United States amphibious operations facts for kids

The United States has a long history of fighting wars from the sea. This is called amphibious warfare. It involves landing troops from ships onto enemy shores. This type of fighting started early in American history. For example, there were landings in the Bahamas during the American Revolutionary War. Later, huge landings happened in World War II. These included D-Day in Europe, battles in Africa and Italy, and constant island fights in the Pacific. For many years, both the United States Marine Corps and the United States Army trained for these kinds of battles. They learned how to fight from the sea and move into the heart of the battle.

History of Sea Landings

The first time the United States used amphibious warfare was on March 3, 1776. The Continental Marines landed on the beaches of the Bahamas. This was during the Battle of Nassau. Even during the American Civil War, United States Navy ships helped land soldiers, sailors, and Marines. They captured forts along the coast. General Robert E. Lee, a leader for the South, once said that if the Union fleet could get close, nothing could stop their landings. He noted that their powerful guns could sweep over the land.

After winning the Spanish–American War in 1898, the United States grew much larger. The Treaty of Paris meant the U.S. took control of the Philippines in the Pacific. This helped the U.S. have more influence in places like China and Korea. President William McKinley's government also added Guam and the Hawaiian Islands. These were near other U.S. islands in the Pacific, like Samoa. Congress also approved the Foraker Act, which added Puerto Rico. This was to help protect the newly independent Cuba from other countries. The U.S. also wanted to build a canal through Panama. This canal would connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Because of all this new land, the Navy had to take on many more important jobs than before 1898.

In 1900, the "General Board of the Navy" was created. Its job was to plan and suggest naval policies. It looked at the challenges the nation faced with its ships and troops overseas.

Around this time, the General Board started making plans for possible wars. These plans looked at attacks on the U.S. east coast, the Caribbean islands, or the Panama Canal. At first, the biggest threat seemed to be the British Royal Navy. This was part of War Plan Red. However, relations between the U.S. and Britain got better. So, they decided the next likely enemy would be Germany's Imperial Navy. This was a growing fleet of warships under Emperor Wilhelm II. To prepare for possible German attacks in the Caribbean or on the east coast, the U.S. made War Plan Black. Germany had also bought islands in the Pacific, like the Mariana Islands and the Caroline Islands. They even set up a naval base in China in 1900. After the Russo-Japanese War, Imperial Japan also planned to expand its power in the Pacific. The U.S. Navy needed these islands for refueling its coal-powered ships. These islands were vital links to naval bases in the Philippines and Guam. If Japan attacked, the U.S. needed a system of Pacific naval bases. This was part of War Plan Orange.

Overall, after 1900, the Navy's war plans assumed that sea attacks on the U.S. and its interests could happen in both the Pacific and the Caribbean. The fleet would have to travel thousands of miles to protect distant bases like Guam or the Philippines. The General Board believed that Marine expeditionary battalions were needed. These groups could quickly set up and defend advanced bases. The small and busy United States Army could not defend all these bases quickly enough.

Advanced Base Force

At the start of the Spanish–American War, Marines stormed the beaches of Cuba. They captured Guantánamo Bay. Meanwhile, the United States Army landed at Santiago. It was First Lieutenant Dion Williams who raised the U.S. Flag at Manila Bay in 1898. Lt. Williams later helped create the idea of modern amphibious operations. He focused on taking, preparing, and defending advanced bases. This also included the idea of scouting the area before an attack.

The Marine Corps began to understand how important it was to seize and defend targets on shore. The Marine Corps Commandant, Brigadier General William P. Biddle, sent orders to Earl H. Ellis. Ellis was a Marine Officer who had written a report about setting up advanced bases. This report was for the Advance Force Base, which later became the Fleet Marine Force. Because of this, the Advanced Base School was created in New London, Connecticut in 1910. It worked with the Advanced Base Force.

Fleet Marine Force

By the 1930s, the Fleet Marine Force was fully developed. It included both the United States Navy and the Marine Corps. During this time, they worked to modernize amphibious warfare. This led to the important Tentative Landing Operations Manual in 1935. This guide explained how to organize, plan, and carry out landing operations. It set up new ways to organize troops. It also led to the development of new landing crafts and tractors. The manual also stressed the importance of air and naval support for troops landing on beaches. The final part of their training was annual exercises called 'Fleet Landing Exercises' (FLEX). These were held in the Caribbean, off the California coast, and in the Hawaiian Islands. These exercises were similar to those done by Lt. Col. Earl "Pete" Ellis on Culebra in January 1914. This training was very helpful in World War II. Marines led many attacks against Japanese-held islands in the Pacific. They also helped train United States Army divisions that took part in the "island-hopping" campaign.

Amphibious Corps

During the Pacific campaign in World War II, the United States Army and Marine Corps trained new recruits. They learned how to work together in amphibious operations. The Army even created its own training center for this, called the Amphibious Training Center (ATC). The U.S. did not have enough amphibious troops. The Marine Corps also had too few members because of budget problems. Plus, the Marine Corps could not handle long campaigns on its own. A notable result of the ATC was the creation of Engineer Amphibian Brigades. These were later called Engineer Special Brigades.

The United States Navy oversaw many joint units of the Army and Marine Corps. These joint units included two amphibious corps. One was for the Pacific Fleet, and the other for the Atlantic Fleet. These units made up almost all of the U.S. amphibious forces. Only small units of the Fleet Marine Force were trained for quick amphibious raids. It became clear that the Marine Corps did not have enough troops trained for the large operations needed to win the war.

The U.S. Navy controlled two joint Army-Marine "amphibious corps." The Army and Marine Corps forces were part of these:

• Amphibious Corps, Pacific Fleet (ACPF) – This included the 3rd Infantry Division and the 2nd Marine Division.
• Amphibious Corps, Atlantic Fleet (ACAF) – This included the 1st Infantry Division, the 9th Infantry Division, and the 1st Marine Division.

By 1943, the Army closed its Amphibious Training Center. This was mainly due to disagreements between the different military branches. After this, the Marine units that were part of the Amphibious Corps, Pacific Fleet (ACPF) were put fully under the command of the Marine Corps's V Amphibious Corps (VAC). In 1957, the Marine Corps took full responsibility for all amphibious operations.