Marines are naval infantry trained and organized to carry out amphibious operations and to fight from ships. A widely used definition in the USA is ‘My Ass Rides In Naval Equipment’ and the British equivalent is ‘Muscles Are Required: Intelligence Not Essential’. In fact, Marines stress not only fitness but cunning in the conduct of operations and are the most naturally joint of the services, conducting the most complex land, sea, and air operations.

Throughout the history of naval warfare soldiers have fought on board warships, but in the 17th century many navies formed their own infantry units to carry out two roles: fighting on board ship and amphibious operations. Arguably the former was the more important role and it has only been during the 20th century that their organization as an élite spearhead for conducting landing operations has become their principal role.

It is possible to accurately identify soldiers fighting aboard warships and conducting amphibious operations in the wars fought between the Greeks and the Persians over 2, 500 years ago. In 480 bc the Athenian Themistocles ordered the formation of heavily armed sea soldiers to fight aboard his ships against the Persian invasion, while the Roman republican navy possessed its own naval infantry. In general, Marines were simply regular army troops serving aboard warships during wartime who returned to their parent service when no longer required. Their function has been significantly influenced by the technology and tactics of naval warfare at particular periods in history. Before the availability of artillery the emphasis upon close-quarter battle in naval warfare meant that seaborne soldiers were used to board, and repel, boarders. They remained important in galley warfare in the Mediterranean.

The organization and role of Marines underwent major changes in the 17th century. The Royal Marines, established by King Charles II on 28 October 1664, were the first modern regular corps of naval infantry. They were separate from the army, being administered by the Royal Navy exclusively for use with its warships. The majority of Marine regiments were still disbanded in peacetime and it was not until 1755 that a large permanent standing corps of Royal Marines was established. Other nations quickly imitated the British: the Dutch created a marine regiment in 1665; the Russians in 1705; the US Marine Corps (USMC) in 1775. In general most navies have established Marine forces.

The role of Marines in the mid-17th century changed dramatically when developments in naval gunnery meant that fleets now fought in line of battle (each ship astern of the one in front) in order to defeat the enemy with firepower. With diminished call for boarding attacks, Marines were now also employed as sharpshooters against the exposed top decks of enemy vessels or to assist in firing the ships' guns (the Royal Marine artillery was established in 1804). They also carried out a provost role to maintain order and quell mutiny on board ships.

The relationship between changes in naval warfare and the role of Marines continued in the 19th century. Marines were involved in a variety of tasks such as suppressing slavery and piracy and expeditionary operations, often in support of the main army. In the latter half of the century the development of armoured warships with crews under cover below deck removed the need for sharpshooters, so Marines now concentrated upon manning a number of specific gun turrets (always the smartest) and acting as landing parties.

In the 20th century Marines have regularly been used as élite infantry and gunners in major land campaigns. The Royal and US Marines fought on the western front in WW I, and the USMC repeated this role in the Korean, Vietnam, and Gulf wars. The employment of Marines in this fashion is seen by themselves, and many other commentators, as a misuse of their specialist amphibous capabilities. Complaints during the Second Boer War of the frittering away of Royal Marines in land actions led to them being returned to shipboard duties. While Marines still retain a provost role on board ship, and many of the tasks they undertake are no different from the army (quelling civil disorder, disaster relief, peacekeeping) their main purpose has come to be the conduct of amphibious operations.

Historically this has always been their niche, but arguably it was only in the mid-20th century, with the dominance of the assault landing (one made against defended positions), that it evolved as their primary specialist role. In previous centuries the small size of armies in relation to long coastlines meant that forces could usually land unopposed. This did not exclude the need to develop methods for conducting operations in an organized and cohesive manner (the British developed a system in the 1740s), but it did not require an organization specifically trained to carry out amphibious operations. Instead Marines were assigned to individual warships from which they could be grouped to take part in landings, but they were rarely employed as a large spearhead force.

The vast size of armies in the 20th century meant that unopposed landings were rare, and the more dangerous and risky assault landing became the dominant form of attack. The high casualties and limited success of these operations in WW I (Gallipoli and the Zeebrugge raid of 1918) discredited amphibious operations, with Marines being restricted to on-board ship duties and small landings. Only the Japanese and the USMC, looking out on an ocean of strategic islands, kept faith with the concept. While the Japanese developed a method for conducting largely unopposed night landings, the USMC developed a Tentative Landing Operations Manual, which solved the problems of the assault landings by exploiting new technology and innovative techniques, and served as the basis for all their future island assaults.

The complexity of these operations demanded a force trained and organized to carry it out with specialist equipment. This has meant that while Marines have continued to carry out many traditional duties, they have been formed into self-contained all-arms formations dedicated to amphibious operations. In the case of the USMC, it possesses more personnel (171, 300 in 1999), aircraft, and ships than many nations' entire armed forces. In the 1990s, the USMC was made the ‘lead service’ for the development of so-called ‘non-lethal’ weapons, a somewhat incongruous role, given its history. The requirement for specialist amphibious troops and the ability of seaborne troops to deploy in strength rapidly to crisis points around much of the globe means that Marines continue to play an important part in present military operations, and will probably do so for the foreseeable future. As Adm David D. Porter commented, ‘A ship without Marines is like a garment without buttons.’

Bibliography

• Bartlett, M. L., Assault from the Sea (London, 1983).
• Millett, Allan R., Semper Fidelis (New York, 1980)

— Tim Bean