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97-471: The U.S-led invasion was spearheaded at dawn by Army Rangers , Navy SEALs , Marines and other elite units. The first Caribbean forces arrived on Grenada by U.S. Air Force C-130 aircraft from Barbados about five hours later. The vanguard force, led by Brigadier Rudyard Lewis of Barbados, landed on a Ranger-seized runway without any defined military role being assigned to them by the Pentagon. An ad hoc plan

194-429: A machete or kukri for brush clearing. Small arms included the .30-06 M1 Garand , the .30-06 M1903A4 sniper rifle, the .30 M1 carbine , the .45 Thompson submachine gun , the .45 M1911 pistol , the .30-06 BAR (M1922 machine rifle version), and the .30 M1919 Browning air-cooled belt-fed machine gun. Mules were used to haul radios, ammunition, and heavier support weapons, including the 2.36-inch M1A1 bazooka and

291-738: A Juliet or "J" company, (the reason for this is because the letter 'J' looked too similar to the letter 'I' in Old English script). Companies A and B were respectively assigned to V Corps at Fort Hood, Texas, and VII Corps at Fort Lewis, Washington. In addition to scouting and reconnoitering roles for their parent formations, Ranger units provided terrain-assessment and tactical or special security missions; undertook recovery operations to locate and retrieve prisoners of war ; captured enemy soldiers for interrogation and intelligence-gathering purposes; tapped North Vietnamese Army and Vietcong wire communications lines in their established base areas along

388-819: A U.S. deep penetration unit that would attack Japanese troops in Burma. The new U.S. force was directly inspired by, and partially modeled on Orde Wingate 's Chindits Long Range Penetration Force. A call for volunteers attracted around 3,000 men. A Memorandum from the Operations Division (OPD) of the War Department dated 18 September 1943 (OPD 320.2) listed the proposed composition of the new American long-range penetration force, which would be an all-volunteer unit. The Caribbean Defense Command provided 960 jungle-trained officers and men, 970 jungle-trained officers and men came from Army Ground Forces (based in

485-607: A broader and less formal sense, the term "ranger" has been used, officially and unofficially, in North America since the 17th century, to describe specialized light infantry in small, independent units—usually companies . The first units to be officially designated Rangers were companies recruited in the New England Colonies to fight against Native Americans in King Philip's War . Following that time,

582-487: A ranger unit. Later on during the war, General Washington ordered Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Knowlton to select an elite group of men for reconnaissance missions. This unit was known as Knowlton's Rangers , and is credited as the first official Ranger unit (by name) for the United States. This unit carried out intelligence functions rather than combat functions in most cases, and as such are not generally considered

679-421: A scathing report on General Stilwell's medical evacuation policies (eventually prompting an Army Inspector General investigation and congressional hearings). By the time the town of Myitkyina was taken, only about 200 surviving members of the original Marauders were present. A week after Myitkyina fell, on 10 August 1944, the 5307th was disbanded with a final total of 130 combat-effective officers and men (out of

776-714: A unit called the Blazer's Scouts were also a precursor to Army Rangers during the Civil War. Aside from conducting similar irregular warfare on Confederate forces in Richmond, Mississippi and Tennessee, its members were also descendants of the first ranger groups, organized by Robert Rogers in the French and Indian War. The Blazer's Scouts were instrumental in fighting off other irregular forces such as partisan bushwhackers and Mosby's Rangers , another unit of Rangers that fought for

873-599: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . United States Army Rangers The United States Army Rangers are elite U.S. Army personnel who have served in any unit which has held the official designation of "Ranger". The term is commonly used to include graduates of the Ranger School , even if they have never served in a "Ranger" unit; the vast majority of Ranger school graduates never serve in Ranger units and are considered "Ranger qualified". In

970-756: Is considered the "spiritual home" of the United States Special Operations Forces , particularly the United States Army Rangers. These early American light infantry units, organized during the French and Indian War , bore the name "Rangers" and were the forerunners of the modern Army Rangers. Major Rogers drafted the first currently-known set of standard orders for rangers. These rules, Robert Rogers' 28 "Rules of Ranging" , are still provided to all new Army Rangers upon graduation from training, and served as one of

1067-863: Is the premier light infantry unit of the U.S. Army, a combination of special operations and elite airborne light infantry. The regiment is a flexible, highly trained and rapid light infantry unit specialized to be employed against any special operations targets. All Rangers—whether they are in the 75th Ranger Regiment, or Ranger School, or both—are taught to live by the Ranger Creed . Primary tasks include: direct action , national and international emergency crisis response, airfield seizure, airborne & air assault operations, special reconnaissance , intelligence & counter intelligence , combat search and rescue , personnel recovery & hostage rescue , joint special operations, and counter terrorism . The 4th, 5th, and 6th Ranger Battalions were re-activated as

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1164-781: The 1st Dragoon Regiment . Several units that were named and functioned similarly to Rangers fought in the American Civil War between 1861 and 1865, such as the Loudoun Rangers that consisted of Quaker and German farmers from northern Loudoun County . They were founded by Captain Samuel C. Means, a Virginian refugee who was approached by Washington to form two detachments on 20 June 1862. The Loudoun Rangers conducted periodic raids in Loudoun, Clarke and Jefferson counties. Military historian Darl L. Stephenson stated that

1261-802: The 34th Infantry Division . A select fifty or so of the first U.S. Rangers were dispersed through the British Commandos for the Dieppe Raid in August 1942; these were the first American soldiers to see ground combat in the European theater. Together with the ensuing 3rd and 4th Ranger Battalions they fought in North Africa and Italy commanded by Colonel William Orlando Darby until the Battle of Cisterna (29 January 1944) when most of

1358-588: The 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional) , was a United States Army long range penetration special operations jungle warfare unit, which fought in the Southeast Asian theater of World War II , or China-Burma-India Theater (CBI) . The unit became famous for its deep-penetration missions behind Japanese lines, often engaging Japanese forces superior in number. In the Quebec Conference (QUADRANT) of August 1943 , Allied leaders decided to form

1455-522: The 75th Ranger Regiment . The commander of the 2nd Battalion of the Marauders, Colonel George A. McGee , was inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame (1992) for extraordinary valor and exemplary service. Roy H. Matsumoto (1993), Henry Gosho (1997), and Grant Hirabayashi (2004), Japanese-American interpreters for the Marauders were also inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame. On 5 December 2019,

1552-622: The Abenaki tribe. John Lovewell became the most famous Ranger of the eighteenth century. Many Colonial officers would take the philosophies of Benjamin Church's ranging and form their own Ranger units. During King George's War , John Gorham established "Gorham's Rangers". Gorham's company fought on the frontier at Acadia and Nova Scotia . Gorham was commissioned a captain in the British Army in recognition of his outstanding service. He

1649-465: The Battalion of Mounted Rangers , an early version of the cavalry in the U.S. Army was created out of frontiersmen who enlisted for one year and provided their own rifles and horses. The battalion was organized into six companies of 100 men each that was led by Major Henry Dodge . After their enlistment expired there was no creation of a second battalion. Instead, the battalion was reorganized into

1746-544: The Bronze Star . In June 1944, the 5307th Composite Unit (provisional) was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation : On 10 August 1944 the Marauders were consolidated into the 475th Infantry, which continued service in northern Burma as a component of the brigade-sized MARS Task Force until February 1945. On 21 June 1954 the 475th Infantry was re-designated the 75th Infantry from which descended

1843-666: The Ho Chi Minh trail ; and mined enemy trails as well as motor-vehicle transport routes. To provide tactical skills and patrol expertise all LRRP/Ranger team leaders and most assistant team leaders were graduates of the 5th Special Forces Group Recondo School at Nha Trang Vietnam. After the Vietnam War, division and brigade commanders determined that the U.S. Army needed an elite, rapidly deployable light infantry, so on 31 January 1974 General Creighton Abrams asked General Kenneth C. Leuer to activate, organize, train and command

1940-616: The NVA when they seized "Signal Hill" the name attributed to the peak of Dong Re Lao Mountain , a densely forested 4,879-foot (1,487 m) mountain, midway in A Shau Valley , so the 1st and 3rd Brigades, slugging it out hidden deep behind the towering wall of mountains, could communicate with Camp Evans near the coast or with approaching aircraft. On 1 January 1969, under the new U.S. Army Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS), these units were redesignated "Ranger" in South Vietnam within

2037-648: The Queen's Rangers , he travelled to Nova Scotia , where he raised King's Rangers , in 1779. The regiment was disbanded in 1783. In 1775, the Continental Congress later formed eight companies of elite light infantry to fight in the Revolutionary War, several notable Rangers-led Continental units such as Jonathan Moulton , Moses Hazen , Simeon Thayer , Nathaniel Hutchins , and Israel Putnam . In 1777, this force commanded by Daniel Morgan ,

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2134-622: The Ranger Tab . Rangers played a crucial role in the 17th and 18th-century conflicts between American colonists and Native American tribes. British regular troops were unfamiliar with frontier warfare, leading to the development of Ranger companies to specialize in such tactics. Rangers were full-time soldiers employed by colonial governments to patrol between fixed frontier fortifications in reconnaissance providing early warning of raids. In offensive operations, they were scouts and guides, locating villages and other targets for taskforces drawn from

2231-600: The Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies. In Vietnam LRRP platoons and companies were attached to every brigade and division where they perfected the art of long-range patrolling. Since satellite communications were a thing of the future, one of the most daring long-range penetration operations of the Vietnam War was launched on 19 April 1968, by members of the 1st Air Cavalry Division 's, Company E, 52nd Infantry (LRP) , (redesignated Co. H, Ranger), against

2328-637: The United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC). The six battalions of the modern Rangers have been deployed in Korea , Vietnam , Grenada , Panama , Afghanistan and Iraq . The Ranger Regiment traces its lineage to three of six battalions raised in World War II , and to the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional)—known as " Merrill's Marauders ", and then reflagged as the 475th Infantry, then later as

2425-518: The militia or other colonial troops. In Colonial America , "The earliest mention of Ranger operations comes from Capt. John "Samuel" Smith" , who wrote in 1622, "When I had ten men able to go abroad, our common wealth was very strong: with such a number I ranged that unknown country 14 weeks." Robert Black also stated that, In 1622, after the Berkeley Plantation Massacre   ... grim-faced men went forth to search out

2522-659: The "Swamp Fox" Revolutionary commander of South Carolina, developed irregular methods of warfare during his guerrilla period in South Carolina. He is credited in the lineage of the Army Rangers, as is George Rogers Clark who led an irregular force of Kentucky/Virginia militiamen to capture the British forts at Vincennes, Indiana and Kaskaskia, Illinois. In January 1812 the United States authorized six companies of United States Rangers who were mounted infantry with

2619-576: The 11 September terrorist strikes, the United States launched the War on Terror with the invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001. Special operations units such as the Rangers, along with some CIA officers and Navy SEALs were the first U.S. forces on Afghan soil during Operation Enduring Freedom . This was the first large Ranger operation since the Battle of Mogadishu . The Rangers met with success during

2716-557: The 1st and 2nd Ranger Battalions conducted Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada. All three Ranger battalions, with a headquarters element, participated in the U.S. invasion of Panama ( Operation Just Cause ) in 1989. In 1991 Bravo Company, the first platoon and Anti-Tank section from Alpha Company, 1st Battalion was deployed in the Persian Gulf War (Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield ). Bravo Company, 3rd Ranger Battalion

2813-533: The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th; the 6th would be organized in the Pacific Theatre. The 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th Ranger Battalions were "Ghost" formations, which were part of the deception plan known as " Operation Quicksilver ." On 19 June 1942 the 1st Ranger Battalion was sanctioned, recruited, and began training in Carrickfergus , Northern Ireland. Eighty percent of the original Rangers came from

2910-727: The 2nd Rangers plugged the gap made by the retreating Allied forces, the 5th Ranger Company helped stop the Chinese 5th Phase Offensive. As in World War II, after the Korean War, the Rangers were disbanded. Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol ( LRRP ) and Long Range Patrol companies (commonly known as Lurps ) were formed by the U.S. Army in the early 1960s in West Germany to provide small, heavily armed reconnaissance teams to patrol deep in enemy-held territory in case of war with

3007-505: The 42nd and 150th Chinese Infantry Regiments of the X Force , attacked the unsuspecting Japanese at the Myitkyina airfield. The airfield assault on 17 May 1944 was a complete success; however, the town of Myitkyina could not immediately be taken with the forces on hand. An initial assault by elements of two Chinese regiments was repulsed with heavy losses. NCAC intelligence staff had once again badly underestimated Japanese troop strength in

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3104-399: The 505th Airborne Regiment and the 82nd Airborne 's 80th Anti-aircraft Artillery Battalion volunteered and, after initially being designated the 4th Ranger Company, became the 2nd Ranger Company —the only all-black Ranger unit in United States history. After the four companies had begun their training, they were joined by the 5th–8th Ranger companies on 20 November 1950. During the course of

3201-457: The 5307th's three battalions were equivalent to a regimental -size unit, its lack of organic heavy weapons support meant the force had a combat power less than that of a single regular American infantry battalion , a fact that General Stilwell and his NCAC staff did not always appreciate. Without heavy weapons support, the unit would have to rely on flexibility and surprise to outfight considerably larger Japanese forces. A little known secret to

3298-402: The 5307th. From the end of November 1943 to the end of January 1944, the 5307th remained at Deogarh and trained intensively. All officers and men received instruction in scouting and patrolling, stream crossings, weapons, navigation, demolitions, camouflage, small-unit attacks on entrenchments, evacuation of wounded personnel, and the then-novel technique of supply by airdrop . Special emphasis

3395-608: The 75th Infantry Regiment (Ranger) and all replacement personnel were mandatory airborne qualified. Fifteen companies of Rangers were raised from LRRP units, which had been performing missions in Europe since the early 1960s and in Vietnam since 1966. The genealogy of this new Regiment was linked to Merrill's Marauders. The Rangers were organized as independent companies: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, K, L, M, N, O and P, with one notable exception, since 1816, U.S. Army units have not included

3492-505: The 75th Infantry. The Ranger Training Brigade (RTB)—headquartered at Fort Moore —is an organization under the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) and is separate from the 75th Ranger Regiment. It has been in service in various forms since World War II. The Ranger Training Brigade administers Ranger School , the satisfactory completion of which is required to become Ranger qualified and to wear

3589-479: The Allies on 3 August 1944. The Japanese commander escaped with about 600 of his men; 187 Japanese soldiers were captured, and the rest, some 3,800 men, were killed in combat. In their final mission, the Marauders suffered 272 killed, 955 wounded, and 980 evacuated for illness and disease; some men later died from cerebral malaria , amoebic dysentery, and/or scrub typhus. Somewhat ironically, Marauders evacuated from

3686-604: The Bill approving the medal award was sent to the White House for its final signature. As of 31 December 2020, seven Marauders were still alive. By May 2022, this number had dwindled to just two, Gabriel Kinney and Russell Hamler. Gabriel Kinney died on December 11, 2022, at the age of 101. Russell Hamler died at a veterans hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on December 26, 2023, at the age of 99. Company S-2 within

3783-720: The British Army who specialized in deep penetration raids behind Japanese lines. The 5307th Composite Group was composed of the six color-coded combat teams that would become part of modern Ranger heraldry, they fought against the Japanese during the Burma Campaign . In February 1944, the Marauders began a 1,000-mile (1,600 km) march over the Himalayan mountain range and through the Burmese jungle to strike behind

3880-556: The Confederacy. In WWII, General Lucian Truscott of the U.S. Army, a General Staff submitted a proposal to General George Marshall conceived under the guidance of then Army Chief of Staff, General George C. Marshall, that selectively trained Ranger soldiers were recruited for the newly established special operations Army Ranger Battalion . Five Ranger Battalions would be organized in the European Theatre including

3977-912: The Continental United States) and a further 674 "battle-tested" jungle troops from the South Pacific Command (Army veterans of the Guadalcanal and Solomon Islands campaigns ), with all troops to assemble at Nouméa , New Caledonia . General Douglas MacArthur was also directed to transfer 274 Army combat-experienced volunteers from the Southwest Pacific Command, veterans of the New Guinea and Bougainville campaigns . A few Pacific veteran volunteers came from stockades where volunteering earned them their freedom. They were sprinkled throughout

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4074-545: The Grenadines and St. Kitts and Nevis . These five Eastern Caribbean island nations were then participants in a Regional Security System . The Caribbean peacekeepers were not involved in combat, which officially ended on Nov. 2, 1983. U.S. combat troops left the island on Dec. 12, 1983. The peacekeeping force remained on Grenada until the spring of 1985 to allow the reconstituted domestic police force to be fully trained and equipped. This military -related article

4171-540: The Indian enemy. They were militia—citizen soldiers—but they were learning to blend the methods of Indian and European warfare   ... As they went in search of the enemy, the words range, ranging and Ranger were frequently used   ... The American Ranger had been born. The father of American ranging is Colonel Benjamin Church (c. 1639–1718). He was the captain of the first Ranger force in America (1676). Church

4268-506: The Japanese Army on thirty-two separate occasions, including two conventional defensive battles with enemy forces for which the force had not been intended or equipped. Battling Japanese soldiers, hunger, fevers, and disease, they had traversed more jungle terrain on their long-range missions than any other U.S. Army formation during World War II. The men of Merrill's Marauders enjoyed the rare distinction of having each soldier awarded

4365-600: The Japanese lines. By March, they had managed to cut off Japanese forces in Maingkwan and cut their supply lines in the Hukawng Valley . On 17 May, the Marauders and Chinese forces captured the Myitkyina airfield, the only all-weather airfield in Burma. For their actions, every member of the unit received the Bronze Star . On 6 June 1944, during the assault landing on Dog White sector of Omaha Beach as part of

4462-421: The Japanese rearguard at Maingkwan . Near Walawbum, a town believed by General Stilwell's NCAC staff to be lightly held, the 3rd Battalion killed some 400–500 enemy soldiers. The Japanese were continually surprised by the heavy, accurate volume of fire they received when attacking Marauder positions. Its combat-experienced officers had carefully integrated light mortar and machine gun fires, and virtually every man

4559-557: The Marauders killed 400 Japanese soldiers, while suffering 57 killed in action, 302 wounded, and 379 incapacitated due to illness and exhaustion. Of the unit's 200 mules, 75 were killed by artillery and mortar fire. A concurrent outbreak of amoebic dysentery (contracted after linking up with Chinese forces) further reduced their effective strength. Although the Marauders had previously avoided losses from this deadly disease (in part by use of halazone tablets and strict field sanitation procedures), their encampment with Chinese infantry, who used

4656-484: The Marauders' success was the inclusion of fourteen Japanese-American Military Intelligence Service translators assigned to the unit, including future Army Rangers and Military Intelligence Hall of Fame inductee Roy Matsumoto . Weight was critical to the Marauders, and the need for a compact, lightweight field ration was essential; unfortunately, the best solution, the dry Jungle ration , at 4,000 calories per day, had been discontinued for cost reasons in 1943. On

4753-415: The Marauders. The men took a brief rest at Shikau Gau, a jungle village clearing where they bartered with the native inhabitants for fresh eggs and chickens with an issue of 10-in-one and C rations . The Marauders also took the opportunity to sunbathe in an attempt to control the onset of various fungal skin diseases. Now down to a little over 2,200 officers and men, the 5307th began a series of battles on

4850-568: The Philippines until they were deactivated on 30 December 1945, in Japan. After the first Quebec Conference , the 5307th Composite Unit (provisional) was formed with Frank Merrill as the commander, its 2,997 officers and men became popularly known as Merrill's Marauders . They began training in India on 31 October 1943. Much of the Marauders training was based on Major General Orde Wingate of

4947-574: The Ranger Training Brigade, the cadre of instructors of the contemporary Ranger School; moreover, because they are parts of a TRADOC school, the 4th, 5th, and 6th battalions are not a part of the 75th Ranger Regiment. The Rangers have participated in numerous operations throughout modern history. In 1980, the Rangers were involved with Operation Eagle Claw , the 1980 second rescue attempt of American hostages in Tehran, Iran. In 1983,

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5044-556: The Rangers of the 1st and 3rd Battalions were captured. Of the 767 men in the battalions 761 were killed or captured. The remaining Rangers were absorbed into the Canadian-American First Special Service Force under Brigadier General Robert T. Frederick . They were then instrumental in operations in and around the Anzio beachhead that followed Operation Shingle . The 29th Ranger Battalion

5141-428: The Taliban leader, Mullah Omar , was rumoured to be hiding. The Rangers set up blocking positions while Delta Force secured the compound. There were no Taliban inside the compound itself, but both the Rangers and Delta Force were ambushed by a group of Taliban fighters as they prepared to leave the area. During the ensuing firefight, one soldier reportedly had his foot blown off by an RPG. These two operations have been

5238-460: The U.S. 60 mm M2 Mortar ; the latter was often employed without its bipod in order to speed deployment. The 5307th was originally destined to train in long-range penetration tactics under the direction of Brigadier Charles Orde Wingate , commander of the Chindits. At Deolali , 200 km (125 miles) outside Bombay, the troops endured both physical conditioning and close-order drill, before entraining for Deogarh , Madhya Pradesh. The unit

5335-425: The United States Senate passed S. 743, the Merrill's Marauders Congressional Gold Medal Act, legislation to honor the Marauders' extraordinary service. On 22 September 2020, the House of Representatives also passed the bill by unanimous consent. The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest expression by the Congress of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions to the country. On 6 October,

5432-518: The United States invaded Iraq, the Rangers were among those sent in. During the beginning of the war, they faced some of Iraq's elite Republican Guard units. Rangers were also involved in the rescue of American prisoner of war POW Private First Class Jessica Lynch . The 75th Ranger Regiment has been one of the few units to have members continuously deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Merrill%27s Marauders Merrill’s Marauders (named after Frank Merrill ) or Unit Galahad , officially named

5529-418: The advice of Army supply officers in Washington, General Stilwell and his G-4 staff determined that a one-per-day issuance of the U.S. Army's 2,830 calorie K ration (one K ration = three meals) would be sufficient to maintain the Marauders in the field. While compact, the K ration not only had fewer calories but less bulk, and included some components so unappetizing as to be thrown away by many users. On

5626-478: The advice of British General Orde Wingate, the force was divided into two self-contained combat teams per battalion. In February 1944, in an offensive designed to disrupt Japanese offensive operations, three battalions in six combat teams (coded Red, White, Blue, Khaki, Green, and Orange) marched into Burma. On 24 February, the force began a 1,000-mile march over the Patkai range and into the Burmese jungle behind Japanese lines. A total of 2,750 Marauders entered Burma;

5723-400: The bush. We grabbed up the gun and slid back into the jungle. Sometimes staggering, sometimes running, sometimes dragging, I made it back to camp. I was so sick I didn't care whether the Japs broke through or not; so sick I didn't worry any more about letting the colonel down. All I wanted was unconsciousness. After reinforcement by an airlanded Chinese army division, the town finally fell to

5820-424: The day and the weapons had been removed some time before to allow the construction of casements in their place. (One of the gun positions was destroyed by the RAF in May—prior to D-day—leaving five missing guns). Under constant fire during their climb, they encountered only a small company of Germans on the cliffs and subsequently discovered a group of field artillery weapons in trees some 1,000 yards (910 m) to

5917-438: The first battalion sized Ranger unit since World War II . Initially, the 1st Ranger Battalion was constituted; because of its success, eight months later, 1 October 1974, the 2nd Ranger Battalion was constituted, and in 1984 the 3rd Ranger Battalion and their regimental headquarters were created. In 1986, the 75th Ranger Regiment was formed and their military lineage formally authorized. The regiment, comprising three battalions,

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6014-496: The first modern manuals for asymmetric warfare . Fearing that Rogers was a spy, Washington refused to accept Rogers help. An incensed Rogers instead joined forces with the Loyalists, raised the Queen's Rangers , and fought for the Crown, giving historical confirmation to Washington's concerns about the depth of his patriotism. While serving with the British, Col. Rogers was further responsible for capturing America's most famous spy in Nathan Hale . After Colonel Robert Rogers left

6111-436: The front lines were given jungle hammocks with protective sandfly netting and rain covers in which to sleep, equipment which might have prevented various diseases and illnesses had they been issued earlier in the campaign. The casualties included General Merrill himself, who had suffered a second heart attack before going down with malaria. He was replaced by his second-in-command, Colonel Charles N. Hunter , who later prepared

6208-409: The function of protecting the Western frontier. Five of these companies were raised in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky. A sixth was in Middle Tennessee, organized by Capt. David Mason. The next year, 10 new companies were raised. By December 1813 the Army Register listed officers of 12 companies of Rangers. The Ranger companies were discharged in June 1815. During the Black Hawk War , in 1832,

6305-406: The historical parent of the modern day Army Rangers. In June 1775 Ethan Allen and Seth Warner had the Continental Congress create a Continental Ranger Regiment including many of the famed Green Mountain Boys . Warner was elected the Regiment's Colonel with the Rangers forming part of the Continental Army 's Invasion of Quebec in 1775. The Regiment was disbanded in 1779. Francis Marion ,

6402-440: The invasion aimed at overthrowing the Taliban government, in which they participated in two operations to secure strategic areas in Kandahar Province in Southern Afghanistan. The first operation, Operation Rhino , was designed to take control of a landing strip from the Taliban that would be useful for future missions. The Rangers faced little opposition during their attack on the airfield and didn't suffer any casualties during

6499-401: The invasion of Normandy, then-Brigadier General Norman Cota (assistant division commander of the 29th Infantry Division) approached Major Max Schneider, CO of the 5th Ranger Battalion and asked "What outfit is this?", Schneider answered "5th Rangers, Sir!" To this, Cota replied "Well, goddamnit, if you're Rangers, lead the way!" From this, the Ranger motto—"Rangers lead the way!"—was born. At

6596-411: The march to Myitkyina. In April, the Marauders were ordered by General Stilwell to take up a blocking position at Nhpum Ga and hold it against Japanese attacks, a conventional defensive action for which the unit had not been equipped. At times surrounded, the Marauders coordinated their own battalions in mutual support to break the siege after a series of fierce assaults by Japanese forces. At Nhpum Ga,

6693-406: The mission. However, two Rangers from another group who were assigned to provide rescue support from a location in Pakistan died when their helicopter crashed. The seized landing strip would later become known as Camp Rhino. The second operation after seizing the airstrip was a supporting mission to assist Delta Force in an operation to raid a Taliban compound, known as Objective Gecko, in which

6790-417: The mud, Marauders alternately assaulted, then defended in a seesaw series of brutal conventional infantry engagements with Japanese forces. In a 1945 interview, Captain Fred O. Lyons, a Marauder officer, related the nature of the struggle: By now my dysentery was so violent I was draining blood. Every one of the men was sick from one cause or another. My shoulders were worn raw from the pack straps, and I left

6887-447: The next seven months: Eighth Army Raider Company and First through Fifteenth Ranger Company. The Army Chief of Staff assigned the Ranger training program at Fort Benning to Colonel John Gibson Van Houten . The program eventually split to include a training program located in Korea. 3rd Ranger Company and the 7th Ranger Company were tasked to train new Rangers. The next four Ranger companies were formed 28 October 1950. Soldiers from

6984-464: The original 2,997). Of the 2,750 to enter Burma, only two were left alive who had never been hospitalized with wounds or major illness. None of the horses and only 41 mules survived. In slightly more than five months of combat, the Marauders had advanced 750 miles (1,210 km) through some of the harshest jungle terrain in the world, fought in five major engagements (Walawbum, Shaduzup, Inkangahtawng, Nhpum Ga, and Myitkyina) and engaged in combat with

7081-722: The outbreak of the Korean War , a unique Ranger unit was formed. Led by Second Lieutenant Ralph Puckett , the Eighth Army Ranger Company was created in August 1950. It served as the role model for the rest of the soon to be formed Ranger units. Instead of being organized into self-contained battalions, the Ranger units of the Korean and Vietnam eras were organized into companies and then attached to larger units, to serve as organic special operations units. In total, sixteen additional Ranger companies were formed in

7178-428: The pack behind... The boys with me weren't in much better shape... A scout moving ahead suddenly held his rifle high in the air. That meant Enemy sighted... Then at last we saw them, coming down the railroad four abreast... The gunner crouched low over his tommy-gun and tightened down. Then the gun spoke. Down flopped a half-dozen Japs, then another half dozen. The [Japanese] column spewed from their marching formation into

7275-543: The problem. Even now, one K ration (three meals) per day was deemed adequate by General Stilwell's staff, augmented by occasional drops of dry rice, jam, bread, candy, and C rations. When encountering Chinese troops, many men began to barter their K ration cigarettes for rice and other foods. On 17 May 1944, after a grueling 100-kilometre (62 mi) march over the 2,000-metre (6,600 ft) Kumon Mountain range (using mules for carrying supplies) to Myitkyina, approximately 1,300 remaining Marauders, along with elements of

7372-421: The rear. The guns were disabled and destroyed, and the Rangers then cut and held the main road for two days before being relieved. All whilst being reinforced by members of the 5th Ranger Battalion who arrived at 6pm on 6 June from Omaha Beach. More 5th Ranger units arrived by sea on 7 June when some of their wounded along with German prisoners were taken away to the waiting ships. Two separate Ranger units fought

7469-430: The remaining 247 men remained in India as headquarters and support personnel. While in Burma, the Marauders were usually outnumbered by Japanese troops from the 18th Division , but always inflicted many more casualties than they suffered. Led by Kachin scouts , and using mobility and surprise, the Marauders harassed supply and communication lines, shot up patrols, and assaulted Japanese rear areas, in one case cutting off

7566-413: The rivers as latrines, proved their undoing (the Chinese troops, who always boiled their drinking water, were not seriously affected). The disadvantages of supplying Marauders with a single K ration per day now made themselves felt, as the troops became increasingly malnourished; the onset of the rainy season combined with Japanese pressure and inhospitable terrain prevented many supply drops, exacerbating

7663-529: The subject of intense debate, with critics contending that they put the soldiers at unnecessary risk and had no clear strategic value or intelligence gains. There are even some who suggest that politicians in Washington ordered these operations purely for political gain, using soldiers as pawns to advance their own interests. The following year, the Rangers also participated in the biggest firefight of Operation Anaconda in 2002 at Takur Ghar. In 2003, when

7760-485: The term became more common in official usage, during the French and Indian Wars of the 18th century. The U.S. military has had "Ranger" companies since the American Revolutionary War . British Army units designated as "Rangers" have often also had historical links of some kind to British North America . The 75th Ranger Regiment is an elite airborne light infantry combat formation within

7857-516: The town, which had steadily been reinforced and now possessed a garrison of some 4,600 well-armed and fanatical Japanese defenders. Weakened by hunger, the 5307th continued fighting through the height of the monsoon season, worsening the situation; it also transpired that the area around Myitkyina had the largest reported incidence of scrub typhus , which some Marauders contracted after sleeping on infected areas of untreated ground, earth or grass. Racked with bloody dysentery and fevers, sleeping in

7954-544: The tutelage of the Native American allies. (Until the end of the colonial period, rangers depended on Native Americans as both allies and teachers.) Church developed a special full-time unit mixing white colonists selected for frontier skills with friendly Native Americans to carry out offensive strikes against hostile Native Americans in terrain where normal militia units were ineffective. In 1716, his memoirs, entitled Entertaining Passages relating to Philip's War ,

8051-838: The unit and called " The Dead End Kids " after the Hollywood film series featuring juvenile delinquents. The unit was officially designated as 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional) with the code name Galahad . The men were first sent to India arriving in Bombay on 31 October 1943 to train. Here they were reinforced with Air Corps and Signal Corps personnel, as well as an animal transport company with mules and experienced muleteers. Officers and men were equipped with U.S. Herringbone Twill (HBT) uniform cotton OD uniforms, M-1943 fatigues , Type II field shoes (with or without canvas leggings), jungle boots , canvas load-bearing equipment, blanket (one-half tent or "shelter-half" per man), poncho , and

8148-514: The unit and its training; the reporters sat around trying to think of an appealing nickname for the 5307th that would capture the interest of the American public. Time correspondent James R. Shepley came up with "Merrill's Marauders" and that name stuck. In early 1944, the Marauders were organized as a light infantry assault unit, with mule transport for their 60 mm mortars, bazookas, ammunition, communications gear, and supplies. Although

8245-647: The war in the Pacific Theater. The 98th Field Artillery Battalion was formed on 16 December 1940 and activated at Fort Lewis in January 1941. On 26 September 1944, they were converted from field artillery to light infantry and became 6th Ranger Battalion . 6th Ranger Battalion led the invasion of the Philippines and executed the raid on the Cabanatuan POW camp . They continued fighting in

8342-475: The war, the Rangers patrolled and probed, scouted and destroyed, attacked and ambushed the Communist Chinese and North Korean enemy. The 1st Rangers destroyed the 12th North Korean Division headquarters in a daring night raid. The 2nd and 4th Rangers made a combat airborne assault near Munsan where Life Magazine reported that Allied troops were now patrolling north of the 38th Parallel. Crucially,

8439-530: Was a temporary unit made of selected volunteers from the 29th Infantry Division that was in existence from December 1942 to November 1943. Before the 5th Ranger Battalion landing on Dog White sector on Omaha Beach, during the Invasion of Normandy , the 2nd Ranger Battalion scaled the 90-foot (27 m) cliffs of Pointe du Hoc , a few miles to the west, to destroy a five-gun battery of captured French Canon de 155 mm GPF guns. The gun positions were empty on

8536-599: Was armed with a self-loading or automatic weapon in which he had trained to a high level of marksmanship. In March they severed Japanese supply lines in the Hukawng Valley . Informed by the British that the situation in Imphal was under control, Stilwell wanted to launch a final assault to capture the Japanese airfield at Myitkyina . Always guarded against the potential for interference by the British, General Stilwell did not coordinate his plans with Admiral Mountbatten, instead transmitting separate orders to his Chinese forces and

8633-660: Was aware that he would have minimal influence upon Allied ground strategy in Burma unless he could gain command of the Marauders. Admiral Lord Mountbatten , the supreme Allied commander of the South East Asia Command (SEAC), was persuaded by Stilwell, deputy supreme Allied commander, that they should serve under the Northern Combat Area Command (NCAC). Stilwell appointed Brigadier General Frank Merrill to command them. Several American war correspondents had come to Deogarh to hear about

8730-603: Was commissioned by the Governor of the Plymouth Colony Josiah Winslow to form the first ranger company for King Philip's War . He later employed the company to raid Acadia during King William's War and Queen Anne's War . Benjamin Church designed his force primarily to emulate Native American patterns of war. Toward this end, Church endeavored to learn to fight like Native Americans from Native Americans. Americans became rangers exclusively under

8827-847: Was developed for them to guard Cuban and Grenadan prisoners who were being captured in mounting numbers by U.S. combat troops, Later, the Caribbean troops took over police duties in St. George's, the island's capital, and guard duties at Richmond Hill Prison . The peacekeeper force was mostly composed of 150 soldiers from the Jamaica Defence Force and a 50-man rifle platoon from the Barbados Defence Force . Antigua and Barbuda also contributed an infantry squad. The remaining members were police or paramilitary constabulary from Barbados , Dominica , St. Lucia , St. Vincent and

8924-688: Was known as The Corps of Rangers. Francis Marion , "The Swamp Fox", organized another famous Revolutionary War Ranger element known as "Marion's Partisans". Perhaps the most famous Ranger unit in the Revolutionary War was Butler's Rangers , from upstate New York . Continental Army Rangers officers such as John Stark , commanded the  1st New Hampshire Regiment , which gained fame at the Battles of Bunker Hill and Bennington . Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys in Vermont were also designated as

9021-439: Was placed on "jungle lane" marksmanship at pop-up and moving targets using small arms. In December the 5307th conducted a weeklong maneuver in coordination with Chindit forces. U.S. General Joseph Stilwell was determined that the only U.S. combat troops available in the theater would not serve under British command. As the only Allied ground commander without a subordinate contingent of infantry forces from his own army, Stilwell

9118-501: Was published and is considered by some to constitute the first American military manual. Under Church served the father and grandfather of two famous rangers of the eighteenth century: John Lovewell and John Gorham respectively. John Lovewell served during Dummer's War (also known as Lovewell's War). He lived in present-day Nashua, New Hampshire . He fought in Dummer's War as a militia captain, leading three expeditions against

9215-787: Was the base unit of Task Force Ranger in Operation Gothic Serpent , in Somalia in 1993, concurrent with Operation Restore Hope . In 1994, soldiers from the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Ranger Battalions deployed to Haiti (before the operation's cancellation. The force was recalled 5 miles (8.0 km) from the Haitian coast.). The 3rd Ranger Battalion supported the initial war effort in Afghanistan, in 2001. The Ranger Regiment has been involved in multiple deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom since 2003. In response to

9312-524: Was the first of three prominent American rangers–himself, his younger brother Joseph Gorham and Robert Rogers —to earn such commissions in the British Army. (Many others, such as George Washington , were unsuccessful in their attempts to achieve a British rank.) Rogers' Rangers was established in 1751 by Major Robert Rogers , who organized nine Ranger companies in the American colonies. Roger's Island, in Modern Day Fort Edward, NY,

9409-586: Was to have 700 animals that included 360 mules. There were to be as many more but the ship that was carrying them was torpedoed in the Arabian Sea . They were replaced by 360 Australian Waler horses that had originally been with the 112th Cavalry in New Caledonia who were deemed unfit for jungle warfare. They had traveled to India where they served with the Chinese Army before being assigned to

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