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The Pacific Theatre of World War II taught the United States Army and Marines
the importance of close-quarters combat training and basic survival instruction.
Consequently, the military sought boxers, wrestlers, martial artists,
and survival experts to prepare a new generation of fighting men for the upcoming war in Vietnam.
Special Jungle Training centers then forced the Americans to adapt to the extreme jungle
environments of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Navy SEALs, MACV-SOG, Special Forces,
and Recon Marines got the most out of these types of training, as they were often
outnumbered while deep into enemy territory. Eventually, the Americans discovered how to
become one with the jungle and strike the enemies when they least expected it.
Hand to hand combat has existed since the beginning of human warfare and is still a useful
strategy in certain military conflict environments like the dense jungles of Southeast Asia,
but the Industrial Revolution ushered in a new era of military technology
that has drastically upped the stakes and changed the rules of engagement.
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Learning About Close Quarters Combat
No army in the 1940s was prepared for the sheer scale and impact of World War II.
Not even the Third Reich and its most renowned military strategists.
The conflict quickly extended through Europe, Africa, and Asia, translating
into different battle landscapes and the need to use distinct tactics and combat strategies.
The English and the Americans would not only fight in Europe but also in Africa,
Southern Asia, and the Pacific. From the desert tundras of El Alamein,
the jungles and forests of Burma, to the islands under Japanese control, the Americans went above
and beyond the call of duty to protect their brothers in arms and serve their country.
Although the fights in Europe were somehow waged using traditional warfare tactics
that had evolved from combat experience during World War I, the brutality of
combat in the Pacific Theatre was different. The US Army and Marines, as well as Imperial
Japanese troops, were all taught to survive in the tropical environments of the Pacific islands. They
also learned that the jungle could be exploited and used against the enemy and vice versa.
The Japanese were instructed to exploit the weaknesses of the Western soldiers, such as
their inclination to save wounded men and their willingness to give their lives for the cause.
As for the Americans, they firmly believed that they had no chance of winning a
close-quarters fight against the Japanese, who were renowned for their martial arts expertise.
Boxing and wrestling, the typical contact sports practiced by westerners, were of little use in an
engagement against Japanese soldiers trained in karate, jujitsu, judo, and other martial arts.
Fortunately for the US Army, Navy, and Marine Corps, the eccentric martial
artist Francois d'Eliscu was brought in to teach the GIs how to fight dirty and
successfully engage in hand-to-hand combat. Renowned boxing champion and American icon
Jack Dempsey was also eventually invited by the Coast Guard to teach the men the fundamentals
of boxing and self-defense techniques. As for the leathernecks of the USMC,
knife-fighting expert J. Drexel Biddle, who was to blame for popularizing the Kabar knife,
helped the Marines master the use of their knives and bayonets.
Along with other experts who helped the Americans finesse their fighting skills,
the Americans were now capable of facing their German and Japanese counterparts on the ground.
The popular Yank magazine even wrote that the US servicemen: (QUOTE) "Actually know more about judo
than the average Japanese." The Evolution of CQC
When World War II ended and the Korean War approached,
the US armed forces revisited their hand-to-hand combat manuals to perfect their judo,
bayonet drills, knife-fighting, and hand-to-hand training skills.
Mastering infiltration techniques was another skill set that became essential to
special forces operating behind enemy lines. During this time, the so-called "Bear Pit"
or "The Pit" was created. This was a unique hand-to-hand pit between two and four feet deep
and less than 30 feet in diameter. In it, the men learned to fight to the last man standing.
Severe injuries were common, but both the victors and the losers emerged with an array of combat
skills that turned them into ferocious fighters. The Pit would be used until the 1980s and
became part of the Army and Marines’ combat program for the Vietnam War.
Under the leadership of General Curtis E. Lemay, the Air Force also created its own combat
program focused on judo, aikido, and karate. And United States Special Operations Forces,
such as the Army Green Berets, Navy SEALs, Recon Marines, and Long-Range Reconnaissance Patrols,
received additional training techniques in preparation for the Vietnam War.
These special operators, who were often sent in small teams deep into
enemy territory for more than a week, became experts at close quarters combat,
as they were always outnumbered by the enemy. In addition, these elite men learned how
to perform silent, quick, and effective killing techniques with a combat knife and
their bare hands to avoid being detected. However, most enlisted men in the Army and
Marines needed to perfect their fighting skills, as hand-to-hand combat was one of
the first things cut from basic training in order to send reinforcements faster.
Back in those times, the hand-to-hand training that the soldiers and Marines sometimes lacked
was compensated with the fights they got into before entering adulthood.
During an interview with Jeffrey Forker, Special Forces Veteran Joe Lenhart recalled that: (QUOTE)
“Like many or even most boys my age in the late 60s, we grew up wrestling and
boxing with towels wrapped around our fists, had rival school meetings every
now and then. There was the county fair that… usually escalated into a scuffle or three.
The thing is, back then, when it was over, it was over, at least for a while.
Maybe a broken nose, shiner, busted lip, or jammed finger or so was about as wrong as it got,
except for a few bruised egos.” Bruce Lee was another rising
martial artist icon that prompted the conscripts, volunteers, and the military
to improve their fighting skills. His criticism of how martial arts had become rigid and unrealistic
and his focus on the hand-to-hand combat's chaotic and unpredictable nature catapulted his Jeet Kune
Do system to global acclaim. Blending with the Jungle
The war-torn Asian tropical landscapes greatly resembled the Pacific campaigns
of World War II. Dense foliage, humid weather, and thick jungles
comprised the topography of Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
To survive in this environment, the Army and Marines established Jungle Warfare training
to teach the men the fundamentals of operating in the Asian rainforests. The men were taught that
everything was more intimate under the green curtain of vegetation in a jungle setting,
and the enemy could be closer than what the Marines or soldiers heard or smelled.
Recon Marines were the eyes and ears of entire divisions.
The eight-man groups often ventured into unknown territory to gather intelligence and seek North
Vietnamese movement in the jungle. These men used their excellent tracking skills to find
enemy emplacements and weapon depots so that other platoons could stay away from harm's way.
While in the jungle, the US soldiers also faced other dangers unrelated to humans.
Giant insects, such as Vietnamese centipedes, giant scorpions, and weaver ants,
were only the spear's tip. There was also lethal flora,
such as debilitating plants or ‘wait-a-minute vines,’ as soldiers liked to call them,
which were low-hanging vines that constricted upon touch and could almost lift a man. Flame
Lilies and Bark Cloth trees were also capable of blinding or putting down imprudent soldiers.
And then there was the wildlife, with vipers, cobras, and kraits that could end a man’s life
right there, and predators that even an M16 or an AK47 couldn’t save them from.
Tigers, leopards, and bears attacked the lone men that wandered off from the safety of their camps.
Still, the soldiers’ worst enemy was the mosquito that carried malaria.
The infantrymen learned how to survive all these dangers through Jungle Warfare school
and Tigerland, the name given to Fort Polk in Louisiana, which was the last stop before
heading to Vietnam. A Remarkable Feat
One of the lesser-known and most violent close-quarters encounters that occurred
during the Vietnam War took place on the evening of April 5, 1967.
Lance Corporal James Stogner from the Marine Corps was pinned down with his men from an overwhelming
North Vietnamese force during an ambush. After getting rid of three Vietnamese men with his
M16, Stogner's rifle was destroyed by enemy fire, forcing him to go prone if he wanted to survive.
While the Marine crawled to safety, most of his platoon was wiped out. The North
Vietnamese were relentless and approached to finish the wounded, so Stogner kept crawling
through the darkness and steadily finished three more enemies with his Ka-Bar knife.
Stogner then discreetly moved through the jungle to rescue Fobbs, his machine gunner,
who had been dragged into the wilderness. Four Vietnamese men surrounded Fobbs when
Stogner showed up and managed to down two of them while they turned their backs.
As for the other two, Stogner stormed the jungle clearing and jumped directly into
one of the enemies, eliminating him with one swift cut from his knife.
The last one did not stand a chance, and Stogner's bravery did not end there.
After finishing ten more enemies, he grabbed his wounded comrade,
carried him over his shoulder, and grabbed his M60 machine gun on his way to friendly lines.
Stogner's unique tale of hand-to-hand fighting displayed his knife training in the Corps
and earned him the Navy Cross 52 years after his service in the war.
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find more exciting historical content. And let us know in the comments below what you think of the
evolution of close-quarter combat throughout the decades following the end of the First World War.