novak.

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