The U.S. Marine Corps Forest Warfare Legacy Intertwines with Finland and the Baltics

Against the backdrop of the Afghanistan withdrawal, Chinese military buildup in East Asia, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. military is looking for a faster and more crisis response force projection to prepare for any threats.

America and the NATO military alliance have a significant advantage with Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia now as members. Not only do the aforementioned countries have a history of fighting Russia, but they are also proficient in forest warfare, which can further enhance America’s elite fighting forces, such as the Marine Corps.

The Battle of Belleau Wood Helped Define the Marine Corps

“From the shores of Montezuma to the shore of Tripoli” are lyrics that helped define the United States Marine Corps as the use of American naval infantry turned the tide of the Barbary Wars. The Marines became globally known due to their fierce fighting against Ottoman Tripolitania but were also defined by gallant actions in Belleau Wood.

During World War One, the U.S. Marine Corps faced its first major continental-wide engagements, including the Battle of Belleau Wood. On June 6th, supplemented by an already war-battered French garrison, the Marines outnumbered themselves and fought valiantly to repel the German Army, saving a potential Central Powers advance towards Paris.

The 5th and 6th Marine Regiments fought fiercely, taking more casualties in three weeks than the entire U.S. Marine Corps did in its prior 143-year inception but holding their ground and using maneuver warfare in the forests. The Marines gained legend from their French counterparts and the Germans.

The legend of the nickname “Devil Dogs” to the Marines allegedly came from the German Army. The 5th and 6th Marine regiments were awarded the French fourragère for their gallantry. To this day, they are the only two Marine regiments authorized to wear such honor.

Forest Warfare Against Russia in the 20th Century

Preparing contingencies against Russia, America is enhancing military exercises with Finland, Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania. The countries above are proficient in forest warfare—particularly in winter- and have a history of combating Russia for hundreds of years.

During the Russian Civil War, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Finland took advantage of inner turmoil in Moscow to gain independence by using their forestry topography to enact attrition against the already WWI-battered Russian Army.

Taking power from the White Russian faction during the 1917 crisis, the Bolsheviks, led by the then-Red Army, also attempted to re-annex the aforementioned countries between 1918 and 1920 but would fail due to lacking resources in protracted forest wars.

At the onset of World War Two, Soviet dictator Josef Stalin plotted a partition of Europe with fellow German dictator Adolf Hitler, known infamously as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Stalin’s proposed sphere was Eastern Europe and Parts of Northern Europe, putting the Baltics and Finland once again under direct threat of renewed imperialism from Moscow.

Stalin’s USSR would immediately declare war on Finland and then annex the Baltic states, deporting and murdering hundreds of thousands of Estonians, Lithuanians, and Latvians. However, neither of these goals was easy and ultimately became Pyrrhic victories.

Finland, despite being vastly outnumbered by the Red Army, inflicted over 300,000 casualties on the Soviet military within three months. The Finnish military used its forestry terrain and the brutal Nordic winter to its advantage. The invasion of Finland ultimately backfired, as Stalin exposed Soviet weakness, which would factor into Operation Barbarossa the next year.

The annexation of the Baltics would also backfire as the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact isolated Eastern Europe into the brutal fold of Stalin—forcing many to support Nazi Germany as the then “lesser evil initially.” Lithuania, particularly, would lead a two-decade resistance against Soviet occupation.

The guérilla war in the Baltics, led by Lithuanian partisans, became famous for the courage of the ‘Forest Brothers.’ The Forest Brothers inflicted heavy casualties on Soviet occupation forces by using dense forests in an act of attrition and guérilla warfare.

Lithuania’s guérilla warfare using forestry terrain allowed several thousand Forest Brothers to resist the Red Army for two decades—even past World War Two. Former US President Ronald Reagan emphasized the symbolism of Lithuanian resistance.

Enhancing Forest Warfare with the Baltics and Finland

Wanting to return to the conventional roots of warfare and deviate from the more unconventional counterinsurgency actions in the Middle East, the US military is enhancing quick reaction force capabilities in Europe—particularly with the Baltics and Finland. This year, America and its NATO allies emphasized BALTOPS (Baltic Operations).

BALTOPS 2024 was vastly different from prior exercises with the Baltic States. This year’s Baltic exercise was the first to have all NATO members, including Sweden, the alliance’s latest member.

The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit is enhancing America’s force projection capabilities across Europe, with Battalion Landing Team 1/8 conducting partnerships and exercises with the Baltic states. Likewise, US Marines were deployed to Finland for three years in 2023–the longest time US amphibious forces spent in the Nordic nation, displaying closer bilateral ties.

The II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF) is currently embedded with Finland’s Nyland Brigade in cross-border and forestry warfare training. The Marines will participate in ‘Freezing Winds 24’ at the end of November this year.

‘Forest Brother’ Warfare will be Instrumental in a Faster, More Durable U.S. Military

Faced with a renewed threat from Russia, which wishes to enact 20th-century imperial glory, NATO is preparing defensive measures across the eastern flank. Some of NATO’s most at-risk points of a Russian invasion are the Suwalki gap between Poland and Lithuania and the Russian-speaking-majority city of Narva, which sits near the Russian border.

Wanting to find a way to quickly bring American forces to the Eastern flank as a quick reaction force, NATO can also use U.S. Marines in the strategic points of the Suwalki Gap and Narva and enact forestry warfare alongside the growingly capable Baltic states, Poland, and Finland. In this cross-border training, bilateral training is emphasized.

Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, proficient in forest and winter warfare, continue to develop a growing partnership with American forces. U.S. Marines, challenging the spirit of the Devil Dogs of Belleau Wood, can be a quick reaction shield of Europe and execute forestry warfare in lieu of growing threats.

About the Author: Julian McBride

Julian McBride is a forensic anthropologist, SOFREP contributor, and independent journalist born in New York. He reports and documents the plight of people around the world who are affected by conflicts, rogue geopolitics, and war, and also tells the stories of war victims whose voices are never heard. Julian is the founder and director of the Reflections of War Initiative (ROW), an anthropological NGO which aims to tell the stories of the victims of war through art therapy. As a former Marine, he uses this technique not only to help heal PTSD but also to share people’s stories through art, which conveys “the message of the brutality of war better than most news organizations.” McBride is also a Contributing Editor to this publication.