The history of the Royal Marines began on 28 October 1664 when the Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment of Foot, a marine regiment of the English Army, was raised in preparation for the Second Anglo-Dutch War. English and later British marine regiments served in the Third Anglo-Dutch War, Nine Years' War, War of the Spanish Succession and War of the Austrian Succession. On 5 April 1755, an Order of Council established His Majesty's Marine Forces, comprising 50 companies of 5,000 men spread across three divisions and under the British Admiralty's control.
On 29 April 1802 His Majesty's Marine Forces were renamed the Royal Marines and in 1804 the Royal Marine Artillery (RMA) was raised to man the artillery onboard bomb vessels of the Royal Navy. As RMA coats were blue like those worn by the British Army's Royal Artillery, the Royal Marine Artillery became known as "Blue Marines" while regular Royal Marines became known as "Red Marines" due to their scarlet coats. During the Napoleonic Wars the Royal Marines participated in virtually all naval battles fought by the British navy along with several amphibious landings. British marines had a dual function aboard Royal Navy ships; routinely, they ensured the security of the ship's officers and supported their maintenance of discipline among the ship's crew, and in battle they engaged enemy crews by firing from positions on their own ship or engaging in boarding actions.
During the First World War, in addition to their usual stations aboard ship, Royal Marines were part of the Royal Naval Division which landed in Belgium in 1914 to help defend Antwerp and later took part in the Gallipoli campaign in 1915. The Royal Marines also took part in the Zeebrugge Raid in 1918. During the Second World War the Royal Marine Division's infantry battalions were re-organised as Commando units, joining the British Army's Commandos. The Division command structure became a Special Service Brigade command. The support troops became landing craft crew and saw extensive action on D-Day on 6 June 1944.
The Falklands War provided the backdrop to the next action of the Royal Marines when Argentina invaded the islands in April 1982. A British task force was immediately dispatched to recapture them, and given that an amphibious assault would be necessary, the Royal Marines were heavily involved. The troops were landed at San Carlos Water at the western end of East Falkland, and proceeded to "yomp" across the entire island to the capital, Stanley, which fell on 14 June 1982. The Royal Marines have subsequently served in the Yugoslav Wars, Sierra Leone Civil War, War in Afghanistan and Iraq War.
Origin
The first official marine unit raised in England was formed on 28 October 1664 was the Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment of Foot, a regiment of foot of the English Army. Named after Prince James, the-then Duke of York and Duke of Albany and future king of England, the regiment was soon nicknamed the Lord Admiral's Regiment or simply as the Admiral's Regiment due to James' status as the Lord High Admiral of England. Recruited from the London Trained Bands and comprising 1,200 officers and other ranks divided into six 200-men companies, the regiment was raised in preparation for the upcoming Second Anglo-Dutch War.
This made the English army the fifth oldest European armed force to raise a dedicated marine unit after the Spanish Marine Infantry (1537), the Venetian navy's Fanti da Mar (1550), the Portuguese Marine Corps (1610) and France's troupes de marine (1622). The Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment of Foot's first commanding officers were Colonel Sir William Killigrew and Lieutenant-colonel Sir Charles Lyttleton. Killigrew had previously commanded an English regiment in Dutch service, and many of the newly raised regiment's initial complement of officers had served under Killigrew in that unit as well.
In 1665, Sir George Downing raised the Holland Regiment from troops of the Dutch States Army's Scots Brigade who had refused to swear loyalty to the Dutch Republic. The regiment was renamed the 4th (The Holland Maritime) Regiment in the same year and designated as a marine regiment. An Order of Council issued by the Privy Council of England on 11 July 1665 ordered both marine regiments to be paid for by the Navy Board's Treasurer of the Navy. A company of foot guards served as marines to augment the Admiral's Regiment during the Battle of Solebay in 1672; the Admiral's Regiment was disbanded in 1689 after James was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Two new marine regiments, the Earl of Pembroke's Regiment and Earl of Torrington's Regiment, were raised in 1690. Both regiments participated in an amphibious landing at Cork on 21 September 1690 during the Williamite War in Ireland under John Churchill.Lenihan, p. 184
In 1698, the English Army's marines were reformed: the two existing regiments were merged into a single one under the command of Thomas Brudenell, while the regular regiments of William Seymour, Edward Dutton Colt and Harry Mordaunt were converted into marines.Edye, p. 521–522 These regiments were disbanded in 1699.Edye, p. 577-578 In 1702, six marine regiments and six sea service regiments of foot were raised following the outbreak of the War of the Spanish Succession. When on land, the marines were commanded by Seymour. Their most significant achievement was participating in the capture of Gibraltar in 1704 and resisting the subsequent twelfth siege of Gibraltar alongside Dutch marines from 1704 to 1705.Francis, p. 110 Following the 1713 Peace of Utrecht, three of these regiments were redesignated as line infantry, becoming the 30th, 31st and 32nd Regiments of Foot.
Eighteenth century
Six Marine Regiments (1st to 6th Marines, 44th to 49th Foot) were raised on 17–22 November 1739 for the War of Jenkins' Ear, with four more being raised later. One large Marine Regiment (Spotswood's Regiment, later Gooch's American Regiment) was formed of American colonists and served alongside British Marines at the Battle of Cartagena de Indias, Colombia and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba in the War of Jenkins' Ear (1741). Among its officers was Lawrence Washington, the half-brother of George Washington.Chartrand, pp. 18–19 In 1747, the remaining regiments were transferred to the Admiralty and then disbanded in 1748. Many of the disbanded men were offered transportation to Nova Scotia and helped form the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia.Akins, p. 7
On 5 April 1755, an Order in Council established His Majesty's Marine Forces, comprising 50 companies of 5,000 men spread across in three divisions, the Portsmouth, Chatham and Plymouth divisions (so named as for the location of the divisional headquarters). The new force was placed under the British Admiralty's control. Initially, all seniormost commanders of His Majesty's Marine Forces (corresponding to the ranks of colonel and general in the British Army) were naval officers as the Royal Navy viewed such ranks as being largely honorary in nature. As such, the most senior rank a British marine officer could hold was lieutenant colonel and it was not until 1771 that the first marine was promoted to colonel; this situation persisted well into the 19th century. During the rest of the 18th century, British marines served in numerous amphibious landings across over the world, the most famous being the capture of Belle Île on the coast of Brittany in 1761. They also served in the American War of Independence. A force of marines under Major John Pitcairn captured the American redoubt at the Battle of Bunker Hill, though Pitcairn and numerous marines were killed or injured. Marines also often took to the ship's boats to repel attackers in small boats when British warships were becalmed on close blockade. James Cook took with him four marines when he was killed in Hawaii on 14 February 1779.
New South Wales
From May 1787, a detachment of four companies of marines, under Major Robert Ross, accompanied the First Fleet to protect a new colony at Botany Bay (New South Wales). Due to an administrative error the Fleet left Portsmouth without its main supply of ammunition, cartridge paper and tools to repair their flintlocks. The omission was noted early during the voyage and, in July 1787, a request was sent back to the British Home Office from Santa Cruz that the missing supplies be sent out in William Bligh's ship HMS Bounty. Ten thousand rounds of ammunition were also obtained when the Fleet called into Rio de Janeiro en route to Botany Bay.Moore, p. 41 However, despite the Home Office receiving the request, the full resupply was never sent and consequently, after 12 months, the marines ended up in difficult circumstances.
The First Fleet detachment had a strength of 212 including 160 privates. This relatively small force was arranged on the advice of Joseph Banks who advised the British government that local Aborigines were few and retiring. On arrival in New South Wales in January 1788 the Governor of the new colony, naval Captain Arthur Phillip, found that the natives were vastly more numerous than expected and also that they soon started resisting the settlers. Within 12 months, natives killed 5 or 6 First Fleeters and wounded others. Finally, in October 1788, the marines were tasked to expand the initial settlement at Sydney Cove to commence farming more fertile land at Parramatta.
One author has claimed that the Marines deliberately spread smallpox among Australia's indigenous population in order to reduce its military effectiveness, but this is not corroborated by contemporaneous records of the settlement and most researchers attribute the indigenous smallpox outbreak to other causes.
Nineteenth century
On 29 April 1802, His Majesty's Marine Forces were retitled the Royal Marines by George III, largely at the instigation of Admiral of the White John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent. St Vincent requested George III to bestow the "Royal" prefix to the force to reward it for its service during the French Revolutionary Wars.
The Royal Marine Artillery (RMA) was formed as an establishment within the Royal Marines in 1804 to man the artillery in bomb vessels. This had been done by the Royal Regiment of Artillery, but a lawsuit by a Royal Artillery officer resulted in a court decision that army officers were not subject to naval orders. As their coats were the blue of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, this group was nicknamed the "Blue Marines" and the infantry element, who wore the scarlet coats of the British infantry, became known as the "Red Marines", often given the derogatory nickname "Lobsters" by sailors.
French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
During the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars the Royal Marines participated in every notable naval battle on board the Royal Navy's ships and also took part in multiple amphibious actions. Marines had a dual function aboard ships of the Royal Navy in this period; routinely, they ensured the security of the ship's officers and supported their maintenance of discipline in the ship's crew, and in battle, they engaged the enemy's crews, whether firing from positions on their own ship, or fighting in boarding actions.