From the War for Independence to the Invasion of Iraq, the Marine Corps has been the first to enter many conflicts in an attempt to bring stability to struggling parts of the globe. Marines today are intensively trained and equipped with state-of-the-art weaponry, primarily to attack in combined land, sea, and air operations.
| Conflicts | Other Events | Inclusive Date(s) | Explanation |
| France surrendered to Germany |
June 17, 1940
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Terms of the surrender included the disarmament of French forces and the occupation of two-thirds of France by the Germans. | |
| 2nd Marine Division was organized |
February 1, 1941
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The 2nd Marine Division was officially organized by a change of designation from the 2nd Marine Brigade. | |
| Germany attacked U.S.S.R. on 2,000-mile front |
June 22, 1941
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Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa, sending his armies into Poland. The German Army, with Finnish, Romanian, Hungarian, and Italian contingents, put 3,000,000 men into the Soviet Union along a 2,000 mile front. | |
| Marines in defense of Iceland |
July 7, 1941
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1st Provisional Marine Brigade landed at Iceland. | |
| Marines were deployed from China |
November 27, 1941
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4th Marines left Shanghai, marking the end of an era. | |
| Pearl Harbor Attack |
December 7, 1941
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Marines tried to fight back when Japanese attacked U.S. Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor. Marines at Tientsin and Peking were forced to surrender. | |
| Japanese defeated American garrison on Guam |
December 10, 1941
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During the two days of bombing, and in the fighting on 10 December; four marines killed and 12 wounded. The Japanese evacuated American members of the garrison to prison camps in Japan a month later. | |
| Japanese overwhelmed garrison on Wake Island |
December 23, 1941
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Japanese forces returned in strength to Wake Island. This time, they overwhelmed the U.S. forces on the island. Japanese bombers hit Rangoon, Burma. | |
| Marines were forced into Manila Bay |
December 28, 1941
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Most of 4th Marines moved from Bataan to Corregidor Island in Manila Bay. Fortress island fell on May 6, 1942. | |
| 105 marines among Americans on Bataan Death March |
April 9, 1942
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70,000 American and Fillipino captives were forced to march about 60 miles north to the prison Camp O'Donnell. American prisoners of war were beaten randomly, and denied food and water for several days. Those who fell behind were executed. | |
| First black marines |
June 1, 1942
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About 19,000 will join the Corps during World War II. | |
| 1st Marine Division landed on Guadalcanal |
August 7, 1942
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Guadalcanal became the first major American offensive of World War II, which began the U.S. Island Hopping campaign. That operation won the division its first of three World War II Presidential Unit Citations. | |
| 2nd Raider Battalion raided Makin Atoll |
August 17, 1942
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The objectives of the Makin Atoll operation were diverse: to destroy installations, take prisoners, gain intelligence on the area, and divert Japanese attention and reinforcements from Guadalcanal and Tulagi. | |
| Battle of Edson's Ridge |
September 13, 1942
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On Guadalcanal, Marines turned back Japanese attack in Battle of Edson's Ridge. | |
| 3rd Marine Division was born |
September 16, 1942
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The 3rd Marine Division was officially activated at Camp Elliott, San Diego, California. | |
| Army forces took over at Guadalcanal |
December 9, 1942
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Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Alexander Vandegrift turned over command of Guadalcanal to U.S. Army. | |
| Soviets gained momentum |
January 18, 1943
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Soviets cracked the German siege of Leningrad, followed two weeks later by German surrender. | |
| Women Marine Corps birthday |
February 13, 1943
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Woman's Reserve program was announced. | |
| 4th Raider Battalion landed on New Georgia |
January 18, 1943
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Adm. William F. "Bull" Halsey initially focused on New Georgia, a large island located on the southern flank of the Slot about halfway up the Solomons. | |
| Russians won war's largest tank battle at Kursk |
July 13, 1943
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The Battle of Kursk was a significant battle of World War II. It marked the largest armored engagement of all time, and included the highest single-day casualty count of aerial warfare in history. | |
| U.S. Army invaded Italy |
September 3, 1943
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American 5th Army invaded Italy at Salerno. | |
| Marine Maj. Gregory "Pappy" Boyington forms "Black Sheep" squadron |
September 16, 1943
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Maj. Boyington shot down five enemy aircraft; he would total 28 during the war, the most of any marine pilot. | |
| 2nd Marine Division assaulted Betio Island of Tarawa Atoll in Central Pacific |
November 20, 1943
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Marines landed on Betio's northwest shore. The 2nd Marine Division initiated LVTs (Landing Vehicle, Tracked) as assault craft. LVTs would be effective in crossing the island's reef and manmade obstacles. | |
| Marines landed in the Marshalls |
February 1, 1944
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4th Division's 23rd and 24th Marines landed on Roi and Namur of Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshalls. | |
| D-Day at Normandy |
June 6, 1944
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Marines and U.S. Army land in Normandy which began the Allied assault on German positions in France. | |
| Battle of Saipan |
June 15, 1944
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2nd and 4th Marine divisions assault Saipan. | |
| Marine Division took on Guam / Marines landed on Tinian |
July 21 - July 24, 1944
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3rd Marine Division opened battle for Guam; 2nd and 4th Marine Divisions land on Tinian. Against suicidal resistance, the islands are won by early August. | |
| 1st Marine Division assaulted Peleliu (southeast of the Philippines) |
September 15, 1944
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Five infantry battalions of the 1st Marine Division's 1st, 5th, and 7th Marines, in LVTs lumbered across 800 yards of coral reef before landing and assaulting the jungles of Peleliu, in the Palau Island group. | |
| Gen. Douglas MacArthur returned to the Philippines |
October 21, 1944
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MacArthur's forces invaded Leyte Gulf in the Philippines, and trudged ashore with his men at the Battle of Leyte Gulf. By doing so, MacArthur fulfilled his promise to return. | |
| Marines attacked the Japanese on Iwo Jima |
February 19, 1945
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4th and 5th Marine divisions assaulted Iwo Jima, raised the American flag on Mt. Suribachi four days later. | |
| Iwo Jima |
March 26, 1945
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The battle for Iwo Jima caused a total Marine casualty count of 26,000. | |
| Marines landed on Okinawa |
April 1, 1945 (Easter)
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U.S. 10th Army, including 1st and 6th Marine divisions, landed on Okinawa. | |
| Germany surrendered unconditionally |
May 7, 1945
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Gen. Alfred Jodl, on behalf of the German High Command, signed the papers that endorsed the unconditional surrender of all German forces. | |
| Marines took Okinawa |
June 21, 1945
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Americans were victorious on Okinawa despite ruthless Japanese Kamikaze pilots. | |
| Japan given surrender ultimatum |
July 26, 1945
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President Harry S. Truman issued Potsdam Declaration calling on Japan to surrender unconditionally. | |
| Atomic Bomb |
August 6, 1945
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The B-29 "Enola Gay" dropped atomic bomb, dubbed "Fat Boy," on Hiroshima; three days later, Nagasaki also was bombed. | |
| Japanese surrendered |
August 14, 1945
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The Japanese surrendered; the formal surrender took place aboard the battleship Missouri on September 2. | |
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History of Marines-Part 2
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