August 15, 2021
The Banana Wars E75 Sandino's War: The Long Fight for Nicaragua
This episode highlights the peak of U.S. military intervention in Nicaragua, where the Marine Corps carried the burden of stabilizing a nation caught in continuous civil war and political breakdown. Initially sent to disarm warring factions and oversee fair elections, Marines were soon thrust into full-scale counterinsurgency against Sandino's growing rebel force.
Political divisions in Washington, exhaustion among American troops, and the unreliability of Nicaraguan government forces complicated the mission. By the early 1930s, U.S. leaders began shifting responsibility to the Nicaraguan National Guard. The last Marines left in 1933, ending a two-decade-long intervention.
Though the effort failed to deliver lasting peace, it solidified the Marine Corps' identity as a rapid-response force and shaped its doctrine on small wars and irregular combat. Lessons that would carry forward into the next generation of global conflict.
*************
Visit HistoryoftheMarineCorps.com to subscribe to our newsletter, explore episode notes and images, and see our references.
References
- Butler, S. D. (2021). War Is a Racket (1st ed.). Round Table Press.
- Ellsworth, H. A. (2014). One Hundred Eighty Landings of United States Marines, 1800–1934. Createspace Independent Pub.
- Executive Order No. 969, Defining the Duties of the United States Marine Corps, 12 November 1908.
- Executive Order No. 989, Marine Corps Officers’ Physical Fitness, 9 December 1908.
- Goldsborough, C. W. (1824). The United States Naval Chronicle. Washington: James Wilson.
- Logsheet of Historic Marine Corps Dates, Historical Branch, G-3 Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps.
- Knox, D. W. (1936). A History of the United States Navy. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons.
- Maclay, E. S. (2018). A History of American Privateers. Franklin Classics.
- N. (2021). THE USMC SMALL WARS MANUAL 1940. Nafziger.
- Nalty, B. C. (2013). The United States Marines In The War with Spain. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
- Treaty Between the United States and the Republic of Cuba Embodying the Provisions Defining Their Future Relations as Contained in the Act of Congress Approved March 2, 1901, signed 05/22/1903; General Records of the United States Government, 1778 - 2006, RG 11, National Archives.
- U.S. Department of State. Right to Protect Citizens in Foreign Countries by Landing Forces, Memorandum of the Solicitor, 5 October 1912, Third Revised Edition with Supplemental Appendix up to 1933. Washington, 1934.
Explore the battles from this episode
Find every engagement on the Bloodline interactive battle map.