Puneet Varma (Editor)

V Amphibious Corps

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Part of
  
Inactive

Allegiance
  
United States of America

V Amphibious Corps httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

Active
  
25 August 1943 – 15 February 1946

Branch
  
United States Marine Corps

Type
  
Marine Air-Ground Task Force

Role
  
Expeditionary combat force

Engagements
  
World War II * Battle of Tarawa * Battle of Makin * Battle of Kwajalein * Battle of Eniwetok * Battle of Saipan * Battle of Tinian * Battle of Iwo Jima

Similar
  
Tenth United States Ar, XXIV Corps, Pacific Ocean Areas, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Sixth United States Ar

The V Amphibious Corps (VAC) was a formation of the United States Marine Corps which was composed of the 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine Divisions in World War II. The three divisions were the amphibious landing force for the United States Fifth Fleet and were notably involved in the battles for Tarawa, Saipan, and Iwo Jima, during the war. The V Amphibious Corps was commanded by General Holland 'Howlin Mad' Smith followed by General Harry Schmidt.

Contents

History

The V Amphibious Corps (formerly Amphibious Corps, Pacific Fleet; ACPF) was formed on 25 August 1943 at Camp Elliot, California. In September 1943, it moved to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Structure

The structure of a United States Marine Corps' amphibious corps by 1945, was broken down into four major subordinate commands with each of them having numerous sub-elements:

  • The first major element of the Corps was three reinforced Marine infantry divisions.
  • The second was the Corps artillery, which was composed of a field artillery group made of three battalions of 155mm howitzers, three battalions of 155mm guns, and an Antiaircraft Artillery Group made of three antiaircraft artillery battalions.
  • The third was the Amphibian Tractor Group, which was made up of four amphibian tractor battalions and an armored amphibian tractor battalion.
  • The fourth was the Corps Troops, which was composed of a headquarters and service battalion, administrative command, signal battalion, medical battalion, motor transport battalion, engineer battalion, reconnaissance battalion, and military police battalion.

    • Subordinate units

    The US Marine Corps and US Army commands that served under the V Amphibious Corps in World War II include:

    Marine Corps
  • 2nd Marine Division
  • 3rd Marine Division
  • 4th Marine Division
  • 5th Marine Division
  • 22nd Marine Regiment
  • Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion [formerly "Company"]
    • Army
  • XXIV Corps Artillery
  • 7th Infantry Division
  • 27th Infantry Division
  • 32nd Infantry Division

    • Corps Commanders

  • General Holland M. Smith: 25 August 1943 – 11 July 1944
  • General Harry Schmidt: 12 July 1944 – 15 February, 1946 (Deactivation)

    • Chiefs of Staff

  • Brigadier General Graves B. Erskine: August 1943 - August 1944
  • Brigadier General William W. Rogers: August 1944 - December 1945
  • Brigadier General Dudley S. Brown: December 1945 - February 1946

    • Unit awards

    A unit citation or commendation is an award bestowed upon an organization for the action cited. Members of the unit who participated in said actions are allowed to wear on their uniforms the appropriate ribbon of the awarded unit citation. V Amphibious Corps has been awarded the following:

    References

    V Amphibious Corps Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA