Colonial warfare would continue throughout the 1920's and early 30's especially in Nicaragua, but its time was ending. It should be noted however that the campaigns in Nicaragua seasoned many a Marine officer and gave the Marine Corps as a whole experience in small unit tactics, jungle warfare, and aerial operations that proved invaluable for War in the Pacific. On the other hand, the Corps still needed a new mission to prepare itself for the next war, and it quickly found one. During the First World War, the one great attempt at amphibious warfare, the British landing at Gallipoli, had been a failure. Military thought after the war held that this proved that amphibious warfare could no longer be carried out. However, with the United States Navy looking forward to a possible war with Japan, the Marine Corps found its old role of the Advance Base Force would be needed for any campaign across the Pacific. Naval bases would need to be captured as the fleet advanced, so its new mission would be that which was held to be impossible - amphibious warfare. As a first step in this process, the Fleet Marine Force was organized in 1933 to establish as a striking force to be used by the fleet as needed. (As a byproduct of this step, individual company designations within the Marine Corps were abolished, with the companies with each regiment being given letters instead.) Building on this first step, the Marine Corps began to work on the doctrine needed to carry out its planned amphibious operation. By the time the Second World War broke out, the Marine Corps had carried out a series of amphibious landings in both the Atlantic and Pacific, gaining experience and learning what equipment would be needed for wartime conditions. By 1939, the basic landing craft design used by the United States throughout the war had been established by the Marine Corps, though opposition within the Navy Department itself prevented them from being built in the numbers needed. At the outhreak of World War II, the Fleet Marine Force was organized into two brigades, the 1st Brigade attached to the Atlantic Fleet, and the 2nd Brigade attached to the Pacific Fleet. As the United States slowly prepared for a war that its populace hoped to avoid, the Marine Corps organized a new unit to reflect the defensive minded conditions of the times, the Defense Battalion. These units, of which seven were proposed in 1939, were precisely what they claimed to be, static units for the defense of a fixed site. The weapons picked for use were the 5"/51 gun, the standard secondary weapon on the older US battleships, and 3"/23 AA gun, which was found on most of the older US cruisers. Both weapons were approaching obsolescence, but could be had in quantity and were weapons that the Marine Corps ships detachments had long manned as part of their seaboard duties. Finding experienced crews for these weapons would not be a problem for the Marine Corps. Though a official TO&E was set up for the Defence Battalion, the size of their final destination determined exactly what final TO&E would be. 1940-41 MARINE DEFENSE BATTALION Troop Quality: Experienced Morale: 9 Headquarters and Service Battery: with 1 command stand 1 staff radio stand 2 support stands 2 Medium Supply Trucks Coastal Defense Battery: with 1 command stand 1 5"L51 Gun (Fixed) 1 gun crew stand (DS) 3 Antiaircrqft Batteries: each with 1 command stand 1 3" L21 AA Gun (Fixed) 1 gun crew stand (DS) Detection Battery: with 2 support stands 1 Sound Locator/Radar Set 2 Searchlights Antiaircraft Machine Gun Battery: with 1 command stand 8 AA Machine Gun Stands (DS) Beach Defense Machine Gun Battery: with 1 command stand 8 MMG Stands Notes 1. This organization was never fully met by any serving battalion. Detachments were the norm, especially on smaller islands unable to support the full battalion (such as Johnson or Palmyra). On Wake Island, a full supply of weapons had been delivered, but less than half of the personnel was present when the island was attacked. 2. In keeping with Marine Corps Tradition that every Marine is first and foremost a rifleman, all gun crews were equiped and expected to serve as infantry where needed. 3. The 5" and 3" were designed to fire from fixed sites. Movement of any single weapons would take several hours, and the use of what limited transport existed within the battalion. 4. The 7th Defence Battalion was sent to Samoa with a different TO&E in March of 1941. It consisted of the following elements: 7th MARINE DEFENSE BATTALION Troop Quality: Experienced Morale: 9 Headquarters and Service Battery: with 1 command stand 1 staff radio stand 2 support stands 2 Medium Supply Trucks Coastal Defense Battery: with 1 command stand 1 6" L50 Gun (Fixed) 1 gun crew stand (DS) Antiaircraft Battery: each with 1 command stand 1 3"L21 AA Gun (Fixed) 1 gun crew stand (DS) Detection Battery: with 2 support stands 1 Sound Locator /Radar Set 2 Searchlight Infantry Company, with 1 Command Stand 3 Infantry Stands 1 Weapons Stand Infantry Cadre (For 1st Samoan Battalion) 4 Command Stands Attached to the 7th Defence Battalion was the 1st Samoan Battalion, United States Marine Corps Reserve, which consisted of the following: 1st SAMOAN BATTALION Troop Quality: Trained Morale: 8 Headquarters with 1 command stand 1 support stand 4 Infantry Conpanies, with 1 Command Stand 2 Recon infantry Stands Back to Table of Contents -- Command Post USMC Supplement To Command Post Quarterly List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1992 by Greg Novak. 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