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World War I
Episode85

October 25, 2021

Forging the Fighting Fifth

Forging the Fighting Fifth
32:15
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In 1916, the Marine Corps was small, scattered, and barely on the Navy's radar for large-scale war. This episode shows how that changed. We dive into the Corps' explosive growth, the birth of its aviation wing, and the fight for combat relevance in Europe. From Parris Island tents to French trenches, we track how thousands of volunteers turned into hardened Marines. We also look at the tension between Navy leadership and the Corps over where Marines should serve, and how that tension shaped everything from battlefield assignments to post-war legacy.

References

  1. Antrim, R. P. (2016). Where the Marines Fought in France. Wentworth Press.
  2. Clark, G. B. (2015). The Fourth Marine Brigade in World War I: Battalion Histories Based on Official Documents. United States: McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers.
  3. Cowing, K. F. (2021). Dear Folks at Home: The Glorious Story of the United States Marine in France as Told By Their Letters from the Battlefield (First Edition). Houghton Mifflin.
  4. Cunningham, A. A. USMC. "Value of Aviation to the Corps." 4rine Corps Gazette, y. 5, no. 3 (Sep 1920), pp. 221-233.
  5. Curtis, L. C. T. J. (1993). History of the Sixth Machine Gun Battalion, Fourth Brigade, U.S. Marines Second Division and its participation in the Great War. (Second Edition). Brass Hat, 1993.
  6. Dyer, W. A., Catlin, A. W. (1919). "With the Help of God and a Few Marines,". United States: Doubleday, Page.
  7. Flagg, J. M. (2021). Roses and buckshot (3rd ed.). G.P. Putnam’s Sons.
  8. Gibbons, F. P. (2021). And They Thought We Wouldn’t Fight: Wounded - How it Feels to Be Shot (in First World War Centenary Prose Collection Vol. I ). IDB Productions.
  9. Marines., U. S. (2021). With the United States Marines at Paris Island Training Station: A Pictorial Souvenir. N.P., c. 2000.
  10. Roger M. Emmons. "The First Marine Aviation Force." Cross and Cockade Journal, y. 6, no. 2 (summer 1965)
  11. Tuchman, B. W. (2021). The Guns of August: The Pulitzer Prize-Winning Classic About the Outbreak of World War I by Barbara W. Tuchman (2004–08-03). Presidio Press.
  12. Wilson, H. B. (2016). An Account of the Operations of the American Navy in France During the War with Germany. United States: Bibliolife DBA of Bibilio Bazaar II LLC.

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