1st Battalion, 10th Marines (1/10) is an

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

battalion composed of five firing batteries and a headquarters battery. The battalion is stationed at Camp Lejeune,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

and falls under the command of 10th Marine Regiment, part of 2d Marine Division. Its primary weapon system is the M777A2 155 mm lightweight howitzer.

Mission

The unit's mission is to provide direct artillery support for 2d Marine Division in time of conflict. That support may come in traditional fashion, i.e. artillery support to maneuver forces, or by providing batteries to serve as provisional rifle companies.

Current units

* Headquarters Battery * Battery A (Alpha Battery) * Battery B (Bravo Battery) * Battery C (Charlie Battery) * Battery D (Delta Battery) *(Formerly India Battery) *Battery R (Romeo Battery)

History

World War II

The unit was activated on November 1, 1940, at

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, as 1st Battalion, 10th Marines (1/10) and was assigned to the 2d Marine Brigade, Fleet Marine Force. The 2d Marine Brigade was renamed the 2d Marine Division on February 1, 1941. During January 1942, 1/10 was deployed to

American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...

and detached from the 2d Marine Division. In November 1942, the unit was redeployed to Guadalcanal and attached to 11th Marines,

1st Marine Division The 1st Marine Division (1st MARDIV) is a Marine (military), Marine Division (military), division of the United States Marine Corps headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. It is the ground combat element of the I Marine E ...

, Fleet Marine Force. In December 1942, the unit was reassigned to 9th Marines. 1st Battalion, 10th Marines participated in the following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

campaigns: *

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomons by area and the second- ...

Battle of Tarawa The Battle of Tarawa was fought on 20–23 November 1943 between the United States and Japan on Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands, and was part of Operation Galvanic, the U.S. invasion of the Gilberts. Nearly 6,400 Japanese, Koreans, and Am ...

Battle of Saipan The Battle of Saipan was an amphibious assault launched by the United States against the Empire of Japan during the Pacific War, Pacific campaign of World War II between 15 June and 9 July 1944. The initial invasion triggered the Battle of the ...

* Battle of Tinian *

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa Island, Okinawa by United States Army and United States Marine Corps forces against the Imperial Japanese Army during the Pacific War, Impe ...

and subsequently in the

occupation of Japan Japan was occupied and administered by the Allies of World War II from the surrender of the Empire of Japan on September 2, 1945, at the war's end until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect on April 28, 1952. The occupation, led by the ...

from September 1945 to June 1946. During July 1946, 1/10 was relocated to MCB Camp Lejeune; then deactivated on November 18, 1947. The unit was then reactivated to Camp Lejeune as 1st Battalion, 10th Marines on December 1, 1948.

1960s–1980s

1/10 deployed to

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

in response to the missile crisis from October to December 1962. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the battalion was deployed to Europe for participation in

North Atlantic Treaty Organization The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental transnational military alliance of 32 member states—30 European and 2 North American. Established in the aftermat ...

(NATO) exercises. During the 1980s, the battalion became a cold-weather-trained unit, conducting training at

Fort Drum, New York Fort Drum is a U.S. Army military reservation and a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson County, near the western border of northern New York, United States. The population of the CDP portion of the base was 12,955 at the 2010 census. ...

and above the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circl ...

. The battalion also transitioned to the 155 mm howitzer during this period. They regularly supported training operations at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center at 29 Palms, California. Charlie Battery was deployed to

Beirut, Lebanon Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

, in 1983 as a part of Battalion Landing Team 1/8. On 23 October, the battery lost eight Marines in the Beirut Barracks attack. While deployed to Beirut, Charlie Battery was the first U.S. artillery unit to fire the M198 155 mm howitzer in combat.

1990s

First Battalion participated in Operations Desert Shield and

Desert Storm , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

in Southwest Asia from January 1991 to February 1991. A Detachment from Bravo Battery aboard the USS IWO JIMA (LPH 2) during MARG 2–92 participated in Operation Provide Promise from July to November 1992. From August to October 1994, an element of 1/10 participated in Operations Support Democracy and Uphold Democracy in

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

Global War on Terror

In February 2003, 1/10 deployed to

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

, it then participated in

Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

, in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

in March 2003. During the invasion the unit took part in the

Battle of Nasiriyah The Battle of Nasiriyah was fought between the US 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade and Iraqi forces from 23 March to 2 April 2003 during the US-led invasion of Iraq. On the night of 24–25 March, the bulk of the Marines of Regimental Comb ...

. Then again Battery B deployed to Iraq in June 2004 to February 2005 performed split-battery operations from the cities Muhumadyia and Iskandariyah providing fire support for the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU). From February-September 2005 Alpha Battery deployed to Fallujah in support of operation Iraqi Freedom II. Between September 2007 and April 2008, 1/10 was deployed to Iraq and was stationed throughout the Al Anbar province as TFMP (Task Force Military Police). From November 2010 to May 2011, 1/10 deployed in support of

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response ...

, in Helmand Province,

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. From August 2021 to December 2021, 1/10 (-/+) supported Operation Allies Refuge/Allies Welcome as part of Task Force Quantico.

References

: ;Web
1/10's official website
{{2ndMarDiv Artillery battalions of the United States Marine Corps