History of the Marine Corps

Robert Estrada

The first and only podcast that takes you deep inside Marine Corps history, exploring its battles, political decisions, and the strategic moves that shaped it from Tun Tavern to today. Neither the United States Marine Corps nor any other component of the Department of Defense has approved, endorsed, or authorized this product (or promotion, or service, or activity).

  1. 1d ago

    Korean War E171 - The Pusan Perimeter: The Fire Brigade Stands Down

    On August 18th, 1950, the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade drove the North Korean 4th Division off Obong-ni Ridge and back across the Naktong River, then pulled into a bean field outside Masan to rest. It had been in Korea for sixteen days. Five of its six rifle company commanders had been wounded, its packs had never arrived from the docks, and the replacements who came in by truck looked like a different army. In Tokyo, the commander of the 1st Marine Division wanted the brigade back for the landing at Inchon, and the Eighth Army refused to let it go. This episode covers the brigade's last twenty-six days in the Pusan Perimeter. On September 1st the North Korean army launched its final offensive, the Army line in the Naktong Bulge collapsed, and the brigade was sent back to the ground it had just won. Over three days it attacked through a retreating Army regiment, was shelled by its own tanks, and broke the North Korean 9th Division. On the last day, with rain grounding the Corsairs and every radio dead, Baker Company held Hill 125 against a North Korean attack while a runner found the nearest Army unit and called in its artillery by hand. The brigade was pulled out at midnight on September 5th and sent to Pusan, where 3,000 Korean Marines who had never fired a rifle joined it for a secret operation. The episode ends at one minute past midnight on September 13th, at sea, when the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade ceased to exist. Explore the History Search this episode's locations on the map at bloodline.historyofthemarinecorps.com Sources for this episode are listed at historyofthemarinecorps.com Support the Show Listen ad-free and a week early at historyofthemarinecorps.supercast.com Try a free 30-day Audible trial at audibletrial.com/marinehistory

    Korean War E171 - The Pusan Perimeter: The Fire Brigade Stands Down

  2. Oct 26

    Korean War E170 - The Pusan Perimeter: From Sachon to No Name Ridge

    On August 10th, 1950, the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade was three days into the Eighth Army's first sustained counterattack of the war, and it was winning. Two days later, it was ordered to turn around. This episode covers the brigade's second week in Korea, from Taedabok Pass to a ridge above the Naktong River. It opens with two wounded Marines carried out from behind a wrecked jeep at dawn, the seizure of Kosong, and the Kosong Turkey Shoot, where Corsairs caught a North Korean motorcycle regiment in the open on the Sachon road. Then the week turns. An ambush at Changchon springs early. Army artillery is overrun at Bloody Gulch, 25 miles behind the front, and a Marine battalion is pulled off the attack to rescue the survivors. Baker Company fights off a dawn assault on Hill 202 and is ordered to leave its dead on the hill. The brigade moves 75 miles in 26 hours to Miryang, rests one night, and attacks Obong-ni Ridge, where the enemy has crossed the last river before Pusan. The episode ends at first light on August 18th, with the Marines who held the ridge counting who could still fight. Explore the History Search this episode's locations on the map at bloodline.historyofthemarinecorps.com Sources for this episode are listed at historyofthemarinecorps.com Support the Show Listen ad-free and a week early at historyofthemarinecorps.supercast.com Try a free 30-day Audible trial at audibletrial.com/marinehistory

    Korean War E170 - The Pusan Perimeter: From Sachon to No Name Ridge

  3. Oct 19

    Korean War E169: A Hill Called 342

    On August 2nd, 1950, the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade docked at Pusan with more than 4,000 Marines, no destination, and orders to be ready to move by six the next morning. Eight days later, it was the coastal column of the Eighth Army's first counteroffensive of the war. This episode covers the brigade's first week in Korea. It opens with MacArthur's argument with the Joint Chiefs over a full Marine division, a flooded tank deck and a crippled transport on the crossing, and a first night at Changwon spent firing at an enemy that was never there. Then the fighting starts. Fifty-two Marines are sent alone up Hill 342 in heat reported at 112 degrees. How Company fights its way up Hill 255. A battalion crosses a 1,200-yard dike in the dark behind two strangers. Corsairs drop the first close-support napalm of the war and fly so low their spent brass falls on the Marines below. The week ends with an ambush at Taedabok Pass and two wounded Marines beside a wrecked jeep, waiting for morning. Explore the History Search this episode's locations on the map at bloodline.historyofthemarinecorps.com Sources for this episode are listed at historyofthemarinecorps.com Support the Show Listen ad-free and a week early at historyofthemarinecorps.supercast.com Try a free 30-day Audible trial at audibletrial.com/marinehistory

    Korean War E169: A Hill Called 342

  4. Oct 12

    Korean War E168: Report For Active Duty

    On 25 June 1950, the North Korean army crossed the 38th Parallel behind Soviet-built tanks and took Seoul in three days. The Marine Corps had 74,279 Marines on active duty, scattered around the world, and no unit of any size in the Far East. This episode covers how Korea became divided and what the Corps did in the first weeks of the war. The long rivalry over the peninsula, two armies built on either side of a temporary line, Task Force Smith at Osan, a brigade assembled at Camp Pendleton in one week, and a reserve call-up that pulled World War II veterans and high school students out of their hometowns in 53 days. By mid-July, 6,500 Marines were at sea, bound for a shrinking corner of Korea called the Pusan Perimeter. Explore the History Search this episode's locations on the map at bloodline.historyofthemarinecorps.com Sources for this episode are listed at historyofthemarinecorps.com Support the Show Listen ad-free and a week early at historyofthemarinecorps.supercast.com Try a free 30-day Audible trial at audibletrial.com/marinehistory

    Korean War E168: Report For Active Duty

  5. Oct 5

    North China E167: Leaving North China: Eighteen Months from the Reservoir

    On 14 November 1945, a train carrying the commander of the 1st Marine Division came under fire near a village called Kuyeh. The pattern it set would hold for the next three and a half years: an uneasy calm, an ambush, and a negotiated settlement that bought a little time before the next attack. This episode follows the Marines through the rest of their time in North China. George Marshall's cease-fire and its collapse, seven Marines captured on an ice run, the ambush at Anping, two attacks on the ammunition dump, six dive bombers lost in a snowstorm over Shantung, and a withdrawal that ran regiment by regiment until one rifle company aboard a cruiser was all that remained. Eighteen months later, the 1st Marine Division met the same enemy at the Chosin Reservoir. Explore the History Search this episode's locations on the map at bloodline.historyofthemarinecorps.com Sources for this episode are listed at historyofthemarinecorps.com Support the Show Listen ad-free and a week early at historyofthemarinecorps.supercast.com Try a free 30-day Audible trial at audibletrial.com/marinehistory

    North China E167: Leaving North China: Eighteen Months from the Reservoir

  6. Sep 28

    North China E166: Demobilization and the Landing in North China

    On 30 September 1945, the 1st Marine Division anchored off the mouth of the Hai River and sailed into a hero's welcome. Crowds packed the banks at Tientsin, cheering veterans of Guadalcanal and Okinawa as they came ashore. Within a week, Marines were taking fire on the roads outside the city. This episode tracks the Corps' turn from war to an impossible peace: the point system and the race to demobilize almost half a million Marines, the collapse of the old rank structure, and the III Amphibious Corps' arrival in North China to repatriate 630,000 Japanese soldiers and civilians. Explore the History Search this episode's locations on the map at bloodline.historyofthemarinecorps.com Sources for this episode are listed at historyofthemarinecorps.com Support the Show Listen ad-free and a week early at historyofthemarinecorps.supercast.com Try a free 30-day Audible trial at audibletrial.com/marinehistory Social Media Instagram - @historyofthemarines Facebook - @marinehistory Twitter - @marinehistory

    North China E166: Demobilization and the Landing in North China

  7. Jan 12

    WWII E165 - Demilitarizing a Defeated Empire

    On 22 September 1945, the 5th Marine Division entered Sasebo Harbor under Japanese pilotage. Marines cleaned and stabilized a burned, silent city, secured depots and key sites, and watched a wary civilian population slowly reappear. From Sasebo, the division spreads across northern Kyushu, locking down airfields, rail junctions, coastal guns, and ammunition dumps, while also helping run repatriation and displaced-person processing. This episode tracks the shift from assault warfare to tense, day-to-day control: demilitarization, sanitation and disease prevention, restrictions on liberty, black markets, and the pressure of demobilization. Support the Show Listen ad-free and a week early on historyofthemarinecorps.supercast.com Donate directly at historyofthemarinecorps.com Try a free 30-day Audible trial at audibletrial.com/marinehistory Social Media Instagram - @historyofthemarines Facebook - @marinehistory Twitter - @marinehistory

  8. 12/29/2025

    WWII E164 - Into The Empire: Marines Enter Japan

    This episode follows how Third Fleet rapidly built Task Force 31 into an occupation force, reinforced the 4th Marines for a potentially hostile landing, and seized key positions at Futtsu Saki and Yokosuka Naval Base. It covers the first hours ashore, the establishment of the initial occupation perimeter, the urgent rush to recover Allied prisoners, and the shift from invasion planning to guard duty, demilitarization, and air operations as the occupation settles in. With Tokyo Bay secured, the focus turns south toward Kyushu and the next phase of the occupation.  Support the Show Listen ad-free and a week early on historyofthemarinecorps.supercast.com Donate directly at historyofthemarinecorps.com Try a free 30-day Audible trial at audibletrial.com/marinehistory Social Media Instagram - @historyofthemarines Facebook - @marinehistory Twitter - @marinehistory

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About

The first and only podcast that takes you deep inside Marine Corps history, exploring its battles, political decisions, and the strategic moves that shaped it from Tun Tavern to today. Neither the United States Marine Corps nor any other component of the Department of Defense has approved, endorsed, or authorized this product (or promotion, or service, or activity).

Information

  • Creator
    Robert Estrada
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    189
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 History of the Marine Corps Podcast. Unauthorized reproduction or distribution is prohibited.
  • Show Website
    History of the Marine Corps

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