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OPENING MOVES: Marines Gear Up For War
by Henry I. Shaw, Jr.
The Stage is Set
In a general sense, the Marine Corps was ready to
fight on 7 December 1941, as it has always been regardless of its size.
Nearly a third of the Corps' strength was already overseas deployed to
stations and outposts, where it shared, often with Navy and Army forces,
the challenge of being in the forefront of battle if war came. The few
thousand Marines who could realistically picture themselves at risk of
immediate attack embodied the spirit of thousands more who knew their
turn would come.
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Prewar Marine infantry battalions each rated 12 of these
Browning .30-caliber, 1917 water-cooled machine guns. The overall weight
of the gun with its tripod was 85 pounds. Each weapon had a cyclic rate
of fire of 400-520 rounds per minute. Sketch by Col James A. Donovan, USMC
(Ret), Marine Corps Art Collection
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In the immediate future, once war began, the Corps
would grow to unheralded numbers, far beyond what any prewar Marine had
imagined. The nucleus of Marines that would give strength to this vast
assemblage, almost half a million men and women by 1944, was already in
place in 1941. The generals were all veterans of World War I, Caribbean,
and China service; the officers who would lead the battalions and
regiments, squadrons and air groups in the first months of war were also
veterans of extensive foreign and expeditionary duty. Many of the
company commanders and flight leaders were products of the 1930s when
the Marine Corps wisely recruited the pick of Army ROTC honor graduates.
The pilots of all ranks, although as yet only a few hundred in number,
were skilled and capable, men who could look forward to leading
thousands of men who were in the training pipeline.
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These Quonset huts at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris
Island, South Carolina, housed the large influx of recruits at the
beginning of the war. Recruits were also billeted in barracks and tents
at the depots on both coasts until late 1945. Sketch by Vernon H. Bailey. Navy Art
Collection
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85.
Uncle Sam — Marine
Cargo Net Landing
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One of the things that have been said about the
Marines is that they are "first ashore and at the scene of action" This
means that the men who join Uncle Sam's Marine Corps must be well
trained in the duty of getting ashore quiddy. One of their drills that
teaches them to make a rapid landing from their transport employs a
cargo net slung over the ship's side. With their rifles dangling from
their shoulders the "Leathernecks" line up on the deck of the ship. Then
at a given signal they climb over the side, using the cargo net as a
rather unsteady ladder. The first men down grab opposite sides of the
net to help steady it for those who follow. For training purposes the
men land on a stationary platform or pier over which the cargo net is
hung (see picture).
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90.
Uncle Sam — Marine
Marine Sky Troops
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Not to be outdone by their Soldier cousins, the
"Soldiers of the Sea"— the United States Marines—have also
been experimenting with Parachute Troops. This new idea of landing
troops from the sky promises to be a valuable addition to Marine
training, fitting nicely into their landing party duty. Similar to the
training of Army Sky Troops, the Marines who volunteer for this service
practice jumping from various heights to become skillful in making a
sudden landing from the sky. They attempt to drop from lower and lower
heights to cut down the time it takes to reach the earth and thus to
lessen the danger of discovery by the enemy. The chute opens
automatically. There is also an emergency 'chute which can be opened by
the jumper if necessary. The picture shows a detachment of jumpers being
dropped from a slow-moving Navy blimp during an initial stage of
training.
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63.
Uncle Sam —Marine
Field Radio
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The problem of field detachments of troops keeping in
touch with headquarters and bases of supplies is today largely solved by
radio. At the Marine Radio Operators School, selected marines have an
opportunity to study elementary radio theory, elementary electricity,
radio sending and receiving, typing, Naval radio procedure and field
radio sets. It qualifies them for positions of greater trust and
responsibility while in Service for Uncle Sam and fits them for good-
paying positions on the outside when their period of enlistment is
ended. In the picture two marines are operating a portable radio sending
and receiving set in the field. In this case they are keeping in touch
with headquarters aboard a transport anchored in the harbor a good many
miles away.
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29.
Uncle Sam —Marine
Shore Duty
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On shore marines live in large barracks or Service
buildings where they can be quickly mobilized for emergencies. When
stationed on shore at the Navy Yards and at Naval Stations their duties
are to protect government property from theft, injury, or fire, and to
prevent disorders of any kind. They also perform duties as infantrymen,
artillerymen, machine gunners, signal men, motor transport, and
occasionally as mounted infantry. The picture shows marines on Guard
Duty in a Navy Yard during a war emergency. At these times the
regulations are tightened and the marines have to be on the alert to
prevent suspicious-looking individuals from gaining any information that
would be harmful to Uncle Sam's interest.
Save to get all these picture cards showing Uncle
Sam's soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen and civilians in training for
National Defense.
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GUM, INC., Phila., Pa. Printed in U. S. A., 1941
Popular bubblegum cards printed in 1941 illustrate how
the American public viewed the Marines of the prewar period.
Collector cards
donated by LtGen William R. Maloney, USMC (Ret.)
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Dominating the whole scene of Corps mobilization and
increases in strength was a solid core of noncom missioned officers who
had shared the veteran officers' experiences and who were, in the words
of many qualified to comment, truly "the backbone of the Corps." In a
real way, these sergeants and corporals of whatever stripe were the ones
who epitomized the Marine Corps traditions of leadership and loyalty to
fellow Marines. They imbued in the men with whom they served a feeling
of what it means to be a Marine, of what if takes to be a Marine.
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Handy items in the prewar Fleet Marine Force were Cole
carts, used to carry such weapons as heavy machine guns and their
tripods, 81mm mortars and their base plates, and ammunition for all the
weapons in the infantry battalion. Sketch by Col James A. Donovan, USMC (Ret),
Marine Corps Art Collection
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Marine Corps Strength and Dispositions
30 November 1941
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Continental US. (non-FMF)
| Major Bases (5) | 14,707 |
| Posts and Stations (24) | 3,367 |
| Headquarters and Staff | 780 |
| Recruiting (4 Districts) | 847 |
| Total | 26,423 |
Continental US. (FMF)
| 1st Marine Division | 8,918 |
| 2d Marine Division (less detachments) | 7,540 |
| 2d Defense Battalion | 865 |
| 1st Marine Aircraft Wing | 1,301 |
| 2d Marine Aircraft Wing (less detachments) | 682 |
| Miscellaneous | 633 |
| Total | 19,939 |
TOTAL OF CHART: 64,641
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Overseas (non-FMF)
| Posts and Stations (43) | 10,089 |
Tactical Units
4th Marines (801)
1st Separate Battalion (725)
1st Marine Brigade (Provisional) (3,972)
| 5,498 |
| Ships' Detachments (68) | 3,793 |
| Total | 12,658 |
Overseas (FMF)
| Defense Battalions (5) | 4,399 |
| 2d Marine Division (detachments) | 489 |
| 2d Marine Aircraft Wing (detachments) | 733 |
| Total | 5,621 |
TOTAL MARINE CORPS: 65,881
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In the war that was to come, on the eve of the Pearl
Harbor attack, these Marines of all ranks had a strong identity with the
past. They were the inventors, in General Holcomb's words in his 1941
Marine Corps Birthday message, of "this high name of distinction and
soldierly repute" won for all by "those who have preceded us in the
Corps." The prewar Marines, both boot and veteran, were to add
immeasurably to the Corps' laurels and traditions in the first year of
fighting at Wake, Guam, Bataan, Corregidor, Midway, Makin, and
Guadalcanal. Throughout the course of World War II, they were the men of
"The Old Corps" whose accomplishments set the standard for all
Marines.
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