History of the Marine Corps

In this episode, the 4th Marines move from Olongapo to Corregidor, just as the Japanese close in on Manila. What follows is a scramble to destroy U.S. naval bases, build up beach defenses, and dig in for a siege. We'll break down the geography of Corregidor, the fractured command structure, and the brutal reality of jungle survival. As Japanese air raids intensify and supplies dwindle, Marines rel...

Kevin Sadaj served in the Marine Corps from 1989 to 1993 and participated in Operation Restore Hope. In 2011 he cofounded the Marine Somalia Veterans Association, which has over 2000 members. The association serves as a place of fellowship and support for members who served in Somalia and is a repository of the history of their experiences.   Website:  https://marinesomaliavetsassociation.home.blo...

This episode tells the full story of how the Philippines became a battleground—and how Marines found themselves at the center of the storm. From the Treaty of Paris to the first Marine killed in the Philippines, we'll break down the political missteps, flawed assumptions, and raw courage that defined those early days. Bombs fell, ships burned, and Marines fought back with machine guns, pistols, an...

The attack on Pearl Harbor lit the fuse, but Japan's offensive reached far beyond Hawaii. In this episode, we cover the Marines on Guam, who fought with almost nothing, the defenders on Johnston and Palmyra, who gave the enemy more than they expected, and the crushing defeat in the Philippines that reshaped the war. These early losses hurt, but they also hardened American resolve. For the Marines...

In this episode, we return to Wake Island. After surviving air raids and mounting an incredible defense, the Marines now face Japan's full invasion force. This is the story of wrecked planes rebuilt by hand, shore batteries lighting up destroyers, and a final, desperate stand around a single operational gun. We'll also meet the Marines who kept fighting long after they were ordered to stop, and th...

Pearl Harbor wasn't Japan's only target. In this episode, we cover the first Marine fights of World War II at Midway and Wake. From radar pings at night to shellfire by flashlight, the Marines at Midway were ready when the Japanese came. At Wake, outnumbered and outgunned, Marines and civilian contractors built defenses by hand and refused to give up ground.  ************* Visit HistoryoftheMarine...

In this episode, we cover the lead-up to one of the most infamous mornings in American history. We follow the secret build-up to Pearl Harbor, the pilots preparing for the attack, and the Marine detachments stationed across Oahu as everything changed in an instant.  ************* Visit HistoryoftheMarineCorps.com to subscribe to our newsletter, explore episode notes and images, and see our referen...

This is the second episode covering the global unraveling that led to America's full entry into World War II. After Germany invaded Poland, Europe spiraled into chaos. Hitler pushed for control of Norway to secure critical resources and the lightning-fast German invasion of France exposed the flaws in Allied assumptions and defenses. With France collapsed and Britain barely holding on, Hitler turn...

This episode marks the beginning of our World War II series. This episode breaks down how the Great Depression wrecked economies, empowered dictators, and turned public desperation into political firepower. In Germany, that meant Hitler. In Japan, it meant military rule. In Italy, Mussolini. From Manchuria to the Sudetenland to Poland, we cover the flashpoints that pulled the world into war and wh...

This episode is the final chapter in the story of Marine aviation and how it matured into one of the most advanced and reliable combat arms of the U.S. military. We'll follow the journey from the skies over Guadalcanal to carrier ops, the Korean mountains, and the jungles of Vietnam. From humble beginnings, Marine aviation became a force that could strike anywhere, anytime, with precision, speed,...

In this episode, we follow how the Marine Corps went from doubting pilots to building one of the world's deadliest air-ground teams. Aviation started as a sideshow and something most Marines didn't take seriously. But by the 1930s, Marine pilots had revolutionized air tactics. Dive-bombing, close air support, and even aerial resupply all came from this period.  ************* Visit HistoryoftheMari...

This is our third episode covering how the interwar years quietly reshaped the Marine Corps into a force built for the future. We break down how the Corps invested in more innovative training, structured leadership development, and built up aviation, artillery, and reserves from the ground up. This is where the Fleet Marine Force was born.  ************* Visit HistoryoftheMarineCorps.com to subscr...

In this episode, we follow the Marine Corps through one of its most important transitions. After WWI, Marines provided security in far-off places like China and the Caribbean while reinventing what it meant to be a Marine at home. We cover how combat lessons became doctrine, how Marines went from peacekeepers to a modern expeditionary force, and how leaders like Lejeune, Butler, Neville, Fuller, a...

When Marines returned home after World War I, they stepped into a country ready to celebrate them as heroes. Parades filled city streets, families welcomed them with open arms, and it seemed like America couldn't thank them enough. But this enthusiasm was short-lived. Within months, a sense of disillusionment set in, replacing cheers and excitement with a stark reality check on what the war had tr...

This episode closes the book on World War I with the moment Marines had been waiting for: the end. After years of brutal fighting, the armistice was real, and Marines on the Meuse were among the last to get the memo. Even as German officers crossed no-man's-land with word of peace, Americans were still taking casualties. We walk through the confusion, the celebration, and the quiet bitterness that...

This episode covers one of the Marine Corps' most overlooked, but bloodiest battles of World War I: Blanc Mont Ridge. After their success at Saint Mihiel, the 2nd Division was called up again, this time to break through heavily fortified German positions in Champagne. Lejeune fought to keep the division intact and led them into nightmarish terrain, even by WWI standards. We follow the 5th and 6th...

This episode covers how Marines rebuilt after Soissons and spearheaded a surprise assault that shattered German lines. We'll look at how tight coordination, solid intelligence, and raw grit helped the 4th Brigade seize critical ground with minimal losses.  ************* Visit HistoryoftheMarineCorps.com to subscribe to our newsletter, explore episode notes and images, and see our references. Follo...

This episode covers the Marines' brutal second day at Soissons. After the 5th Marines took heavy losses on day one, the 6th stepped up to face entrenched German divisions across open wheat fields with almost no cover. What followed was chaos: shattered units, mounting casualties, and desperate pushes just to stay alive. We track Marines like Cates, Overton, and Gulberg as they navigate the worst c...

This episode picks up after Belleau Wood, as the Marines shift from defense to offense in the Aisne-Marne Offensive. With hard-won respect from Army and Allied commanders, the 4th Marine Brigade joined the push to crush Germany's last major offensive. Planning was a mess. Units were scattered, orders came late, and Marines headed into battle with missing gear and barely any water. Still, they hit...

This episode covers the battle that etched the Marine Corps into the history books: Belleau Wood. On June 6, 1918, Marines charged across open wheat fields into German machine guns, taking horrific losses. What followed was nearly a month of brutal, close-quarters fighting through tangled forest and fortified trenches. We'll walk through the chaos, the hand-to-hand combat, the infamous gas attacks...

This episode marks the beginning of the Marine Corps' legendary role in World War I. After months of training and frustration, the 4th Marine Brigade was finally called into action. We follow them through the trenches near Verdun, into the chaos of the German Spring Offensive, and up to the doorstep of Paris. Outnumbered and outgunned, Marines held the line against Germany's elite forces. As the G...

In 1916, the Marine Corps was small, scattered, and barely on the Navy's radar for large-scale war. This episode shows how that changed. We dive into the Corps' explosive growth, the birth of its aviation wing, and the fight for combat relevance in Europe. From Parris Island tents to French trenches, we track how thousands of volunteers turned into hardened Marines. We also look at the tension bet...

This episode picks up as Germany's rapid advance slows and trenches begin to dominate the Western Front. We'll track the early battles that turned a fast war into a brutal deadlock: the Marne, the race to the sea, and the rise of trench warfare. We also look east, where Russia moved faster than anyone expected and forced Germany to divert troops. Meanwhile, new players entered the war, Italy switc...

This episode breaks down the long fuse that burned for decades before 1914. Revolutions, collapsing empires, new ideologies, and a ruthless arms race made war inevitable. We follow the political dominoes from the Revolutions of 1848 to the Balkan wars and trace how Prussia, Austria-Hungary, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire kept escalating tensions. By 1914, one shot was all it took to ignite the exp...

In our last episode, we wrapped up the story of the Marine Corps' campaign in the Philippines. This week, we shift focus to another major deployment at the turn of the 20th century: China. As the Qing Dynasty collapsed under foreign pressure and internal unrest, a violent nationalist movement rose up to push foreign influence out. What followed was a brutal multinational campaign, with Marines at...