The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also known as the United States Marines, is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting amphibious operations.

The Marine Corps has been a component of the U.S. Department of the Navy since 30 June 1834, working closely with naval forces.
The history of the Marine Corps began when two battalions of Continental Marines were formed on 10 November 1775 in Philadelphia as a service branch of infantry troops capable of fighting on both at sea and on shore. By the mid-20th century, the U.S. Marine Corps had become a major theorist of amphibious warfare, which were utilized in the Pacific theater of World War II.