Marines Marines , also known as a marine corps or naval infantry , are an infantry force that specializes in naval operations such as amphibious assault . In the majority of countries , the marine force is part of the navy , but it can also be under the army or independent command . Historically , tasks undertaken by marines have included providing protection from war while at sea , reflecting the pressed nature of the ships ' company and the risk of mutiny . Other tasks would include boarding of vessels during combat or capture of prize ships and providing manpower for raiding ashore in support of the naval objectives . Marine elements would also contribute to the campaign ashore , in support of the military objective . With the industrialization of warfare in the 20th century the scale of landing operations increased ; thus brought with it an increased likelihood of opposition and a need for co - ordination of various military elements . Marine forces evolved to specialize in the skills and capabilities required for amphibious warfare . History . In the earliest day of naval warfare , there was little distinction between sailor s and soldier s on a warship . In ancient China , the first well - known naval battles took place during the Warring States period ( 481 BC - 221 BC ) , where kings ruling regional states battled against one another . Chinese naval warfare in this ancient period featured grapple - and - hook , as well as ramming tactics with ships called " stomach strikers " and " colliding swoopers " . [ 1 ] It was written in the subsequent Han Dynasty that the Warring States era Chinese had employed ge chuan ships ( dagger - axe ships , or halberd ships ) , thought to have a simple description of a ship manned by marines carrying dagger - axe halberds as personal weapons to defend their ship . In the west as the oarsmen of Ancient Greek and Roman ships had to be capable of fighting the rowers of opposing ships hand - to - hand ; though hoplite s began appearing on Greek ships specifically for the boarding of enemy ships . The Roman Navy ' s two fleet legions , I " Adiutrix " and II " Adiutrix " , were among the first distinct naval infantry units . The first organized corps of marines was created when the Spanish King Carlos V first assigned the naval infantry of the " Compañías Viejas del Mar de Nápoles " ( Naples Sea Old Companies ) to the Escuadras de Galeras del Mediterráneo ( Mediterranean Galley Squadrons ) in 1537 , progenitors of the current Spanish Navy Marines ( Infantería de Marina ) corps . Etymology . The word " marine " is from the English adjective " marine " , meaning " of the sea " , via French " marin ( e ) " , " of the sea " from Latin " marinus " ( " maritime " ) . The word " marine " was originally used for the forces of England and exact one - word translations for the term do not exist in many other languages except for the Dutch word " marinier " . Typically , foreign equivalents are called " naval infantry " or " coastal infantry " . In French - speaking countries , two phrases exist which could be translated as " marine " , " troupes de marine " and " fusiliers - marins " ; similar pseudo - translations exist elsewhere , e . g . , " Fuzileiros Navais " in Portuguese . The word " marine " / " marina " means " navy " in many European languages such as Dutch , French , Italian , German , Danish and Norwegian . Roles . The principal role of marine troops is military operations in the littoral zone , operating from ships they are trained to land on and secure key points to around 50 miles inland , or as far as ship borne logistics can provide . Marine units primarily deploy from warships using helicopter s , landing craft , hovercraft or amphibious vehicle s . In addition to their primary role , marine troops are also used in a variety of other naval roles such as ships detachments , small scale raiding , boarding operations , naval vessel & port security , riverine missions , mess duty , and field day operations . By country . Iraq . The Iraqi Navy is a small force with 800 sailors and six platoons of marines designed to protect the shoreline and inland waterways from insurgent infiltration . The navy is also responsible for the security of offshore oil platform s . The navy will have coastal patrol squadrons , assault boat squadrons and a marine battalion . The force will consist of 2 , 000 to 2 , 500 sailors by 2010 . The Lebanese Republic . Lebanon maintains an elite but very small in number " Navy Commando " regiment . Trained internationally and armed with mostly American and French made equipment , the Lebanese Navy Commandos maintain elite but seldom recognized status as some of the most skilled and well - trained special forces ( alongside the Lebanese Maghaweer ) in the Levant and Middle East . Italy . Italian Navy Italian Army Japan . The JSDF has brigades operated similar to marines : The Russian Navy also has the Russian commando frogmen , an elite unit of underwater reconnaissance . Turkey . Amphibious Marine Infantry Brigade Command is the marine corps unit of the Turkish Naval Forces which consists 4 , 500 men based in Foça near İzmir , three amphibious battalions , an MBT battalion , an artillery battalion , a support battalion and other company - sized units . Historical marine forces . Ancient Greece . The ancient Greek states did not possess specialized marine infantry , instead they used hoplite s and archers as an onboard contingent ( " epibatai " ) . Ancient Rome . The Roman Navy used regular infantry as marines . Naval personnel were trained for raiding and also provided the troops for at least two legions ( I " Adiutrix " and II " Adiutrix " ) for service on land . The various provincial fleets were usually provided with marines from the adjacent legions . Byzantine Empire . For several centuries , the Byzantine navy used the descendants of the Mardaites , who were settled in southern Anatolia and Greece , as marines and rowers for its ships . Emperor Basil I also established a separate marine regiment , 4 , 000 strong , for the central Imperial Fleet based at Constantinople . These were professional troops , and were counted among the elite " tagmata " . In the 1260s , when emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos rebuilt the navy , he recruited the " Tzakones " ( settlers from Laconia ) and the " Gasmouloi " ( men of mixed Greek - Latin descent ) as special marine troops . Despite the progressive decline and virtual disappearance of the navy , they remained active until the late Palaiologan period . Confederate States of America . The Confederate States Marine Corps ( CSMC ) , a branch of the Confederate States Navy , was established by the Confederate Congress on 16 March 1861 and were mainly ( 80 % ) defectors from the U . S . Marines . Denmark - Norway . Marineregimentet ( The Marine Regiment ) was the naval infantry of the Royal Dano - Norwegian Navy . Estonia . The Meredessantpataljon , was a short lived infantry battalion of the Estonian Navy . The battalion was created in 1919 from the crews of the Estonian surface warships and was based in Tallinn . The unit was mainly used on the Southern Front during the Estonian War of Independence . The unit was operational from March to June in 1919 . France . The " Troupes de marine " were founded in 1622 ( as " compagnies ordinaires de la mer " ) as land forces under the control of the Secretary of State of the Navy , notably for operations in French Canada . The " Compagnies de la Mer " were transformed in line infantry regiment s by Napoleon , but became once more marine forces in 1822 ( for the artillery ) and 1831 ( for the infantry ) . These " Troupes de marines " were in the 19th century the main overseas and colonial forces of the French military . In 1900 they were put under the orders of the War Ministry and took the name of " Troupes Coloniales " ( Colonial Forces ) . In 1958 the designation of " Troupes Coloniales " was changed to " Troupes d ' Outre - Mer " ( Overseas Forces ) but in 1961 it reverted to the original " Troupes de marine " . Throughout these changes in title these troops continued to be part of the French Army . Gran Colombia . The Confederation of Gran Colombia Marines were formed in 1822 and were disbanded in 1829 , Personnel were mostly from Venezuela . Italy . The Blackshirt militia maintained an independent " Marine Group " with four MVSN battalions ( 24th , 25th , 50th and 60th ) . Japan . During feudal Japan the Japanese also used Ashigaru soldier or regular Yumi archer as soldier to protect ships from pirates . Both the Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army maintained marine - type units . Both were dissolved at the end of World War II and Japan does not currently have marines as such . The Netherlands . The Corps was founded on 10 December 1665 during the Second Anglo - Dutch War by the unofficial leader of the republic Johan de Witt and Admiral Michiel de Ruyter as the Regiment de Marine . Its leader was Willem Joseph Baron van Ghent . The Dutch had successfully used ordinary soldiers in ships at sea in the First Anglo - Dutch War . It was the fifth European marine unit formed , being preceded by the Spanish Marines ( 1537 ) , the Portuguese Marines ( 1610 ) , the French Marines ( 1622 ) and the English Royal Marines ( 1664 ) . Like Britain , the Netherlands has had several periods when its Marines were disbanded . The Netherlands itself was under French occupation or control from 1810 until 1813 . A new marine unit was raised on 20 March 1801 during the time of the Batavian Republic and on 14 August 1806 the Korps Koninklijke Grenadiers van de Marine was raised under King Louis Bonaparte . The modern Korps Mariniers dates from 1814 , receiving its current name in 1817 . The battle honors on the Korps Mariniers ' colors are : Raid on the Medway ( 1667 ) , Kijkduin ( 1673 ) , Sennefe ( 1674 ) , Spain , Dogger Bank ( 1781 ) , West Indies , Algiers ( 1816 ) , Atjeh , Bali , Rotterdam ( 1940 ) , Java Sea ( 1942 ) , Java and Madoera ( 1947 – 1948 ) , New Guinea ( 1962 ) and Cambodia ( 1992 - 1993 ) . Ottoman Empire . The role of Ottoman naval infantry originated in Orhan ' s conquest of the Karasi Bey lik and the capture of its fleet . From then on Janissaries and Azap s were sometimes deployed as marines during the 14th Century . The Deniz azaps were used during the 16th Century ; while troops called Levend ( Bahriyeli ) were raised on and off over the centuries - over 50 , 000 of them by the late 18th century . The last raised units were the " Ta ' ifat al Ru ' sa " ( corsair captains militia ) recruited from among the North African Arabs and indigenous Berbers . Ottoman marines were part of the Ottoman navy . Portuguese Empire . Portugal raised numerous companies of Special Marines ( " Fuzileiros Especiais " ) and African Special Marines ( " Fuzileiros Especiais Africanos " ) , both at home and in the African colonies of Guinea - Bissau , Angola and Mozambique , for service in Africa during the Portuguese Colonial War s . The African Special Marines were all - black units . Russian Empire . The Imperial Russian Navy used several regiments of marine equipage troops that fought as much on land as they served in ship detachments . One battalion was formed within the Guard , and served on the Imperial family ' s ships . Soviet Union . The Soviet Navy had a number of small battalion - sized naval infantry and coastal defence units that mostly served in the ports and bases before the Second World War . During the war , and building on the visuals of the mutinied sailors of Petrograd in 1917 , the Stavka ordered formation of naval infantry brigades from the surplus to either ship or shore duty sailors , and forty brigades served in mostly ground troops roles until 1944 when they were used for amphibious operations in Norway and along the Black Sea coast . South Africa . The South Africa Marine Corps was set up as a sub - branch of the South African Navy in 1979 , with the primary purpose of protecting harbours . The Marines were disbanded in 1989 , following a major restructuring of the Navy at the end of the South African Border War . Vietnam . Vietnamese dynasties had a long tradition of utilizing marines . This tradition went back no later than the Annam Protectorate of Tang dynasty when the governors built boats and trained marines to fight off pirates and invaders . The successive Vietnamese dynasties made full use of their marines ' superiority at river and sea to launch successful campaigns against their northward and southward neighbours alike . The forerunner of the Republic of Vietnam Marine Corps ( VNMC ) was established by Ngo Dinh Diem , then prime minister of what was then the State of Vietnam on October 13 , 1954 . The Republic of Vietnam was established in October 1955 after Diem used a fraudulent referendum to topple Bao Dai . The VNMC became defunct on 1 May 1975 after the fall of Saigon . Yugoslavia . The 12th Naval Infantry Brigade ( " Mornaricka Pesadijska Brigada " ) of the Yugoslavian Navy consisted of 900 to 2 , 000 men in three battalions . A multi - ethnic unit , the brigade was broken up during the dissolution of the Yugoslav federation and saw little action .