Advanced Base Force
Encyclopedia
The United States Marine Corps
's Advanced Base Force was a coastal and naval base defense force that was designed to set up mobile and fixed bases in the event of major landing operation
s within, and beyond, the territorial United States. Established in the beginning of the 20th century, the Advanced Base Force was the United States's first combined task force that was built on the concept of the Marine Corps's traditional role in expeditionary warfare
. The slow development of the advanced base force played a significant role in the controversy over the removal of the ships guards in 1908—1909.
Relying on the full projection capabilities of their naval counterpart, the Advanced Base Force enabled the United States Navy
to meet all the demands for its use of naval services within its own sphere of maritime operations. It also allowed independence, without the cooperation of the United States Army
for troops and military supplies, for such force may not be available. The Advanced Base Force had been concluded by the General Board that one or two regiment
s were highly adequate in defending naval bases against cruiser raids and were able to land with thirty emplaced naval guns, high-angled field artillery, machine guns, infantry, and water and land minefields.
had greatly influenced the expansion of the United States. By the time the Treaty of Paris
was ratified in 1898 the United States
had annexed
the Philippines in the western Pacific to influence foreign relations in China and Korea; primarily through the presence of the Asiatic Squadron
. The McKinley Administration included Guam
and the Hawaiian Islands
to the south Pacific insular area
s of Samoa. Also, Congress approved the Foraker Act
in the annexation of Puerto Rico
for the defense and protection of the newly independent Cuba from any possible foreign attack. The government also negotiated with Nicaragua and Columbia for the right to build an isthmian
canal
through Panama.
Due to the new, vast expansion of territory, the Navy began to assume strategic duties unimagined before 1898. In 1900, the "General Board of the Navy" was established to foresee and make recommendations on naval policy, assuming the tasks of the nation's naval expeditionary and strategic challenges.
The General Board developed some potential war plans
for possible events that may be measured if such attacks were to be aimed for the continental east coast, Antilles
of the Caribbean, or the Panama Canal
. The most dangerous, likely foe that the United States Navy faced was the British Royal Navy, and had been implemented into War Plan RED
, however, relations had improved and both already committed to a growing rapprochement
. It instead agreed that the most likely foe would be the Germany's Imperial Navy, a burgeoning force of warships that were at the disposal of Emperor Wilhelm II. In response to possible German naval invasion of the Caribbean or attacks on the east coast, the United States devised War Plan BLACK
.
To also include Germany having purchased Spain's remaining central Pacific island colonies, and the Mariana Islands
and the Caroline Islands
, and its establishment of a naval base in China in 1900. And after the Russo-Japanese War
, victorious Imperial Japan had serious plans of expanding its influence south and west in the Pacific. The United States Navy solely relied on the islands for refueling stations for the coal-powered navy ships; the lifeline to the naval bases in the Philippines and Guam. If such an attack was initiated by the Japanese, a system of Pacific naval bases were needed to be built, in order to put War Plan ORANGE
into effect.
The sum of it all, the Navy's war planning after 1900 assumed that maritime attacks on the United States and its interests were possible in both the Pacific and the Caribbean, and given the thousands of miles the fleet would have to steam to provide security to the outermost bases of Guam, the Philippines, or of the similar. The General Board was convinced that it would require hastily developed advanced bases, and it could not depend on the small and overextended United States Army to defend the bases in short order.
was formed at Annapolis and Newport
by then-Commandant of the Marine Corps
, Major General Charles Heywood
for expeditionary and advanced base training. General Heywood had been pressured by both the General Board and Secretary of the Navy, John D. Long, to create such a force that was placed on naval transport and were well-drilled and equipped for duties given at short notice to any of the territories annexed by the United States, without having to rely on the slower and demanding process of deploying the Army.
. Momentarily, two regiments, the Fixed Defense Regiment and the Mobile Defense Regiment were designated. They both are the forebears of the Marine regiments that exist today; the 1st Regiment of the Advanced Base Force subsequently became the 2nd Marine Regiment, whereas the 2nd Regiment became the 1st Marine Regiment.
An aviation detachment was established a few years before in 1911, under command of the United States's sixth naval aviator
, Lieutenant Bernard L. Smith. This detachment is not to be confused with the much later "permanent" Aviation Company, which was under command of the United States's fifth (and Marine Corps's 'first') naval aviator, Alfred A. Cunningham.
, was formed at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. The Fixed Defense Regiment was the forerunner of the Marine Defense Battalions
that were responsible for coastal defense of various naval bases throughout the Pacific during World War II
.
On 3 January 1914, the Fixed Defense Regiment at Culebra Island, along with the Mobile Defense Force, formed the Advanced Base Force Brigade, under the command of Colonel George Barnett
, who previously commanded the Marine Barracks at the Philadelphia Yard and the Advanced Base School. By 18 February 1914, it was redesignated as the 1st Regiment, Advance Base Brigade. For the next two months, the regiment operated onboard ship off New Orleans and Algiers, Louisiana
.
In 1915, The regiment
consisted of:
The Aviation Company was established by Alfred A. Cunningham at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 26 February 1917. The company's strength consisted of ten officers and forty men for billets as aviators and as staff personnel. The Advanced Base Force's aviation company became the first permanent aviation element
in the Marine Corps.
, from the expeditionary battalions that were stationed abroad the Mexican territorial waters; Commandant Biddle assigned Lieutenant Colonel John A. Lejeune
as the commanding officer. The regiment was composed of four rifle companies, a machine gun company, and a field gun battery. These composed into mobile infantry/artillery battalion landing forces, the predecessors to the Marine Regimental (RLT) and Battalion Landing Teams (BLT) that performed numerous landing operation
s from the Pacific Theatre
of World War II
, Korean War
, Vietnam War
, to the latter years.
Between 2–3 January 1914, the Mobile Defense Regiment sailed aboard the USS Prairie and rendezvoused with the Fixed Base Regiment at Culebra Island, forming the "first" operational advanced base force brigade, the Advanced Base Force Brigade.
, who was serving in the Office of Naval Intelligence
, wrote an extensive thesis in 1902 stressing that America's safety rested on the Navy's ability to coal its vessels, if in time of war. He endorsed that any war the United States will enter in the future will first be conceived through a "naval war". Dion, however, differentiated between fixed and mobile defense forces. He announced that the fixed defense force should be a permanent regiment of 1,312 Marines to man artillery and establish necessary minefields and barriers; the mobile defense force should be a regiment of two infantry battalions and one field artillery
battery
, which could be formed quickly from Marine naval base detachments. He urged stockpiling equipment and weapons, assigning transport permanently to the force, and holding annual maneuvers.
The summer of 1902, the Secretary of the Navy William H. Moody ordered the advanced base force battalion to be prepared for an upcoming fleet exercises during the winter in the Caribbean Islands. This exercise has proven to the Marine Corps the necessity of naval gun emplacement and setting up base defenses. Also, the expeditionary battalion that was stationed in Cavite, Philippines had already been exercising in Subic Bay
and had employed eight heavy guns at the bay's entrance. Even though the battalion in the Philippines were not of the advanced base force concept; it was marking the new idealism for the Marine Corps.
The first advanced base exercises had taken place on Culebra, Puerto Rico
in 1903, proving the General Board how well the Marines can perform the ideals and concepts that were conceived. It opened many new perspectives for the future of the Marines; and it sparked the harsh beginning of interservice rivalry
. The captain of the USS Panther
demanded that the Marines perform their same initial duties, ship security and a provost marshal
by acting as a deterrence tool against mutiny, if any. This unencouraged act forcibly neglected the advanced base force battalion's training schedule and defense planning. Even ashore the naval officers had little understanding of the problems of moving heavy weaponry and equipment across broken terrain, the advanced base force languished by 1903 due to the large number east coast Marines were deployed to Panama and Cuba. Only then, the Marines in the Philippines were effected by the General Board's the advanced base force concept.
emplaced forty-four heavy guns in a ten-week period due to the Eight-eight fleet
war scare with Japan in 1907, which convinced the Navy Department that it should organize the matériel
for an advanced base force to be available in the Philippines and one that is well-prepared and trained in Philadelphia, PA. The Marine Corps at that time recorded a strength increase of two thousand men since 1903, the General Board considered it a favorable quota to proceed in the organizing a "permanent" advanced base force; thus making further cooperation with the Army unnecessary.
The General Board in 1909 reviewed the scant progress since 1900 and concluded that neither the Navy Department nor the Marine Corps had done much to make the advanced base force a reality. Commandant George F. Elliott
and his staff were criticized by the Navy officers for not carrying out Charles Heywood's (the previous Commandant) agreements. Admiral George Dewey
reviewed disappointment and Navy Commander
William F. Fullam
even denounced Elliott for failure to use additional Marines for expeditionary duty, which was the only hope to naval reformers in creating the advanced base force.
Many several factors helped renew the interests in the advanced base force. The most significant factor was the appointment of the new Secretary of the Navy, George von L. Meyer, in 1909, who created the Naval Aide system. Meyer's aides were four line officers with direct responsibilities for policy in four functional areas: operations, inspections, personnel, and matériel. To conclude the success, the Secretary Meyer appointed Bradley A. Fiske (Aide for Operations) and William Fullam (Aide for Inspections), the Marine Corps's own rival and nemesis, to staff these posts. The aides and the General Board improved policy matters and were very influential in behalf of war preparedness and establishing a balanced naval fleet. The Aide for Operations subsequently became the tutelage title of "Chief of Naval Operations
". Another factor was the increased of men available for advanced base training due to the conflicts of Nicaraguan Expedition of 1912 and the Veracruz landing in 1914.
Importantly, Colonel William P. Biddle
replaced General Elliott as the Commandant of the Marine Corps, who in turn approved three important reforms that strengthened the Corp's ability to respond to advanced base missions; one of which, was the establishment of an assistant
to the Commandant. The Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps was responsible for the military training and preparedness of the Marines. Lieutenant Colonel Eli K. Cole became the first assistant to the Commandant. Secondly, the creation of permanent expeditionary companies to each Marine Barracks. And third and last, the institution of mandatory three months' recruit training
. In addition, Biddle continued Elliott's policy of assigning a few Marine officers to Navy and Army advanced officer schools for further training in large unit maneuvers, artillery, communications, and contingency planning.
, sent Commandant Biddle a direct order to take custody of the advanced base materials and take the necessary steps to instruct the officers and enlisted in the use of the materials. Assessing the experiences learned to 1911, a Marine officer by the name of Major Henry C. Davis argued that the advanced base force was the Corps's "true" mission and is should be embraced as such. By next summer, the Advanced Base School was transferred to the Philadelphia Navy Yard.
Two new revolutions to the Marine Corps also helped established the legitimacy of the Advanced Base Force; the first was the formation of the Marine Corps Association
(MCA) and the "Marine Corps Gazette
", founded by John A. Lejeune
in 1911, and second, the new innovative avenues of Marine/Navy Aviation
. The Marine Corps's first aviator, Lieutenant Alfred A. Cunningham, saw a role for aircraft in the advanced base force. Joined at Annapolis by Lieutenant Bernard L. Smith, the Marine Corps's second aviator, both learned to fly planes from civilian instructors; which both later reported to the Advanced Base Force in 1913, to create an aviation section within the force.
June 1913, the Advanced Base Force brigade was formed, composed of two permanently organized regiments, the fixed defense and mobile defense regiments. Each regiment was tailored to its specific part in the advance base force concept. At the same time, numerical designations for companies were adopted to alleviate the problem of having more than one company A, for example, in any one of the expeditionary force.
Despite the efforts in the creation of the Advanced Base School, too much energy had been spent on academic arguments over the advance base concept; it was time to fully test the concept in fleet maneuvers. By December 1913, the Marine Corps had done more to make the advanced base force a reality in one year than it had in the last twelve years.
By 1914, the advanced base force would utilize reconnaissance
seaplanes for the force. The fortunes of Marine aviation from its infancy were associated with the advanced base operations.
In July 1914, a Marine Colonel, Joseph Pendleton, encamped his Marines onto the fairgrounds in Balboa Park in San Diego, CA. On 19 December 1914, he established the Marine Barracks to house the advanced base/expeditionary forces. However, the status of a permanent base was debated in the federal government.
During the time the Panama-Pacific Exposition opened in July 1915, the Marine Corps received enough money to develop its new bases on the west coast
, in San Diego, CA; and a similar training base, Marine Corps Base Quantico
, was formed on the East Coast
. Also, the funding provide the necessary materials to establish an aviation company of ten officers and forty men, which subsequently grew larger in proportions shortly after, due to the reorganization in increasing personnel strength that was ordered through the General Board and the Navy Department.
After George Barnett
became Commandant, HQMC transferred the Advanced Base School [again] to Newport, Rhode Island
, adding to the Navy War College curriculum. This move unbeknownst became the fulcrum of the advanced base force's successful future. The earliest scholars and missionaries of the Navy War College were Dion Williams
, Eli K. Cole
, John H. Russell, and Robert H. Dunlap
, all who pioneered the advanced base force concept since the very beginning.
A brilliant and well-decorated Marine intelligence officer
, Lieutenant Colonel Earl H. Ellis, a fellow patron of the Navy War College during 1912—1913, was influenced by the advanced base operations concept. In his tenure as a student, and later as an instructor, he scholarized and instrumented war plans and procedures that became vital to the success of the United State's Pacific island-hopping campaign that would occur 25-years later in World War II
. He also plotted accurate charts, based on his ability in hydrographic survey
ing and topography; pointing that seizing a well-defended island rested upon the integral advanced base force, and that the Marine Corps's future fully relied upon of the advanced base force, for both defense and assault. Ellis even impressed John A. Lejeune
of his brilliance, who soon became his patron as well as a coadvocate of the advanced base force concept.
Ellis participated in drafting war plans against Japan that later became the vital major thesis on which the Pacific Theatre during the World War II
was based on. Ellis covertly spied on the Japanese, disguised as a civilian seeking business interest in Micronesia
, and surrounding nearby islands.
Also in 1915, Colonel Eli K. Cole continued his own advocacy upon the moment he was appointed as the Commandant of the Advanced Base School and the commander of the 1st Regiment (Fixed Defense), (ending his tenure as the "first" Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps
, 1911—1915), by emphasizing in the procurement, plus the necessary technical training, of new weapons and equipment.
Next to serve as the next assistant to Commandant Barnett
was Colonel John A. Lejeune
. During his tenure of 1915—1917, he spoke for the Commandant, stressing the missions of the Advanced Base Force. He argued that the Marine Corps's organization needed reconstructing, urging that the Marine Corps as a "whole", not just 'particular' regiments assigned to advanced base duty; this reorganization should be the Marine Corps's primary function to the United States's naval services. Col. Lejeune even supported the article printed in the Marine Corps Gazette by John H. Russell, who has drafted one of the earliest advanced base force studies.
The expeditionary duties
in the Caribbean had been one of the main causes that conflicted in the formation of a legitimate advanced base force that could be retained permanently, to serve abroad the navy bases. While the conflicts were arising in Europe, the German and Austrian armies against the coalition of Great Britain
, France
, and Russia
since August 1914. Nevertheless, the battles of World War I
in 1917—1919 would prove and test the Marine Corps new creed of maritime combat. From 1900 through 1916, much has changed to evolve the old principle of "ship-only" duty of security guards, and the occasional landing force participants. Insomuch, the "advanced base force concept" had emplaced itself as the father of modern-amphibious warfare
, another concept that would revolutionize the Marine Corps in years to follow.
when the late-President of Mexico
Francisco Madero was executed by Victoriano Huerta
's Porfirista military
conspirators on 22 February 1913.
The aviation company with the Advanced Base Force, however, missed its first chance at expeditionary duty during the 'Veracruz, Mexico' landing in April 1914 because it had not yet discovered a way to get its two aircraft, both seaplanes, to the objective area in flying condition.
by the Headquarters Marine Corps
(HQMC) in April 1910. The General Board asked the Secretary of the Navy, George Meyer
, to order the newly appointed-Commandant of the Marine Corps
, Colonel William P. Biddle
, to assume responsibilities for the advanced base equipment assembled at Philadelphia, PA and Subic Bay, Philippines. More or less, the Commandant was in charge of ensuring that all the officers and enlisted were adequately trained and embedded in the formal study of the advanced base force. The Marines themselves found the training more demanding than they encountered before. Marines had in the past were restricted only to sea duty, the advanced base concept opened new revolutionary methods never thought before in the United States's naval history. Labored by day and studying by night, the regiment's officers trained their men to assemble and aim the melange of 3-inch and 5 inches (127 mm) naval guns, army field artillery
, mine
s, searchlights, and automatic weapons.
By March 1910, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy Beekman Winthrop
in lieu sent the order to the Commandant. The school assembled a handful of officers and men to begin the formal study of advanced base defenses. The next summer, the school was moved to the Philadelphia Navy Yard in order to work more closely with the actual equipment that were to be used by the Advanced Base Force. However, training had little continuity, mostly due to the expeditionary duty that took place in the Caribbean.
, landed on Culebra Island of Puerto Rico
on 3 January 1914, with the landing forces of the Atlantic Fleet
, and spent a week preparing coastal defenses for their upcoming "first" advanced base exercise.
The Culebra exercises became the first of many fleet landing exercises
to come over the years, consisting of the occupation and defense of the island by the advanced base force brigade. The brigade emplaced batteries of 3 inches (76.2 mm) field guns on each side of the entrance to Culebra's harbor and the laying of control mines offshore; the aggressor forces were acted by a detached Marine battalion landing force with the Atlantic Fleet
. The signal company, in addition to laying mines, provided communications (telegraph and telephone) for the brigade, established radio stations, and operated day and night visual stations. The engineers assisted the fixed gun companies in the preparation of gun emplacements, built docks, and established machine gun positions on certain parts of the harbor shore line. The 1st 3-inch battery emplaced 4.7 inches (119.4 mm) guns in permanent positions, holding its 3 inches (76.2 mm) field pieces in reserve.
However, they found many discrepancies during the off-loading of equipment; mainly the landing craft
s, both experimental lighters
and ships boats, were almost to the point of being unsuitable. Once ashore, they discovered shortages of engineering tools and transportation, even with the use of the portable Decauville
portable track system. Nonetheless, the Marines moved into position, manning the guns, its infantry entrenched. A counterattack force hid in the hills as the "attacking" force conducted simulated raids by cruiser
s and large beach landing teams.
The Chief umpire, Rear Admiral William S. Sims, and the Navy observers (mostly from the Navy War College) offered recommendations to the Marine artillery crew in different naval gunfire
techniques. They thought that the Marines shouldn't engage the "enemy" warships in an artillery duel, risking exposure; they agreed instead that high-angle artillery and flat-trajectory naval gunfire would make the fixed defenses the absolute choice in engagements. RAdm Sims concluded that the Marines, making up the "mock" landing force of 1,200 sailors and Marines, could not breach the island's defenses. However, amidst the smoke and the barrage of blanks, and an array of searchlights scanning the beaches, the Advanced Base Force successfully defended Culebra. The Navy umpires officially agreed that the Marine Corps had finally refined the advanced base concepts and able to organize the operational units required by the General Board's war plans.
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
's Advanced Base Force was a coastal and naval base defense force that was designed to set up mobile and fixed bases in the event of major landing operation
Landing operation
A landing operation is a military action aimed at a bringing the landing force usually via landing craft to a shore or to land with the purpose of power projection ashore by forces coming usually from ships and also aircraft and able to fight....
s within, and beyond, the territorial United States. Established in the beginning of the 20th century, the Advanced Base Force was the United States's first combined task force that was built on the concept of the Marine Corps's traditional role in expeditionary warfare
Expeditionary warfare
Expeditionary warfare is used to describe the organization of a state's military to fight abroad, especially when deployed to fight away from its established bases at home or abroad. Expeditionary forces were in part the antecedent of the modern concept of Rapid Deployment Forces...
. The slow development of the advanced base force played a significant role in the controversy over the removal of the ships guards in 1908—1909.
Relying on the full projection capabilities of their naval counterpart, the Advanced Base Force enabled the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
to meet all the demands for its use of naval services within its own sphere of maritime operations. It also allowed independence, without the cooperation of the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
for troops and military supplies, for such force may not be available. The Advanced Base Force had been concluded by the General Board that one or two regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
s were highly adequate in defending naval bases against cruiser raids and were able to land with thirty emplaced naval guns, high-angled field artillery, machine guns, infantry, and water and land minefields.
Background
Before the creation of the Advanced Base Force, the victory over Spain in the Spanish-American WarSpanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
had greatly influenced the expansion of the United States. By the time the Treaty of Paris
Treaty of Paris (1898)
The Treaty of Paris of 1898 was signed on December 10, 1898, at the end of the Spanish-American War, and came into effect on April 11, 1899, when the ratifications were exchanged....
was ratified in 1898 the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
had annexed
Annexation
Annexation is the de jure incorporation of some territory into another geo-political entity . Usually, it is implied that the territory and population being annexed is the smaller, more peripheral, and weaker of the two merging entities, barring physical size...
the Philippines in the western Pacific to influence foreign relations in China and Korea; primarily through the presence of the Asiatic Squadron
Asiatic Squadron
The Asiatic Squadron was a squadron of United States Navy warships stationed in East Asia during the latter half of the 19th century, it was created in 1868 when the East India Squadron was disbanded...
. The McKinley Administration included Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
and the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
to the south Pacific insular area
Insular area
An insular area is a United States territory, that is neither a part of one of the fifty U.S. states nor the District of Columbia, the federal district of the United States...
s of Samoa. Also, Congress approved the Foraker Act
Foraker Act
The Foraker Act,officially the Organic Act of 1900, is a United States federal law that established civilian government on the island of Puerto Rico, which had been newly acquired by the United States as a result of the Spanish–American War. Section VII of the Foraker Act also established Puerto...
in the annexation of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
for the defense and protection of the newly independent Cuba from any possible foreign attack. The government also negotiated with Nicaragua and Columbia for the right to build an isthmian
Isthmus
An isthmus is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas usually with waterforms on either side.Canals are often built through isthmuses where they may be particularly advantageous to create a shortcut for marine transportation...
canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
through Panama.
Due to the new, vast expansion of territory, the Navy began to assume strategic duties unimagined before 1898. In 1900, the "General Board of the Navy" was established to foresee and make recommendations on naval policy, assuming the tasks of the nation's naval expeditionary and strategic challenges.
The General Board developed some potential war plans
United States Color-coded War Plans
During the 1920s and 1930s, the United States military Joint Army and Navy Board developed a number of color-coded war plans to outline potential U.S. strategies for a variety of hypothetical war scenarios...
for possible events that may be measured if such attacks were to be aimed for the continental east coast, Antilles
Antilles
The Antilles islands form the greater part of the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea. The Antilles are divided into two major groups: the "Greater Antilles" to the north and west, including the larger islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola , and Puerto Rico; and the smaller "Lesser Antilles" on the...
of the Caribbean, or the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
. The most dangerous, likely foe that the United States Navy faced was the British Royal Navy, and had been implemented into War Plan RED
War Plan Red
Joint Army and Navy Basic War Plan Red, also known as the Atlantic Strategic War Plan, was a plan for the United States to make war with the British Empire . It was developed by the United States Army following the 1927 Geneva Naval Conference; and approved in May 1930 by the Secretary of War and...
, however, relations had improved and both already committed to a growing rapprochement
Rapprochement
In international relations, a rapprochement, which comes from the French word rapprocher , is a re-establishment of cordial relations, as between two countries...
. It instead agreed that the most likely foe would be the Germany's Imperial Navy, a burgeoning force of warships that were at the disposal of Emperor Wilhelm II. In response to possible German naval invasion of the Caribbean or attacks on the east coast, the United States devised War Plan BLACK
War Plan Black
One of the Rainbow Plans, War Plan Black was the name of an American military plan to fight Germany in the early 20th century. The best-known version of Black was conceived as a contingency plan during World War I in case France fell and the Germans attempted to seize French possessions in the...
.
To also include Germany having purchased Spain's remaining central Pacific island colonies, and the Mariana Islands
Mariana Islands
The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...
and the Caroline Islands
Caroline Islands
The Caroline Islands are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia in the eastern part of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end...
, and its establishment of a naval base in China in 1900. And after the Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
, victorious Imperial Japan had serious plans of expanding its influence south and west in the Pacific. The United States Navy solely relied on the islands for refueling stations for the coal-powered navy ships; the lifeline to the naval bases in the Philippines and Guam. If such an attack was initiated by the Japanese, a system of Pacific naval bases were needed to be built, in order to put War Plan ORANGE
War Plan Orange
War Plan Orange refers to a series of United States Joint Army and Navy Board war plans for dealing with a possible war with Japan during the years between the First and Second World Wars....
into effect.
The sum of it all, the Navy's war planning after 1900 assumed that maritime attacks on the United States and its interests were possible in both the Pacific and the Caribbean, and given the thousands of miles the fleet would have to steam to provide security to the outermost bases of Guam, the Philippines, or of the similar. The General Board was convinced that it would require hastily developed advanced bases, and it could not depend on the small and overextended United States Army to defend the bases in short order.
Definitive history
In late 1901, a four-company battalionBattalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
was formed at Annapolis and Newport
Newport
Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
by then-Commandant of the Marine Corps
Commandant of the Marine Corps
The Commandant of the Marine Corps is normally the highest ranking officer in the United States Marine Corps and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff...
, Major General Charles Heywood
Charles Heywood
Major General Charles Heywood was the ninth Commandant of the Marine Corps. He served as an officer for over 45 years and was the first Marine to reach the rank of major general...
for expeditionary and advanced base training. General Heywood had been pressured by both the General Board and Secretary of the Navy, John D. Long, to create such a force that was placed on naval transport and were well-drilled and equipped for duties given at short notice to any of the territories annexed by the United States, without having to rely on the slower and demanding process of deploying the Army.
Organization
The Advanced Base Force was "officially" created on 23 December 1913 by Commandant William P. BiddleWilliam P. Biddle
Major General William Phillips Biddle was the 11th Commandant of the United States Marine Corps.-Biography:...
. Momentarily, two regiments, the Fixed Defense Regiment and the Mobile Defense Regiment were designated. They both are the forebears of the Marine regiments that exist today; the 1st Regiment of the Advanced Base Force subsequently became the 2nd Marine Regiment, whereas the 2nd Regiment became the 1st Marine Regiment.
An aviation detachment was established a few years before in 1911, under command of the United States's sixth naval aviator
Naval Aviator
A United States Naval Aviator is a qualified pilot in the United States Navy, Marine Corps or Coast Guard.-Naming Conventions:Most Naval Aviators are Unrestricted Line Officers; however, a small number of Limited Duty Officers and Chief Warrant Officers are also trained as Naval Aviators.Until 1981...
, Lieutenant Bernard L. Smith. This detachment is not to be confused with the much later "permanent" Aviation Company, which was under command of the United States's fifth (and Marine Corps's 'first') naval aviator, Alfred A. Cunningham.
Fixed Defense Regiment
On 19 June 1913, the Fixed Defense Regiment, under command of Lieutenant Colonel Charles G. LongCharles G. Long
Major GeneralCharles Grant Long was the second Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps. He was also a recipient of the Marine Corps Brevet Medal.-Biography:...
, was formed at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. The Fixed Defense Regiment was the forerunner of the Marine Defense Battalions
Marine defense battalions
Marine defense battalions were United States Marine Corps battalions charged with coastal defense of various naval bases in the Pacific during World War II...
that were responsible for coastal defense of various naval bases throughout the Pacific during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
On 3 January 1914, the Fixed Defense Regiment at Culebra Island, along with the Mobile Defense Force, formed the Advanced Base Force Brigade, under the command of Colonel George Barnett
George Barnett
Major General George Barnett was the 12th Commandant of the United States Marine Corps. He was Commandant during the U.S. involvement in World War I. He was born in Lancaster, Wisconsin and grew up in the small town of Boscobel, Wisconsin.-Early career:Barnett entered the U.S...
, who previously commanded the Marine Barracks at the Philadelphia Yard and the Advanced Base School. By 18 February 1914, it was redesignated as the 1st Regiment, Advance Base Brigade. For the next two months, the regiment operated onboard ship off New Orleans and Algiers, Louisiana
Algiers, Louisiana
Algiers is a neighborhood within the city of New Orleans. It is the portion of Orleans Parish on the West Bank of the Mississippi River.Algiers is also known as the 15th Ward, one of the 17 Wards of New Orleans.-History:...
.
In 1915, The regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
consisted of:
- Headquarters companyHeadquarters and Service CompanyA Headquarters and Service Company is a company sized military unit, found at the battalion level and higher in the United States Marine Corps. In identifying a specific headquarters unit, it is usually referred to by its abbreviation as H&S...
- C Company, was the minelaying company trained to handle harbor defense mines.
- E Company, the signal company trained in radio, telephone, telegraph, buzzers, and visual signalling.
- F and I Companies were responsibilities for the fixed batteries to be mounted in harbor defense.
- H Company which was trained both as combat engineer company and as a heavy automatic weapons company
- a field artillery battery which manned 3 inches (76.2 mm) field piece
The Aviation Company was established by Alfred A. Cunningham at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 26 February 1917. The company's strength consisted of ten officers and forty men for billets as aviators and as staff personnel. The Advanced Base Force's aviation company became the first permanent aviation element
Aviation combat element
In the United States Marine Corps, the aviation combat element or air combat element is the air arm of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force . It provides rotary-wing, tiltrotor, and fixed-wing aircraft, support equipment, pilots, maintenance personnel, as well as command and control assets to the...
in the Marine Corps.
Mobile Defense Regiment
Commandant Biddle assembled the Mobile Defense Regiment at the Pensacola Navy YardNaval Air Station Pensacola
Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola , "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United States Navy base located next to Warrington, Florida, a community southwest of the Pensacola city limits...
, from the expeditionary battalions that were stationed abroad the Mexican territorial waters; Commandant Biddle assigned Lieutenant Colonel John A. Lejeune
John A. Lejeune
Lieutenant General John Archer Lejeune, was the 13th Commandant of the Marine Corps. Known as the "greatest of all Leathernecks" and the "Marine's Marine", he served for nearly 40 years. His service included commanding the U.S...
as the commanding officer. The regiment was composed of four rifle companies, a machine gun company, and a field gun battery. These composed into mobile infantry/artillery battalion landing forces, the predecessors to the Marine Regimental (RLT) and Battalion Landing Teams (BLT) that performed numerous landing operation
Landing operation
A landing operation is a military action aimed at a bringing the landing force usually via landing craft to a shore or to land with the purpose of power projection ashore by forces coming usually from ships and also aircraft and able to fight....
s from the Pacific Theatre
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, to the latter years.
Between 2–3 January 1914, the Mobile Defense Regiment sailed aboard the USS Prairie and rendezvoused with the Fixed Base Regiment at Culebra Island, forming the "first" operational advanced base force brigade, the Advanced Base Force Brigade.
1900–1905
A brilliant naval intelligence officer, Marine Captain Dion WilliamsDion Williams
Brigadier General Dion Williams was an officer in the United States Marine Corps. He was the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps from August 1, 1925 — July 1, 1928...
, who was serving in the Office of Naval Intelligence
Office of Naval Intelligence
The Office of Naval Intelligence was established in the United States Navy in 1882. ONI was established to "seek out and report" on the advancements in other nations' navies. Its headquarters are at the National Maritime Intelligence Center in Suitland, Maryland...
, wrote an extensive thesis in 1902 stressing that America's safety rested on the Navy's ability to coal its vessels, if in time of war. He endorsed that any war the United States will enter in the future will first be conceived through a "naval war". Dion, however, differentiated between fixed and mobile defense forces. He announced that the fixed defense force should be a permanent regiment of 1,312 Marines to man artillery and establish necessary minefields and barriers; the mobile defense force should be a regiment of two infantry battalions and one field artillery
Field artillery
Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, long range, short range and extremely long range target engagement....
battery
Artillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...
, which could be formed quickly from Marine naval base detachments. He urged stockpiling equipment and weapons, assigning transport permanently to the force, and holding annual maneuvers.
The summer of 1902, the Secretary of the Navy William H. Moody ordered the advanced base force battalion to be prepared for an upcoming fleet exercises during the winter in the Caribbean Islands. This exercise has proven to the Marine Corps the necessity of naval gun emplacement and setting up base defenses. Also, the expeditionary battalion that was stationed in Cavite, Philippines had already been exercising in Subic Bay
Subic Bay
Subic Bay is a bay forming part of Luzon Sea on the west coast of the island of Luzon in Zambales, Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay. Its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility named U.S...
and had employed eight heavy guns at the bay's entrance. Even though the battalion in the Philippines were not of the advanced base force concept; it was marking the new idealism for the Marine Corps.
The first advanced base exercises had taken place on Culebra, Puerto Rico
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Isla Culebra is an island-municipality of Puerto Rico originally called Isla Pasaje and Isla de San Ildefonso. It is located approximately east of the Puerto Rican mainland, west of St. Thomas and north of Vieques. Culebra is spread over 5 wards and Culebra Pueblo...
in 1903, proving the General Board how well the Marines can perform the ideals and concepts that were conceived. It opened many new perspectives for the future of the Marines; and it sparked the harsh beginning of interservice rivalry
Interservice rivalry
Interservice rivalry is a military term referring to rivalries that can arise between different branches of a country's armed forces, such as between a nation's land forces , naval and air forces. It also applies to the rivalries between a country's intelligence services, Central Intelligence...
. The captain of the USS Panther
USS Panther (1889)
The first USS Panther , the former SS Venezuela, was an auxiliary cruiser and naval troop transport in the United States Navy.Panther was built by William Cramp and Sons, Philadelphia, Pa. in 1889. As the SS Venezuela, a merchant steamship, it was used for several years as a cargo freighter...
demanded that the Marines perform their same initial duties, ship security and a provost marshal
Provost Marshal
The Provost Marshal is the officer in the armed forces who is in charge of the military police .There may be a Provost Marshal serving at many levels of the hierarchy and he may also be the public safety officer of a military installation, responsible for the provision of fire, gate security, and...
by acting as a deterrence tool against mutiny, if any. This unencouraged act forcibly neglected the advanced base force battalion's training schedule and defense planning. Even ashore the naval officers had little understanding of the problems of moving heavy weaponry and equipment across broken terrain, the advanced base force languished by 1903 due to the large number east coast Marines were deployed to Panama and Cuba. Only then, the Marines in the Philippines were effected by the General Board's the advanced base force concept.
1905–1910
In an exercise in 1907 at Subic Bay, a battalion commanded by Major Eli K. ColeEli K. Cole
Eli K. Cole was the first Assistant to the Commandant of the Marine Corps.-References:...
emplaced forty-four heavy guns in a ten-week period due to the Eight-eight fleet
Eight-eight fleet
The was a Japanese naval strategy formulated for the development of the Imperial Japanese Navy in the first quarter of the 20th century, which laid down that the Japanese navy should include eight first-class battleships and eight armoured cruisers or battlecruisers.-History and development:The...
war scare with Japan in 1907, which convinced the Navy Department that it should organize the matériel
Materiel
Materiel is a term used in English to refer to the equipment and supplies in military and commercial supply chain management....
for an advanced base force to be available in the Philippines and one that is well-prepared and trained in Philadelphia, PA. The Marine Corps at that time recorded a strength increase of two thousand men since 1903, the General Board considered it a favorable quota to proceed in the organizing a "permanent" advanced base force; thus making further cooperation with the Army unnecessary.
The General Board in 1909 reviewed the scant progress since 1900 and concluded that neither the Navy Department nor the Marine Corps had done much to make the advanced base force a reality. Commandant George F. Elliott
George F. Elliott
George Frank Elliott was a United States Marine Corps major general. He was the tenth Commandant of the Marine Corps between 1903 and 1910.-Biography:...
and his staff were criticized by the Navy officers for not carrying out Charles Heywood's (the previous Commandant) agreements. Admiral George Dewey
George Dewey
George Dewey was an admiral of the United States Navy. He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War...
reviewed disappointment and Navy Commander
Commander (United States)
In the United States, commander is a military rank that is also sometimes used as a military title, depending on the branch of service. It is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the military, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Naval rank:In the United States...
William F. Fullam
William Fullam
Rear Admiral William Freeland Fullam was an officer in the United States Navy during World War I.-Biography:Born in Pittsford, New York, Fullam was a member of the United States Naval Academy class of 1877...
even denounced Elliott for failure to use additional Marines for expeditionary duty, which was the only hope to naval reformers in creating the advanced base force.
- "The Executive Order Withdrawing Marines from Cruising Ships."
- "Summary of Evidence Concerning Withdrawal of Marines from Cruising Ships."
Many several factors helped renew the interests in the advanced base force. The most significant factor was the appointment of the new Secretary of the Navy, George von L. Meyer, in 1909, who created the Naval Aide system. Meyer's aides were four line officers with direct responsibilities for policy in four functional areas: operations, inspections, personnel, and matériel. To conclude the success, the Secretary Meyer appointed Bradley A. Fiske (Aide for Operations) and William Fullam (Aide for Inspections), the Marine Corps's own rival and nemesis, to staff these posts. The aides and the General Board improved policy matters and were very influential in behalf of war preparedness and establishing a balanced naval fleet. The Aide for Operations subsequently became the tutelage title of "Chief of Naval Operations
Chief of Naval Operations
The Chief of Naval Operations is a statutory office held by a four-star admiral in the United States Navy, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Navy. The office is a military adviser and deputy to the Secretary of the Navy...
". Another factor was the increased of men available for advanced base training due to the conflicts of Nicaraguan Expedition of 1912 and the Veracruz landing in 1914.
Importantly, Colonel William P. Biddle
William P. Biddle
Major General William Phillips Biddle was the 11th Commandant of the United States Marine Corps.-Biography:...
replaced General Elliott as the Commandant of the Marine Corps, who in turn approved three important reforms that strengthened the Corp's ability to respond to advanced base missions; one of which, was the establishment of an assistant
Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps
The Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps is the second highest ranking officer in the United States Marine Corps, and serves as a deputy for the Commandant of the Marine Corps...
to the Commandant. The Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps was responsible for the military training and preparedness of the Marines. Lieutenant Colonel Eli K. Cole became the first assistant to the Commandant. Secondly, the creation of permanent expeditionary companies to each Marine Barracks. And third and last, the institution of mandatory three months' recruit training
United States Marine Corps Recruit Training
United States Marine Corps Recruit Training, commonly known as "boot camp", is a program of initial training that each recruit must successfully complete in order to join the United States Marine Corps...
. In addition, Biddle continued Elliott's policy of assigning a few Marine officers to Navy and Army advanced officer schools for further training in large unit maneuvers, artillery, communications, and contingency planning.
1910–1915
In March 1910, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Beekman WinthropBeekman Winthrop
Beekman Winthrop was a New York lawyer and Governor of Puerto Rico from 1904 to 1907. He was later an Assistant Secretary of the Treasury....
, sent Commandant Biddle a direct order to take custody of the advanced base materials and take the necessary steps to instruct the officers and enlisted in the use of the materials. Assessing the experiences learned to 1911, a Marine officer by the name of Major Henry C. Davis argued that the advanced base force was the Corps's "true" mission and is should be embraced as such. By next summer, the Advanced Base School was transferred to the Philadelphia Navy Yard.
Two new revolutions to the Marine Corps also helped established the legitimacy of the Advanced Base Force; the first was the formation of the Marine Corps Association
Marine Corps Association
The Marine Corps Association is an independent association which provides a professional organization for members of the United States Marine Corps...
(MCA) and the "Marine Corps Gazette
Marine Corps Gazette
Marine Corps Gazette is a professional journal for U.S. Marines founded in 1916 at Marine Corps Base Quantico for members of the United States Marine Corps. Begun by then Col John A. Lejeune as the vehicle to launch the Marine Corps Association , the journal is known as "The Professional Journal...
", founded by John A. Lejeune
John A. Lejeune
Lieutenant General John Archer Lejeune, was the 13th Commandant of the Marine Corps. Known as the "greatest of all Leathernecks" and the "Marine's Marine", he served for nearly 40 years. His service included commanding the U.S...
in 1911, and second, the new innovative avenues of Marine/Navy Aviation
United States Marine Corps Aviation
United States Marine Corps Aviation is the air component of the United States Marine Corps. Marine aviation has a very different mission and operation than its ground counterpart, and thus, has many of its own histories, traditions, terms, and procedures....
. The Marine Corps's first aviator, Lieutenant Alfred A. Cunningham, saw a role for aircraft in the advanced base force. Joined at Annapolis by Lieutenant Bernard L. Smith, the Marine Corps's second aviator, both learned to fly planes from civilian instructors; which both later reported to the Advanced Base Force in 1913, to create an aviation section within the force.
June 1913, the Advanced Base Force brigade was formed, composed of two permanently organized regiments, the fixed defense and mobile defense regiments. Each regiment was tailored to its specific part in the advance base force concept. At the same time, numerical designations for companies were adopted to alleviate the problem of having more than one company A, for example, in any one of the expeditionary force.
Despite the efforts in the creation of the Advanced Base School, too much energy had been spent on academic arguments over the advance base concept; it was time to fully test the concept in fleet maneuvers. By December 1913, the Marine Corps had done more to make the advanced base force a reality in one year than it had in the last twelve years.
By 1914, the advanced base force would utilize reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
seaplanes for the force. The fortunes of Marine aviation from its infancy were associated with the advanced base operations.
In July 1914, a Marine Colonel, Joseph Pendleton, encamped his Marines onto the fairgrounds in Balboa Park in San Diego, CA. On 19 December 1914, he established the Marine Barracks to house the advanced base/expeditionary forces. However, the status of a permanent base was debated in the federal government.
During the time the Panama-Pacific Exposition opened in July 1915, the Marine Corps received enough money to develop its new bases on the west coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
, in San Diego, CA; and a similar training base, Marine Corps Base Quantico
Marine Corps Base Quantico
Marine Corps Base Quantico, sometimes abbreviated MCB Quantico, is a major United States Marine Corps training base located near Triangle, Virginia, covering nearly in southern Prince William County, northern Stafford County, and southeastern Fauquier County...
, was formed on the East Coast
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
. Also, the funding provide the necessary materials to establish an aviation company of ten officers and forty men, which subsequently grew larger in proportions shortly after, due to the reorganization in increasing personnel strength that was ordered through the General Board and the Navy Department.
After George Barnett
George Barnett
Major General George Barnett was the 12th Commandant of the United States Marine Corps. He was Commandant during the U.S. involvement in World War I. He was born in Lancaster, Wisconsin and grew up in the small town of Boscobel, Wisconsin.-Early career:Barnett entered the U.S...
became Commandant, HQMC transferred the Advanced Base School [again] to Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
, adding to the Navy War College curriculum. This move unbeknownst became the fulcrum of the advanced base force's successful future. The earliest scholars and missionaries of the Navy War College were Dion Williams
Dion Williams
Brigadier General Dion Williams was an officer in the United States Marine Corps. He was the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps from August 1, 1925 — July 1, 1928...
, Eli K. Cole
Eli K. Cole
Eli K. Cole was the first Assistant to the Commandant of the Marine Corps.-References:...
, John H. Russell, and Robert H. Dunlap
Robert H. Dunlap
Robert Henry Dunlap was a general in the United States Marine Corps.Born in Washington, D.C., Dunlap was appointed a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps August 8, 1898...
, all who pioneered the advanced base force concept since the very beginning.
A brilliant and well-decorated Marine intelligence officer
Intelligence officer
An intelligence officer is a person employed by an organization to collect, compile and/or analyze information which is of use to that organization...
, Lieutenant Colonel Earl H. Ellis, a fellow patron of the Navy War College during 1912—1913, was influenced by the advanced base operations concept. In his tenure as a student, and later as an instructor, he scholarized and instrumented war plans and procedures that became vital to the success of the United State's Pacific island-hopping campaign that would occur 25-years later in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He also plotted accurate charts, based on his ability in hydrographic survey
Hydrographic survey
Hydrographic survey is the science of measurement and description of features which affect maritime navigation, marine construction, dredging, offshore oil exploration/drilling and related disciplines. Strong emphasis is placed on soundings, shorelines, tides, currents, sea floor and submerged...
ing and topography; pointing that seizing a well-defended island rested upon the integral advanced base force, and that the Marine Corps's future fully relied upon of the advanced base force, for both defense and assault. Ellis even impressed John A. Lejeune
John A. Lejeune
Lieutenant General John Archer Lejeune, was the 13th Commandant of the Marine Corps. Known as the "greatest of all Leathernecks" and the "Marine's Marine", he served for nearly 40 years. His service included commanding the U.S...
of his brilliance, who soon became his patron as well as a coadvocate of the advanced base force concept.
Ellis participated in drafting war plans against Japan that later became the vital major thesis on which the Pacific Theatre during the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
was based on. Ellis covertly spied on the Japanese, disguised as a civilian seeking business interest in Micronesia
Micronesia
Micronesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It is distinct from Melanesia to the south, and Polynesia to the east. The Philippines lie to the west, and Indonesia to the southwest....
, and surrounding nearby islands.
Also in 1915, Colonel Eli K. Cole continued his own advocacy upon the moment he was appointed as the Commandant of the Advanced Base School and the commander of the 1st Regiment (Fixed Defense), (ending his tenure as the "first" Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps
Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps
The Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps is the second highest ranking officer in the United States Marine Corps, and serves as a deputy for the Commandant of the Marine Corps...
, 1911—1915), by emphasizing in the procurement, plus the necessary technical training, of new weapons and equipment.
Next to serve as the next assistant to Commandant Barnett
George Barnett
Major General George Barnett was the 12th Commandant of the United States Marine Corps. He was Commandant during the U.S. involvement in World War I. He was born in Lancaster, Wisconsin and grew up in the small town of Boscobel, Wisconsin.-Early career:Barnett entered the U.S...
was Colonel John A. Lejeune
John A. Lejeune
Lieutenant General John Archer Lejeune, was the 13th Commandant of the Marine Corps. Known as the "greatest of all Leathernecks" and the "Marine's Marine", he served for nearly 40 years. His service included commanding the U.S...
. During his tenure of 1915—1917, he spoke for the Commandant, stressing the missions of the Advanced Base Force. He argued that the Marine Corps's organization needed reconstructing, urging that the Marine Corps as a "whole", not just 'particular' regiments assigned to advanced base duty; this reorganization should be the Marine Corps's primary function to the United States's naval services. Col. Lejeune even supported the article printed in the Marine Corps Gazette by John H. Russell, who has drafted one of the earliest advanced base force studies.
The expeditionary duties
Expeditionary warfare
Expeditionary warfare is used to describe the organization of a state's military to fight abroad, especially when deployed to fight away from its established bases at home or abroad. Expeditionary forces were in part the antecedent of the modern concept of Rapid Deployment Forces...
in the Caribbean had been one of the main causes that conflicted in the formation of a legitimate advanced base force that could be retained permanently, to serve abroad the navy bases. While the conflicts were arising in Europe, the German and Austrian armies against the coalition of Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
since August 1914. Nevertheless, the battles of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in 1917—1919 would prove and test the Marine Corps new creed of maritime combat. From 1900 through 1916, much has changed to evolve the old principle of "ship-only" duty of security guards, and the occasional landing force participants. Insomuch, the "advanced base force concept" had emplaced itself as the father of modern-amphibious warfare
Amphibious warfare (United States)
The United States has a long history in amphibious warfare from the landings in the Bahamas during the American Revolutionary War, to some of the more massive examples of World War II in the European Theater of Operation on Normandy, and in Africa and Italy, as well as the constant island warfare...
, another concept that would revolutionize the Marine Corps in years to follow.
Veracruz, 1914
The Marine Corps's Advanced Base Force, and its Navy cooperatives, participated in the United States's next interventionOffensive (military)
An offensive is a military operation that seeks through aggressive projection of armed force to occupy territory, gain an objective or achieve some larger strategic, operational or tactical goal...
when the late-President of Mexico
President of Mexico
The President of the United Mexican States is the head of state and government of Mexico. Under the Constitution, the president is also the Supreme Commander of the Mexican armed forces...
Francisco Madero was executed by Victoriano Huerta
Victoriano Huerta
José Victoriano Huerta Márquez was a Mexican military officer and president of Mexico. Huerta's supporters were known as Huertistas during the Mexican Revolution...
's Porfirista military
Porfirio Díaz
José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori was a Mexican-American War volunteer and French intervention hero, an accomplished general and the President of Mexico continuously from 1876 to 1911, with the exception of a brief term in 1876 when he left Juan N...
conspirators on 22 February 1913.
The aviation company with the Advanced Base Force, however, missed its first chance at expeditionary duty during the 'Veracruz, Mexico' landing in April 1914 because it had not yet discovered a way to get its two aircraft, both seaplanes, to the objective area in flying condition.
Advanced Base School
The Advanced Base School was established at New London, ConnecticutNaval Submarine Base New London
Naval Submarine Base New London is the United States Navy's primary submarine base, the "Home of the Submarine Force", and "the Submarine Capital of the World".-History:...
by the Headquarters Marine Corps
Headquarters Marine Corps
Headquarters Marine Corps is a headquarters staff within the Department of the Navy which includes the offices of the Commandant of the Marine Corps, the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps and various staff functions...
(HQMC) in April 1910. The General Board asked the Secretary of the Navy, George Meyer
George von Lengerke Meyer
George von Lengerke Meyer was a Massachusetts businessman and politician who served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, as United States ambassador to Italy and Russia, as United States Postmaster General from 1907 to 1909 during the administration of President Theodore Roosevelt and...
, to order the newly appointed-Commandant of the Marine Corps
Commandant of the Marine Corps
The Commandant of the Marine Corps is normally the highest ranking officer in the United States Marine Corps and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff...
, Colonel William P. Biddle
William P. Biddle
Major General William Phillips Biddle was the 11th Commandant of the United States Marine Corps.-Biography:...
, to assume responsibilities for the advanced base equipment assembled at Philadelphia, PA and Subic Bay, Philippines. More or less, the Commandant was in charge of ensuring that all the officers and enlisted were adequately trained and embedded in the formal study of the advanced base force. The Marines themselves found the training more demanding than they encountered before. Marines had in the past were restricted only to sea duty, the advanced base concept opened new revolutionary methods never thought before in the United States's naval history. Labored by day and studying by night, the regiment's officers trained their men to assemble and aim the melange of 3-inch and 5 inches (127 mm) naval guns, army field artillery
Field artillery
Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, long range, short range and extremely long range target engagement....
, mine
Land mine
A land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....
s, searchlights, and automatic weapons.
By March 1910, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy Beekman Winthrop
Beekman Winthrop
Beekman Winthrop was a New York lawyer and Governor of Puerto Rico from 1904 to 1907. He was later an Assistant Secretary of the Treasury....
in lieu sent the order to the Commandant. The school assembled a handful of officers and men to begin the formal study of advanced base defenses. The next summer, the school was moved to the Philadelphia Navy Yard in order to work more closely with the actual equipment that were to be used by the Advanced Base Force. However, training had little continuity, mostly due to the expeditionary duty that took place in the Caribbean.
- "You will prepare for the care and custody of advanced base material and take necessary steps to instruct the officers and men under your command in the use of this material." —Assistant Sec. of the Navy, Beekman Winthrop to Commandant William Biddle, March 1910.
Fleet exercises
The Advanced Base Force Brigade, commanded by Colonel George BarnettGeorge Barnett
Major General George Barnett was the 12th Commandant of the United States Marine Corps. He was Commandant during the U.S. involvement in World War I. He was born in Lancaster, Wisconsin and grew up in the small town of Boscobel, Wisconsin.-Early career:Barnett entered the U.S...
, landed on Culebra Island of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
on 3 January 1914, with the landing forces of the Atlantic Fleet
United States Fleet Forces Command
The United States Fleet Forces Command is an Atlantic Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources that are under the operational control of the United States Northern Command...
, and spent a week preparing coastal defenses for their upcoming "first" advanced base exercise.
The Culebra exercises became the first of many fleet landing exercises
Fleet Landing Exercises
The Fleet Landing Exercises, or FLEX were a series of annual large-scale amphibious landings exercises conducted to test the United States Marine Corps' legitimation of the Fleet Marine Force...
to come over the years, consisting of the occupation and defense of the island by the advanced base force brigade. The brigade emplaced batteries of 3 inches (76.2 mm) field guns on each side of the entrance to Culebra's harbor and the laying of control mines offshore; the aggressor forces were acted by a detached Marine battalion landing force with the Atlantic Fleet
United States Fleet Forces Command
The United States Fleet Forces Command is an Atlantic Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources that are under the operational control of the United States Northern Command...
. The signal company, in addition to laying mines, provided communications (telegraph and telephone) for the brigade, established radio stations, and operated day and night visual stations. The engineers assisted the fixed gun companies in the preparation of gun emplacements, built docks, and established machine gun positions on certain parts of the harbor shore line. The 1st 3-inch battery emplaced 4.7 inches (119.4 mm) guns in permanent positions, holding its 3 inches (76.2 mm) field pieces in reserve.
However, they found many discrepancies during the off-loading of equipment; mainly the landing craft
Landing craft
Landing craft are boats and seagoing vessels used to convey a landing force from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. Most renowned are those used to storm the beaches of Normandy, the Mediterranean, and many Pacific islands during WWII...
s, both experimental lighters
Lighter (barge)
A lighter is a type of flat-bottomed barge used to transfer goods and passengers to and from moored ships. Lighters were traditionally unpowered and were moved and steered using long oars called "sweeps," with their motive power provided by water currents...
and ships boats, were almost to the point of being unsuitable. Once ashore, they discovered shortages of engineering tools and transportation, even with the use of the portable Decauville
Decauville
The Decauville manufacturing company was founded by Paul Decauville , a French pioneer in industrial railways. Decauville's major innovation was the use of ready-made sections of light, narrow gauge track fastened to steel sleepers; this track was portable and could be disassembled and transported...
portable track system. Nonetheless, the Marines moved into position, manning the guns, its infantry entrenched. A counterattack force hid in the hills as the "attacking" force conducted simulated raids by cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
s and large beach landing teams.
The Chief umpire, Rear Admiral William S. Sims, and the Navy observers (mostly from the Navy War College) offered recommendations to the Marine artillery crew in different naval gunfire
Naval gunfire support
Naval gunfire support is the use of naval artillery to provide fire support for amphibious assault and other troops operating within their range. NGFS is one of a number of disciplines encompassed by the term Naval Fires...
techniques. They thought that the Marines shouldn't engage the "enemy" warships in an artillery duel, risking exposure; they agreed instead that high-angle artillery and flat-trajectory naval gunfire would make the fixed defenses the absolute choice in engagements. RAdm Sims concluded that the Marines, making up the "mock" landing force of 1,200 sailors and Marines, could not breach the island's defenses. However, amidst the smoke and the barrage of blanks, and an array of searchlights scanning the beaches, the Advanced Base Force successfully defended Culebra. The Navy umpires officially agreed that the Marine Corps had finally refined the advanced base concepts and able to organize the operational units required by the General Board's war plans.
See also
- Harbor Defenses of Manila and Subic BaysHarbor Defenses of Manila and Subic BaysThe Harbor Defenses of Manila and Subic Bays were part of the Philippine Department of the United States Army prior to and during World War II....
- Organization of the United States Marine CorpsOrganization of the United States Marine CorpsThe United States Marine Corps is organized within the Department of the Navy, which is led by the Secretary of the Navy . The most senior Marine officer is the Commandant of the Marine Corps, responsible for organizing, recruiting, training, and equipping the Marine Corps so that it is ready for...