A VISION OF THE USMC ADVANCED BASE FORCE

A VISION OF THE USMC ADVANCED BASE FORCE

JOHN S. NAYLOR

5 NOVEMBER, 2025


The fleet has sailed from here, in search of the enemy. The craggy, desert island’s deep-water harbor bustles as small craft move from shore to ship, some delivering supplies and repair parts to the destroyer tender just off the beach. Further out, two colliers swing at anchor, awaiting the return of the fleet. 

Ashore, the sounds of Marines and sailors at work compete with the constant rush of the trade winds blowing across the baking hills. Seabirds at the trash dump keen; the sound of boats’ bells and ships’ whistles travel over the water. The canvas walls of the Navy maintenance shops rustle in the constant wind. Inside, out of the sun, machinists fabricate repair parts for damaged plants and condensers. Across the company road a Marine work detail expands the latrine trench behind the bivouac tents; others stack supplies outside the supply tents near the new wharf where corpsmen transfer the sick and wounded from the canvas hospital to a launch shuttling out to the hospital ship. 

These Marines, wearing khaki uniforms with tan canvas leggings and brown felt field covers, are members of the Advanced Base Force. Two regiments have landed. The Fixed Regiment of the ABF[1] provide overwatch for the fleet’s maintenance and logistics facilities. They man 4.7-inch naval guns mounted in revetments on the ridgeline. Others tend to the 3-inch field guns positioned to either side of the entrance to the harbor. The gunners have dug their pieces into the coral slopes and affixed them to thick timber platforms that have also been manhandled up the hillside. Canvas tarps pitched over the guns provide a little shade for the gun crews but are intended obscure all from spying eyes. Ammunition carriers work filling sandbags, improving their dug-out magazines next to the gun pits.


    Signalmen keep a watch on the ships at anchor; their flags and semaphore will pass messages for the landing force CO. The guns, command post, and searchlight positions are all wired into the main switchboard. A separate tent has been set up for the wireless communicators, who’ve received special training in setting up antenna to communicate with the flagship. The search lights will be manned from dusk till dawn, extending the fields of observation for the Marines defending the minefields preventing any enemy from approaching the harbor, and machine gun positions above the surf-line provide interlocking fields of fire protect the forces ashore from enemy counterattack. 


In a position commanding a view of the entire harbor, the communications Marines have established control stations for the remote detonation naval mines populating the approaches to the harbor; communications electricians check and double-check circuits to make sure the mines remain viable—should a mine or circuit need maintenance, the Marines have small boats and grapples to retrieve any malfunctioning units. The engineers of the fixed regiment remain constantly busy, improving the defense and preparing secondary positions should the enemy attempt a counterattack. 

Taking in all of this from above is a solitary Marine aviator, flying a frail biplane made of hickory, linen, and wire, powered by a 75-horsepower V-8 engine driving a pusher prop. The frail craft is buffeted by the trade winds and updrafts from the warm coral hills. The pilot of the fragile craft searches for the horizon for the profile of a warship and the waters below for any craft below the surface. Should he spot anything, he’ll return to the rough airstrip near the beach, where he’ll land, or drop a weighted message for the communications Marines. His plane is unarmed; its sole mission is to provide eyes for the landing force.


Meanwhile, Marines of the Mobile Regiment patrol the perimeter of the defense, and the hillsides of the island further out. They man lookouts, make sketch maps, practice small unit drills, maintain position camouflage, and fill sandbags to reinforce their existing defenses. At any time, they could be ordered to strike camp and board ships of the fleet. All Marines of the ABF, in both the Fixed and Mobile Regiments, report to the landing force commander, who in turn reports to the fleet admiral. Though the mission is defined as the defense of this base, it’s a landing made in support of an offensive naval operation. Control of the seas, and the ability to defeat the enemy fleet requires advanced bases where the fleet can rearm, resupply, refuel, and tend to the wounded. 

In all, the two regiments number 2400.  The Marines of the ABF have been specially selected and trained in the specialties required to support base functions. They’re based at League Island, the Philadelphia Navy Yard, and they are key to the development of American amphibious doctrine in the first decades of the 20th century. 


[1] Per Marines Magazine, April 1917, p.54. Marine Corps Order No.10 (Series 1917) March 1915. “Advanced Base” (not Advance Base) is approved official form. Article 6354(4) Naval Instructions. 



      

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