2nd Battalion, 1st Marines (2/1) is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based in Camp Horno on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. Nicknamed "The Professionals," the battalion consists of approximately 1,200 Marines and Sailors. Normally they fall under the command of the 1st Marine Regiment and the 1st Marine Division.
Subordinate units
Headquarters and Services Company
Echo Company
Fox Company
Golf Company
Hotel Company
Weapons Company (CAAT RED, CAAT BLUE, 81s [Mortars] Platoon, Scout Sniper Platoon)
History
The battalion was activated August 1, 1922, at Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, as the 2nd Battalion, 1st Regiment and was assigned to the 2nd Brigade. The battalion played a role in the occupation of the Dominican Republic, after which it was deactivated on July 20, 1924.
World War II
The battalion was reactivated March 1, 1941, at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines and was assigned to the 1st Marine Division of the Fleet Marine Force. The force was active for only a brief period of time, during which it was deployed to Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina. The unit was again deactivated on June 14, 1941.
Shortly after the United States entered into World War II, the unit was reactivated February 11, 1942, at New River, North Carolina. It was again assigned to the 1st Marine Division, which deployed in July 1942 to Wellington, New Zealand. The battalion participated in numerous campaigns in the Pacific Theater of WWII, and was a part of the American advance into Japanese territory in the Pacific. The first of these was the Guadalcanal Campaign, during which the battalion defended Henderson Field, an airfield on Guadalcanal, and withstood Japanese bombings of the strategic location. They later participated in Operation Cartwheel, specifically the Battle of Cape Gloucester, during which they withstood several Japanese Banzai charges. Later, during the Battle of Peleliu, the unit suffered heavy casualties during their defense of the Umurbrogal Pocket. In their last engagement in the Pacific, the unit participated in the decisive Battle of Okinawa, taking part in the capture of Shuri during poor weather conditions.
At the close of World War II, in September 1945, the unit was redeployed to Tiensin, China, where they were a part of the occupation of northern China until October 1947, when the unit was deactivated.
Korean War and early 1960s
2nd Battalion was reactivated August 4, 1950, at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and again assigned to the 1st Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force. It was almost immediately deployed to Kobe, Japan in preparation for its participation in the Korean War from September 1950 – July 1953, during which it fought at Inchon-Seoul, Chosin Reservoir, the East Central Front, and the Western Front. After the war, the unit aided in the defense of the Korean Demilitarized Zone.
On September 20, 1950. The 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines set up a L-shaped ambush near Yongdungpo. A North Korean column of hundreds of NKPA troops and five T-34 tanks headed blindly into the ambush set by the Marines. Short-range fire from Marine 3.5-inch bazookas knocked out the first two enemy tanks; a storm of direct and indirect fire cut down the supporting infantry, killing 300 North Korean men. The surviving North Koreans withdrew to their prepared defenses within Yongdungpo.
After the war, in April 1955, the unit was relocated to Camp Pendleton, California, where it participated in the transplacement system between the 1st and 3rd Marine Divisions.