The United States Marines in Nicaragua

Nationalistic sentiments arose in the Nicaraguan military, including Luis Mena , the Secretary of War. Knox appealed to president Taft for military intervention, arguing that the Nicaraguan railway from Corinto to Granada was threatened, interfering with U. In the first two weeks of August , Mena and his forces captured steamers on Lakes Managua and Nicaragua that were owned by a railroad company managed by U.

U.S. Marines and Nicaragua:

Insurgents attacked the capital, Managua , subjecting it to a four-hour bombardment. In the summer of , U. Marines arrived aboard the USS Annapolis. They were followed by Smedley Butler 's return from Panama with Marines. The main goal was securing the railroad from Corinto to Managua. On August 4, at the recommendation of the Nicaraguan president, a landing force of bluejackets was dispatched from Annapolis to the capital, Managua , to protect American citizens and guard the U. A force of U.

United States occupation of Nicaragua

Reed , landed at Corinto to protect the railway line running from Corinto to Managua and then south to Granada on the north shore of Lake Nicaragua. This landing party reembarked aboard ship October 24 and 25, One officer and 24 men were landed from the Denver at San Juan del Sur on the southern end of the Nicaraguan isthmus from August 30 to September 6, , and from September 11 to 27, to protect the cable station, custom house and American interests. General Mena, the primary instigator of the failed coup d'etat surrendered his troops to Southerland and was deported to Panama.

Rear Admiral Southerland realized that Nicaraguan government forces would not vanquish the insurgents by bombardment or infantry assault, and ordered the Marine commanders to prepare to take the hills. On October 3, Butler and his men, returning from the capture of Granada, pounded the hills with artillery throughout the day, with no response from the insurgents.

In the pre-dawn hours of October 4, Butler's Marines began moving up the higher hill, Coyotepe, to converge with Pendletons's Marines and landing battalion of bluejackets from California. With the insurgents driven from Masaya, Southerland ordered the occupation of Leon to stop any further interference with the U.

On October 23, Southerland announced that but for the Nicaraguan elections in early November, he would withdraw most of the U. At that point, peaceful conditions prevailed and nearly all of the embarked U. Marines and bluejackets that had numbered approximately 2, at their peak, not including approximately 1, shipboard sailors, withdrew, leaving a legation guard of Marines in Managua. Of the 1, members of the United States military that intervened in Nicaragua, thirty-seven were killed in action. The Knox-Castrillo Treaty of , ratified in , put the U. In , General Emiliano Chamorro Vargas , a Conservative, assumed the presidency, and continued to attract foreign investment.

On June 30, Sandino seized the San Albino gold mine, denounced the Conservative government, and attracted recruits to continue operations. Despite additional conflict with Sandino's rebels, US supervised elections were held on November 4, , with Moncada the winner.

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The Hoover administration started a US pullout such that by February , only men remained. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

United States occupation of Nicaragua. Part of a series on the. The Savage Wars of Peace: Small Wars and the Rise of American Power. An Inner History of American Empire, University Press of Kentucky. Interventions, to An Encyclopedia , by Benjamin Beede, p. Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture. The rebels were able to move quickly through the bush while the Marines were slowed by horses and pack mules Bickel, The rebels also knew the ground intimately.

In addition to these sound tactical movements, the rebels employed automatic weapons and improvised explosive devices made from dynamite wrapped with raw hide, rocks, glass and nails Langley, One operational problem for the Marines and Guardia allies was logistics.

Resupply was a serious problem to the far-flung posts and the patrols. The rugged terrain of Nicaragua and its scattered villas meant neat roads were few and rough paths were many. Here again, Marine Corps aviation played an important role. By the late summer of the Marines were operating five Fokker trimotor transport planes, each with a lift capacity of 1, pounds Nalty. The Marines hacked landing strips out of the jungle and resupply now came from the air. Food, weapons, ammunition, reinforcements and even mules were brought to the outposts deep in the jungle.

In areas too rugged for planes to land, Marine aviators pioneered air drops for isolated posts and forward patrols. When a Marine column took refuge in the town of Quilali after being mauled by rebels it seemed they were doomed. Hundreds of rebels surrounded the town and the Marines could not help their wounded. The Marines on the ground immediately set about knocking down walls, chopping down trees and clearing brush to make a crude landing strip for Lieutenant Schilt to land on. Because the plane lacked brakes the Marines ran up and pulled the aircraft to a stop on the short runway.

Between January 6 and 8, Lt. Schilt made 10 flights back and forth to Quilali. Under rebel fire, he evacuated 18 wounded Marines and brought in 1, pounds of supplies to the besieged Marines, who would later make it out Boot, For this act of valor Lt. Schilt was awarded the Medal of Honor. One of two aircraft with DH wheels, used to evacuate casualities from Quali, flown by Lt. Besides close air support, medevac and resupply Marine pilots were also used for scouting and air reconnaissance. They searched for rebels from the sky, and seriously inhibited rebel movement.

After storming the summit, the Marines came across an empty camp.

The only inhabitants were straw dummies around still smoking campfires, Sandino escaped again. The presidential election proceeded in November of as planned without a problem. After the election the United States dramatically drew down the numbers of Marines in the country. A residual force of Marines remained in Nicaragua for five more years but their mission changed to preparing the Guardia Nacional to take over operations.

Large Marine forces withdrew and Guardia formations were put in their place. Marine aviation assets remained to support the Guardia as well. The last Marine left Nicaragua in At the height of American involvement in there were almost 4, Marines in country. By this number had been slashed to less than 1, and by the Marines were gone Bickel, In total, U.

Marines died in the six years in Nicaragua Boot Augusto Sandino was never caught. He was double crossed and murdered by the director of the Guardia Nacional, General Anastasio Somoza, after a dinner in the Presidential Palace in Marines were first dispatched to support democracy in Latin America but the lessons they learned lent directly to the defense of American democracy only a few years later. Nicaragua was the training ground for World War II, where Marines learned how to live and fight in the jungle and work together as an air-ground team.

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There is no doubt that the frustrating lessons learned in Central American jungles became golden rules on the tropical islands of the South Pacific. Nicaragua can also be looked upon for lessons by modern Marines. It seems that supporting democracy in faraway lands, chasing insurgents in exotic locales and training indigenous forces will be in the purview of our Marines for years to come.

The Savage Wars of Peace: Small Wars and the Rise of American Power. United States Intervention in the Caribbean, Unconventional Warfare in American History. Marine Corps Historical Reference Series: The United States Marines in Nicaragua. Historical Branch, G-3 Division. Posted by Michael A. The Marines were not sent into Nicaragua to support or install democracy. They were sent in to protect American business interests. When the Marines finally left, the corrupt and brutal Somoza family with its equally brutal Guardia Nacional was put in power.

Your story may be accurate on the details but it is distorted as to the reasons why the Marines were sent to Nicaragua. I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer; a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street.

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I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in