| History of the Corps courtesy GlobalSecurity.org
As the Marine Corps attempted to modify the Fleet Marine Force
(FMF) for operations in the nuclear age, the Corps began a decade long
struggle to save the FMF and, in affect, its own existence. The Marine
Corps had peaked in strength in 1945 at nearly half a million men in
six divisions and five aircraft wings. The postwar Corps shrank to fit
federal budgets rather than adjust realistically to fit the contingency
needs of the Cold War era. Available manpower fell to 83,000 men in
1948 and dropped to just over 74,000 by the spring of 1950. About
50,000 men were assigned to the operating forces, but the FMF had only
about 30,000 men in the two skeletal divisions and aircraft wings. Fewer
than 12,000 Marines comprised FMFPac which included the 1st Division at
Camp Pendleton and the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW) at El Toro,
California. On the East Coast, the 2d Division at Camp Lejeune and the
2d MAW at Cherry Point, making up FMFLant, numbered just under 16,000
Marines. At the outbreak of the Korean War, no Marine unit of any size
was based or deployed in the Far East.
The Corps’ supporting establishment was so small and its tasks
for maintaining Marine Corps bases so extensive that many FMF troops
spent more time housekeeping than training.
The Marine Corps share of the federal budget was simply not enough to
buy adequate manpower, training, or new equipment. The main threat to
the nation was seen in inflation and unbalanced budgets rather than in
the Soviet armed forces. On the eve of the Korean War, the FMF seemed
doomed to fall to six battalion landing teams and twelve squadrons in
1950.
While Marine units were taking part in the post-war occupation
of Japan
and
North China, studies at Quantico, Va., concentrated on
attaining a "vertical envelopment" capability for the Corps through the
use of helicopters. Landing at Inchon, Korea, in September 1950,
Marines proved that the doctrine of amphibious assault was still viable
and necessary. After the recapture of Seoul, the Marines advanced to
the Chosin Reservoir only to
see the Chinese Communists enter the war.
In March, 1955, after five years of hard fighting, the last Marine
ground forces were withdrawn. More than 25,000 Marines were killed or
wounded during the Korean War.
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