Expeditionary Warfare: Strategies, Tactics, and Triumphs

By Fouad Sabry

What is Expeditionary Warfare

Expeditionary warfare is a military invasion of a foreign territory, especially away from established bases. Expeditionary forces were in part the antecedent of the modern concept of rapid deployment forces. Traditionally, expeditionary forces were essentially self-sustaining with an organic logistics capability and with a full array of supporting arms.

How you will benefit

(I) Insights, and validations about the following topics:

Chapter 1: Expeditionary warfare

Chapter 2: Marine expeditionary unit

Chapter 3: List of components of the U.S. Department of Defense

Chapter 4: Task force

Chapter 5: United States Seventh Fleet

Chapter 6: Wing (military unit)

Chapter 7: Amphibious ready group

Chapter 8: Air assault

Chapter 9: Combined operations

Chapter 10: VAQ-135

(II) Answering the public top questions about expeditionary warfare.

Who this book is for

Professionals, undergraduate and graduate students, enthusiasts, hobbyists, and those who want to go beyond basic knowledge or information for any kind of Expeditionary Warfare.

• Language: English
• Publisher: One Billion Knowledgeable
• Release date: May 26, 2024

Book preview

Chapter 1: Expeditionary warfare

A military invasion of a foreign country, particularly one far from established bases, is known as expeditionary warfare. Rapid deployment forces have their roots in expeditionary forces, in certain ways. Historically, expeditionary armies had a full complement of supporting weapons and were essentially self-sufficient in terms of logistics.

The Sea Peoples, a group of seafaring raiders who sailed into the eastern shores of the Mediterranean in the second millennium BC and attempted to enter or control Egyptian territory in the late 19th and especially during Year 8 of Ramesses III of the 20th dynasty, provided the earliest examples of expeditionary warfare.

Alexander the Great, in his campaigns against the Persian Empire, used naval vessels for both troop transports and supplies, expanding the raiding tactics into the more intricate expeditionary warfare operations.

The next masters of expeditionary warfare in the ancient Mediterranean Basin were the Carthaginians, who not only staged operations combining naval and land forces but also culminated in the fusion of strategic multi-national forces during the land phase of the operation when Hannibal in his most renowned accomplishment at the start of the Second Punic War marched an army, which included w.

In Carthage's footsteps, the Romans made extensive use of expeditionary operations to broaden their Empire and influence in the Mediterranean and beyond. One such operation was the conquest of Britain, which was not only a short-term expeditionary operation but one that was intended to include long-term occupation and Roman settlement of the territories.

During the Han-Xiongnu War, the Han dynasty of ancient China also made use of expeditionary warfare to defeat the nomadic Xiongnu people. The Han launched multiple long-distance raids deep into Xiongnu territory on orders from Emperor Wu of Han. Famous Han generals Wei Qing and Huo Qubing made notable contributions to history by leading numerous successful expeditions between the years 127 and 119 BC that resulted in the annexation of the Hexi Corridor and the eviction of the Xiongnu from the Qilian Mountains. The cavalry made up the majority of the expeditionary Han forces, and they were normally arranged in columns. Additionally, they frequently traveled over great distances; according to legend, Huo Qubing traveled 2,000 li, or 620 miles, on one of his attacks.

The European Middle Ages started with an invasion of imperial Byzantine general Belisarius against the Vandals not long after the fall of the Roman empire in Italy. However, as that empire shrank, its combat shifted to becoming more defensive.

The Middle Ages saw the most significant growth of expeditionary warfare due to natural pressures in the Scandinavian region and the arrival of the Viking migrations, which combined raiding, longer-term inland operations, occupation, and settlement. These operations were carried out as maritime, coastal, and riverine operations; they occasionally had a strategic component and extended as far as Constantinople.

Similar to how it had in the Mediterranean, Japanese piracy served as the initial form of expeditionary warfare in East Asia. With the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1588), the raiding eventually evolved into fully-fledged expeditionary warfare as a result of the Ming dynasty's feeble resistance to the wokou.

When the element of political alliance was included during the Crusades as a factor in the military strategy, such as in the Sixth Crusade, the evolution of expeditionary operations reached a new level (AD 1228.)

The Age of Sail saw a significant expansion in expeditionary warfare, particularly by the European colonial empires, even though all expeditionary warfare up until the development of the combustion engine was largely dependent on sailing vessels. This was made possible by the development of sophisticated rigging systems during the European Renaissance. Some contend that this was the first military revolution that altered national strategies, operating procedures, and tactics on land and at sea. The French conquest of Egypt serves as one prominent illustration of this progression (1798).

The Crimean War was the first instance of a planned expeditionary campaign that was managed as part of a global coalition strategy, albeit being a greatly larger expeditionary operation. Additionally, it was the first expeditionary mission in modern times to use telegraph communications and steam-powered battleships.

The next step in the development of expeditionary warfare occurred during the growth of the western European empires and the colonial era, which also resulted in the inclusion of expeditionary techniques in the direct expression of national strategies to avert major wars in the form of the gunboat diplomacy strategy. Naval forces were augmented at this period to allow for prolonged littoral operations after previously being utilized almost solely for vessel defense or small-scale beach operations. Although mostly limited to the time before the First World War, the colonial experience continued long into the 20th century.

Expeditionary warfare was developed during the First World War and its aftermath in the 1920s, with the establishment of the British Expeditionary Force in 1914, the Russian Expeditionary Force in 1916, and the American Expeditionary Forces in 1917, as well as the beginnings of development in true combined operations at the tactical, operational, and strategic levels with the uns. In addition to using combat engineering extensively to support the infantry, this operation combined the elements of overall war planning context, multinational deployment of forces as part of the same operation, use of troops prepared for the landings (as opposed to disembarkation), and naval gunfire support that was restricted during the era of sailing ships. The Allied intervention in the Russian Civil Conflict, which saw forces deployed in the Baltic region, the Arctic region, along the Black Sea coast, and in the Russian Far East, was one of the largest and most complicated expeditionary missions that took place after the war.

During World War I, other expeditionary forces included:

1914–1920: Canadian Expeditionary Force

Australian Imperial Force's Initial (Europe)

1914–1918 Indian Expeditionary Force

1915–1919: South African Overseas Expeditionary Force

1914–1918: New Zealand Expeditionary Force

1917–1918: Portuguese Expeditionary Corps

Nigerian Korps (Nazi Germany)

Air Force of Italy (Fascist Italy)

Brazilian Expeditionary Force

British Expeditionary Force

Canadian Corps

China's Army of Expedition (Imperial Japanese Army)

Expeditionary Chinese Force (Chinese Army)

Russian Italian Expeditionary Corps

Australian Second Imperial Force

EU Battlegroup

European Maritime Force

NATO Response Force

NATO Rapid Response Corps

Division Three (United Kingdom)

16th Air Assault Division

3 Commando Brigade

Expeditionary Joint Force (Maritime)

Joint Expeditionary Force of the UK

Joint Expeditionary Force, Combined

Combined Rapid Response Force

Expeditionary Air Group No. 83

Expeditionary Air Wing 901

Expeditionary Air Wing No. 902

Expeditionary Air Wing No. 903

Expeditionary Air Wing No. 904

Expeditionary Air Wing No. 906

Expeditionary Air Wing

Expeditionary Air Wing No. 34

Expeditionary Air Wing No. 38

Expeditionary Air Wing No. 121

Expeditionary Air Wing No. 135

Expeditionary Air Wing No. 138

Expeditionary Air Wing No. 140

Carrier Strike Group

First Carrier Strike Group

Vehicle Strike Group 2

Third Carrier Strike Group

Vehicle Strike Group 5

Vehicle Strike Group 8

Vehicle Strike Group 9

tenth carrier strike group

11th Carrier Strike Group

12-man Carrier Strike Group

Expeditionary Strike Group

Marine Expeditionary Force

Expeditionary Force I Marines

Expeditionary Force II Marines

Expeditionary Force III Marines

Marine Expeditionary Brigade

Primary Marine Expeditionary Brigade

Expeditionary 2nd Marine Brigade

Expeditionary 3rd Marine Brigade

Marine Expeditionary Unit

Marine Expeditionary Group 11

Marine Expeditionary Group 13

Marine Expeditionary Group 15

Marine Expeditionary Group 22

Marine Expeditionary Group 24

Marine Expeditionary Group 26

Marine Expeditionary Group 31

United States Air Force Air Expeditionary Units List (43 of them)

{End Chapter 1}

Chapter 2: Marine expeditionary unit

An MEU, or Marine Expeditionary Unit, pronounced as one syllable M'you IPA: /mjuː/) is the smallest air-ground task force (MAGTF) in the United States Fleet Marine Force.

Up until the late 1980s, the Marine Amphibious Unit (MAU) was known by that name.

Typically, a MEU consists of

The ground fighting element will be a bolstered USMC infantry battalion known as a Battalion Landing Team.

the aviation combat element is