marines in ww2?

Question

Why did the marine corp only fight in the pacific theatre in ww2?

Answer 1

the marine corps mission, established on 10 november 1775, was to provide a sniper, rifleman and canoneer detachment aboard us naval ships. to this day, marine officers wear a quatrefoil (embroidered cross) woven on top of their barrack's covers. this enabled snipers in the rigging to identify and protect them.
since none of our enemies ever just sat around and waited for naval ships to dock and off load their marine detachments, the marine corps quickly developed an amphibius landing doctrine.
this has always been their primary mission. to storm a beach, and establish a beachhead for the offloading of men and material.
that is why the marines, as well as the army, fought in the pacific.
the marines would secure a beachhead, and sometimes the army would follow, depending on the particular campaign.

the reason the marines did not land at normandy is because they have always been a very small force. they were tied up in the island hopping campaign in the pacific.

Answer 2

We had to leave the army some glory. Just kidding. The army is good.

On the eve of WWII there were actually fewer Marines then NY city policemen. Marines major respponsibilities were to provide security for navy ships and bases and to fight smaller counter-insurgency wars that were common in the 'interwar' period. 'Interwar' because the army gets to make the language and they were at home playng with tanks and parachutes while Marines fought wars throughout latin america and the phillipines. So the USMC was a tiny thing that had to literally explode in order to get large enough to fight the Pacific campaign of WWII. Geometrically it was a gigantic campaign. Because of the force concentrations and the fact that the Japanese couldn't retreat (little islands) and couldn't surrender( culture - bushido) the fighting was brutal. One Marine died for every two linear feet of the landing beach on Tarawa. My step father did a hot beach landing on Pelelieu and said as soon as the ramp on the landing craft when down so did five or six of his buddies. There was no way to go but forward.
Point being is that:
1) My beloved Corps was truly "a few" before WWII.
2) The pacific campaign was large and very labor intensive.
3) There is no 'dishonor' in only fighting in the pacific theater.

Semper Fi

Answer 3

That's a good question. I didn't know they only fought in the Pacific theatre. I'll check into that and get to you via email if necessary. My dad was kind of a WW2 buff and left me lots of books when he died. I'll see what I can find.
As for a guess- I'd say that it's because Japan was in the Pacific and there was a HUGE score to settle, not to mention the fact that the Pacific theatre involved more Naval operations and island- hopping. Remember, the Marines were (and maybe still are) a branch of the Navy!

Answer 4

There were no Marine combat units engaged in combat in the European Theater of Operations. All major Marine combat in WWII took place in the Pacific Theater. HOWEVER, at that time, every U.S. Navy ship had a contingent of Marines fulfilling security roles and at times serving as on-board gunners.
Therefore, while no Marine infantry units saw combat outside the Pacific, Marines DID fight in other theaters as long as there was a U.S. Navy ship present (such as action in the Atlantic against the German navy.)

Answer 5

There were a few battles fought in Europe. The Germans were actually afraid of the Marines because they were told that in order to become a Marine you had to kill a family member.

Answer 6

When you fight for islands ,you turn to the Amphibious Experts, the Marines.

Answer 7

They only fought there because the fighter and bomber planes were occupying germany.