Amphibious & Expeditionary Operations

1066 · 960 years ago

William of Normandy landed an invasion fleet on the English coast and won the crown at Hastings

The cross-Channel landing at Pevensey succeeded without opposition at the shoreline, but the subsequent battle reshaped English governance and remains a reference case for sea-based invasion in the pre-gunpowder era.

1203–1204 · 823 years ago

Doge Enrico Dandolo of Venice raised what is described as the first organised marine corps

Dandolo created a regiment of ten companies distributed across several ships, which took part in the conquest of Byzantium. This standing sea-going infantry formation is regarded as the earliest organised marine corps, distinct from ad hoc arming of ships' crews.

1260s · 766 years ago

Michael VIII Palaiologos recruited Tzakones and Gasmouloi as specialist marines for the rebuilt Byzantine navy

When the emperor rebuilt the Byzantine fleet he raised dedicated marine troops from Laconian settlers and men of mixed Greek-Latin descent. This continued an earlier Byzantine practice under Basil I of maintaining a separate marine regiment for the Imperial Fleet.

1281 · 745 years ago

The Mongol invasions of Japan assembled two of the largest seaborne invasion fleets of the pre-modern era

Kublai Khan's Yuan dynasty launched large combined Mongol, Chinese and Korean fleets against Japan in 1274 and 1281; both were repelled, the second scattered by a typhoon remembered in Japan as the divine wind.

1405 onward · 621 years ago

Ming dynasty treasure fleets carried thousands of marines and soldiers across the Indian Ocean under Admiral Zheng He

Seven expeditions over three decades combined diplomacy with the ability to land large armed forces at ports from Southeast Asia to East Africa, an early demonstration of sea-based expeditionary power distinct from the colonial navies that followed.

1537 · 489 years ago

Spanish King Carlos I created the oldest marine corps still in service by assigning naval infantry permanently to galley squadrons

On 27 February 1537 Charles I permanently attached the Compañías Viejas del Mar de Nápoles to the Escuadras de Galeras del Mediterráneo, also styled the Tercio de Armada. These units are the direct progenitors of the modern Spanish Navy Marines, making them the world's oldest active marine force.

1550 · 476 years ago

Republic of Venice formally titled its sea infantry Fanti da Mar

The Venetian marine regiment received its official designation as sea infantry. Venice also maintained the Oltremarini, dedicated naval expeditionary troops recruited largely from Dalmatia.

1618 · 408 years ago

Crown of Portugal founded the Terço of the Navy, the third-oldest marine corps

Portugal established a naval infantry regiment attached to its fleet, following the Spanish precedent. It ranks as the third-oldest marine corps in the world, and Portuguese marines are also listed as forming in 1610 among the earliest European marine units.

1622 · 404 years ago

France founded the compagnies ordinaires de la mer under the Secretary of State of the Navy

The forerunners of the Troupes de marine were raised as land forces controlled by the naval ministry, notably for operations in French Canada. They were the fourth European marine force created, after Spain and Portugal.

1664 · 362 years ago

England established the Maritime Regiment of Foot, origin of the Royal Marines

The first English marine regiment was raised, giving the Royal Marines their founding date and making England the fourth or fifth European state to field dedicated marines. The lineage was interrupted before being permanently re-established in the eighteenth century.

1665 · 361 years ago

Johan de Witt and Admiral Michiel de Ruyter founded the Dutch Regiment de Marine

The corps was created on 10 December 1665 during the Second Anglo-Dutch War as an infantry branch of the Dutch States Navy. It was the fifth European marine unit formed, after the Spanish, Portuguese, French and English corps, and survives as the Netherlands Marine Corps.

1667 · 359 years ago

Dutch Regiment de Marine saw its first amphibious action in the Raid on the Medway

Two years after formation, the Dutch marines took part in the attack on English shipping in the Medway. It remains the first battle honour on the Korps Mariniers' colours and demonstrated the operational value of purpose-raised naval infantry.

1702 · 324 years ago

Britain raised the short-lived Marine Regiments for Sea

Marine regiments were formed for the fleet in 1702 but by 1713 had been disbanded or absorbed into the army as regiments of foot. The episode illustrates the recurring cycle of raising and dissolving marine forces before permanent establishment.

1705 · 321 years ago

Peter the Great's Russian Empire formed the Naval Infantry of the Russian Empire

On 16 November 1705, following the establishment of the Imperial Russian Navy in 1696, several regiments of marine equipage troops were designated as naval infantry. They fought both ashore and in ship detachments, founding the Russian and later Soviet naval infantry tradition.

1755 · 271 years ago

Britain established a permanent corps of marine companies under the Admiralty

After earlier marine regiments had been disbanded or absorbed by the army, a standing marine force was created for direct Admiralty service. This body has an unbroken line of descent to today's Royal Marines.

1762 · 264 years ago

Spanish marines earned Royal Household Corps status for defending the Castillo del Morro

Charles III rewarded the Infantería de Marina for its defence of the fortress at Havana with red trouser stripes marking membership of the Royal Household Corps. The distinction reflects the prestige marines had acquired within the Spanish naval establishment.

1775 · 251 years ago

Continental Congress created the Continental Marines

Formed on 10 November 1775, the corps was originally intended only to guard naval vessels during the American Revolutionary War, and was disbanded in 1783. It is the founding act claimed by the United States Marine Corps.

1822–1829 · 204 years ago

Republic of Gran Colombia raised and then disbanded a federation marine corps

Gran Colombia formed marines in 1822, drawing personnel mostly from Venezuela, and dissolved them in 1829 with the federation's collapse. The unit is an early Latin American attempt at dedicated naval infantry.

1822–1831 · 204 years ago

France restored dedicated marine artillery and infantry after Napoleonic disbandment

Napoleon had converted the Compagnies de la Mer into line infantry regiments, but marine artillery was re-created in 1822 and marine infantry in 1831. These Troupes de marine became the main overseas and colonial forces of the French military in the nineteenth century.

1827 · 199 years ago

Argentina raised its first marine infantry battalion

A single infantry battalion founded the Argentine Marine Corps, expanded in 1880 before being merged with coast artillery into a Naval Artillery Regiment. Coastal defence responsibility passed to the army in 1898, and marines reappeared as five battalions between 1935 and 1938.

1836 · 190 years ago

Republic of Texas commissioned officers for a Texas Marine Corps

Although a marine corps was proposed in the Act and Decree Establishing a Navy of November 1835, recruitment began only after acting governor James W. Robinson urged it on 14 January 1836. The corps' duties were codified in fifteen articles passed by the Texas Congress on 13 December 1836, and over 350 men eventually served.

19th century · 226 years ago

Colonial navies of Australia raised volunteer naval infantry and militia brigades

In the second half of the nineteenth century Australia's colonial navies formed volunteer naval infantry and naval militia brigades. With the creation of the Royal Australian Navy in 1911 they became the Royal Australian Naval Brigade, peaking at 2,817 men in 1915 before disbandment in 1920.

1861 · 165 years ago

Confederate Congress established the Confederate States Marine Corps

Created on 16 March 1861 as a branch of the Confederate States Navy, the corps was composed roughly 80 per cent of defectors from the US Marines. It shows how quickly marine expertise could be transferred by personnel rather than institutions.

1868 · 158 years ago

Commander Wilhelm von Tegetthoff abolished the Austrian Naval Infantry Regiment in favour of a unified Matrosencorps

As part of his naval reforms Tegetthoff dissolved the Naval Infantry Regiment and Naval Artillery Corps, noting no marines had served aboard ship for a decade. Thereafter sailors not on active warships received infantry drill and performed naval infantry duties, an alternative model to a separate marine branch.

1873 · 153 years ago

Imperial Japanese Navy created a marine corps modelled on Britain's Royal Marines

A short-lived marine corps was added to the newly established Imperial Japanese Navy using the Royal Marines as a template. Judged unsuitable in its original form, it was disbanded in 1878, with amphibious tasks later falling to army Sea-Landing Brigades.

1895 · 131 years ago

Beiyang Fleet marines attempted to retake Nanbang Fort from Japanese forces

The Qing Imperial Chinese Navy's small marine force, at most 300 strong, fought after the formal end of the First Sino-Japanese War when the fort was attacked on 25 December 1895. It fell to Japanese troops on 29 December, showing the limits of a token naval infantry establishment.

1914 · 112 years ago

Republic of China established the Republic of China Marine Corps in mainland China

Following the 1911 Revolution the new republic created a naval infantry force that became the amphibious branch of the Republic of China Navy. It later relocated with the government to Taiwan.

1914 · 112 years ago

Royal Navy formed the Royal Naval Division including a Royal Marines brigade

A shortage of ground forces for the Western Front led to a division of two sailor brigades and one Royal Marines brigade. It fought in the defence of Antwerp in late 1914 and then suffered heavy casualties at Gallipoli, an early large-scale amphibious campaign.

1915 · 111 years ago

The Gallipoli campaign showed how a contested landing could fail against a prepared defence

Allied forces landed on the Gallipoli peninsula against Ottoman positions and became pinned on the beaches for months before withdrawing, a failure that later shaped interwar thinking on specialised landing craft and fire support.

• Australian and New Zealand troops landed at what became known as Anzac Cove

1919 · 107 years ago

Estonia formed a naval infantry battalion from warship crews

The battalion was created in 1919 from the crews of Estonian surface warships and based in Tallinn. It was operational only from March to June of that year.

1921 · 105 years ago

Soviet Baltic Fleet naval infantry took part in the Kronstadt mutiny against the Soviet government

Members of the Soviet Naval Infantry, including Baltic Fleet men who had backed the Bolsheviks, joined the 1921 rising at the Kronstadt island fortress as the Russian Civil War wound down. Soviet naval infantry brigades were later formed en masse from surplus ship crews and shore-duty sailors on Stavka orders.

1932 · 94 years ago

Royal Thai Marine Corps was founded with United States Marine Corps assistance

Thailand's first marine battalion was formed in 1932 with USMC help, expanded to a regiment in 1940 and fought communist guerrillas through the 1950s and 1960s. The USMC again assisted its expansion into a brigade during the 1960s, and it has since grown to four brigades.

1932–1935 · 94 years ago

Paraguay created the three-battalion Regimiento de Infantería de Marina Riachuelo

Paraguay's marine corps existed only in limited cadre form from the late nineteenth century until the final stages of the Chaco War, when a three-battalion regiment was raised. The war provided the impetus for a substantial riverine marine force in a landlocked state.

1934 · 92 years ago

The US Marine Corps codified amphibious assault as a distinct discipline in its Tentative Manual for Landing Operations

Drafted after the creation of the Fleet Marine Force, the manual set out doctrine for naval gunfire support, ship-to-shore movement and landing craft that shaped Allied practice through the Second World War.

1936 · 90 years ago

Colombia established two marine rifle companies

The modern Colombian marine corps dates from these two companies, which later served in the 1946–58 civil conflict and provided volunteers for the Korean War. By the 1960s the force had grown to a battalion plus five independent companies.

1943 · 83 years ago

The battle for Tarawa forced a rethink of naval bombardment and landing-craft doctrine

A heavily fortified atoll proved far costlier to take than expected: coral reefs stranded landing craft short of the beach and preliminary bombardment failed to suppress defences, driving rapid development of amphibious tractors and more precise pre-landing fire support used in subsequent Pacific landings.

Early 2026 · this year

South Korea pursued a next-generation amphibious assault vehicle to replace its ageing fleet

The Marine Corps sought to modernise its ship-to-shore assault capability amid persistent tension with North Korea, part of a wider push to expand marine and amphibious forces on the peninsula.

• South Korea's defence industry competed to supply the new vehicle

2025 · 1 year ago

Nigerian Navy formally established the Nigerian Navy Marines

On 1 June 2025 Nigeria created a specialised rapid-response marine branch within its navy. It extends dedicated amphibious capability in West Africa.

Early 2025 · last year

The Philippines and the United States ran their largest ever joint amphibious landing drills under Balikatan

The annual exercise expanded in scale amid continuing tension in the South China Sea, with beach landings and coastal defence serials staged across multiple Philippine islands, including locations facing contested waters.

• The US Marine Corps' Marine Littoral Regiment took part in island-hopping serials

Mid-2025 · last year

Australia hosted the largest Talisman Sabre amphibious exercise to date

The biennial exercise brought a larger number of partner armed forces than any previous iteration, putting landing craft, amphibious vehicles and airborne elements ashore across northern Australia alongside maritime and air manoeuvres.

• The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force landed alongside US and Australian marines

Mid-2025 · last year

Japan expanded joint amphibious training between its Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade and US and Australian marines

Exercises held on Japanese and US training grounds practised island defence and retaking scenarios relevant to the Nansei island chain, reflecting Japan's build-up of an amphibious brigade modelled in part on the US Marine Corps.

Mid-2025 · last year

Indonesia continued building landing platform dock vessels through its state shipyard

PT PAL delivered further locally built amphibious ships to expand a fleet that supports both marine corps operations and disaster relief across the archipelago, reducing reliance on ageing foreign-built tank landing ships.

Late 2025 · last year

Egypt employed its two Mistral-class amphibious assault ships in a multinational exercise on its coast

The French-built ships, acquired after France redirected a cancelled Russian order, gave Egypt's navy a helicopter and landing craft capability it used alongside Gulf and Western forces in coastal manoeuvres.

Late 2025 · last year

India advanced long-stalled plans to build landing platform docks domestically

The navy moved a domestic amphibious ship programme forward after repeated tender cancellations, seeking to close a capability gap with a fleet that has relied on a single ageing landing platform dock.

2024 · 2 years ago

The US Marine Corps adjusted its Force Design modernisation after years of divesting tanks and heavy artillery

Service leaders restored some infantry and ground combat capacity that earlier cuts had removed, while continuing to field Marine Littoral Regiments built around anti-ship missiles for distributed island operations.

Late 2024 · 2 years ago

China launched the amphibious assault ship Sichuan, the first of a new class fitted with catapults

The vessel is designed to launch fixed-wing uncrewed aircraft alongside helicopters and landing craft, a step beyond the helicopter-only Type 075 ships already in service with the PLA Navy.

• The PLA Navy continued fitting out the ship after launch

Late 2024 · 2 years ago

Turkey launched a fixed-wing combat drone from the deck of its amphibious assault ship TCG Anadolu

The trial confirmed the ship's conversion from a stalled F-35B carrier into a drone carrier, operating a folding-wing uncrewed combat aircraft in place of the fighters Turkey was barred from buying.

2023 · 3 years ago

Ukrainian Marine Corps was elevated into a separate service branch of the Armed Forces

On 23 May 2023 the corps ceased to be a coastal defence element of the navy and became a distinct service branch. The change followed intensive combat use during the war with Russia.

2019 · 7 years ago

Canadian military commentators proposed a Canadian Arctic amphibious capability

From 2019 several authors in Canadian professional military journals argued for creating an Arctic amphibious force, including adapting one to three army infantry battalions as landing forces. Canada has no marine branch, so the debate concerns whether to acquire the capability at all.

2018 · 8 years ago

Japan created its first amphibious unit since post-war demilitarisation

The unit formed in 2018 was the first of its kind since Japan's demilitarisation after the Second World War. It restored an amphibious assault capability absent for over seven decades.

2016 · 10 years ago

Sri Lanka Navy established the Sri Lanka Marine Corps with US Marine training support

The corps was created in November 2016, with the first intake trained with assistance from the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit of the United States Marine Corps. It became functional when six officers and 158 sailors graduated on 27 February 2017.

2014 · 12 years ago

German Navy formed a naval infantry force at Eckernförde

Established on 1 April 2014, the unit succeeded the Naval Protection Force. It restored a dedicated German maritime infantry capability.

2012 · 14 years ago

2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment took on an amphibious light infantry role

From 2012 the battalion provided Australia's amphibious light infantry capability, though the Australian Defence Force uses no marine or naval infantry designations. Amphibious specialisation therefore rests within the army.

2011 · 15 years ago

United Arab Emirates merged its Marine Battalion into the Presidential Guard

In 2011 the UAE Marine Battalion was absorbed into the newly organised United Arab Emirates Presidential Guard. The move placed amphibious troops within an elite ground formation rather than the navy.

1993 · 33 years ago

Ukraine founded the Ukrainian Marine Corps from Soviet Naval Infantry

The corps was created in 1993 out of a former Soviet naval infantry unit and served as a coastal defence force of the Ukrainian Navy. It marked the post-Soviet redistribution of amphibious capability among successor states.

1991–1995 · 35 years ago

Croatian Navy formed naval infantry companies during the War of Independence

Island-based and Pula-based companies such as Zvir and Vanga saw action relieving the Siege of Dubrovnik and in Operation Maslenica. All were dissolved during the 2000s, and a new 160-strong naval landing infantry company was raised at Ploče in 2018 within the Navy Flotilla.

1990 · 36 years ago

Pakistan Navy re-established the Pakistan Marines at brigade strength

On 14 April 1990 the corps was revived with about 3,600 men. It has since grown to corps size with an estimated 20,000–30,000 personnel.

1982 · 44 years ago

Honduran Navy established a marine infantry battalion

At least one 600-man Batallón de Infantería de Marina was created in 1982. Comparable Salvadoran forces comprised two 600-man marine battalions and a naval commando force.

1982 · 44 years ago

The Falklands War proved that amphibious assault remained viable against a defended shore in the missile age

A British task force landed at San Carlos and marched to retake the islands from Argentina, despite losing ships to air attack, reaffirming that opposed landings could still succeed against modern anti-ship weapons when air defence held.

1979 · 47 years ago

Islamic Republic of Iran Navy expanded its marines after the Iranian Revolution

The Imperial Iranian Navy had three marine battalions at the time of the revolution; the successor force grew to 2,600 personnel in two brigades of three battalions each. They are administered by the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy Marine Command.

1979 · 47 years ago

South African Navy set up a marine corps for harbour protection

The South Africa Marine Corps was created as a sub-branch of the navy in 1979, primarily to protect harbours. It was disbanded in 1989 amid a major naval restructuring at the end of the South African Border War.

1971 · 55 years ago

Romania formed the 307th Marine Infantry Battalion for Danube Delta defence

Raised on 29 November 1971 at Babadag, the unit defended the Danube Delta and the Romanian Black Sea shore. It became a regiment and was subordinated to the Romanian Danube Flotilla in 2015.

1968 · 58 years ago

Argentina reorganised the Infantería de Marina as a separate corps within the Navy

After decades of merger with coast artillery and reversion to battalion form, Argentine marines were given distinct corps status inside the Navy in 1968. The change consolidated an institutional home for amphibious expertise.

1964 · 62 years ago

Myanmar Navy raised its first naval infantry battalion

An 800-man naval infantry battalion was formed in 1964, followed by a second in 1967. This gave Myanmar a standing amphibious and riverine infantry capability.

1962 · 64 years ago

Ecuador formed a naval infantry force of two security battalions

Established on 12 November 1962, the force is organised with one battalion in the Amazon River region and the other on the Pacific coast. It reflects the dual riverine and maritime demands on Latin American marine units.

1961 · 65 years ago

The US Navy commissioned USS Iwo Jima, the first purpose-built helicopter assault ship

The new class of ship let Marines land by helicopter over undefended ground instead of massing on fixed beaches, adding vertical envelopment to the surface landing doctrine developed in the Pacific war.

1960 · 66 years ago

Kingdom of Cambodia founded the Corps de Fusiliers-Marins Khmères

The Cambodian Marine Corps began as the naval infantry of the Royal Khmer Navy, passing to the Khmer National Navy after Lon Nol's 1970 coup. Active during the 1970–75 civil war, it was effectively disbanded by the end of the Cambodian–Vietnamese War, and a new 2,000-strong 31st Naval Infantry Brigade was created in 2007.

1954 · 72 years ago

Ngo Dinh Diem established the forerunner of the Republic of Vietnam Marine Corps

The prime minister of the State of Vietnam created the TQLC on 13 October 1954. It was disbanded with the fall of Saigon on 1 May 1975 at the end of the Vietnam War.

1950 · 76 years ago

Philippines formed the Philippine Marine Corps

Created on 7 November 1950, the corps became the country's primary force for amphibious and seaborne operations. It now numbers about 9,500 men in three manoeuvre brigades plus reconnaissance and security units.

1950 · 76 years ago

UN forces landed at Inchon far behind North Korean lines

A large tidal range and a heavily defended approach made the landing site an unlikely choice, but the operation cut North Korean supply lines and reversed the course of the war within weeks, becoming a reference case for amphibious manoeuvre.

• General Douglas MacArthur pushed the plan through scepticism from other commanders

1944 · 82 years ago

The Allies landed five divisions in Normandy in a single day, the largest amphibious invasion in history

The assault combined naval and air bombardment, airborne drops, specialised armoured landing vehicles and artificial Mulberry harbours towed across the Channel, setting the template for large combined-arms amphibious operations.