Transcriber's note: Table of Contents added by transcriber and placed into the Public Domain. Boldface is indicated by =equals signs=. Contents From Makin to Bougainville: Marine Raiders in The Pacific War Creating the Raiders Sidebar: Major General Merritt A. Edson, USMC Sidebar: Brigadier General Evans F. Carlson, USMC Sidebar: Destroyer Transports Shaping the Raiders Getting to the Fight Makin Tulagi Tasimboko Edson’s Ridge Matanikau Sidebar: Raider Weapons and Equipment The Long Patrol Sidebar: The Raider Training Center Reshaping the Raiders New Georgia Sidebar: The Raider Patch Enogai Bairoko Bougainville The Raider Legacy Sources About the Author Errata About this series of pamphlets Transcriber’s Notes FROM MAKIN TO BOUGAINVILLE: MARINE RAIDERS IN THE PACIFIC WAR MARINES IN WORLD WAR II COMMEMORATIVE SERIES BY MAJOR JON T. HOFFMAN U.S. MARINE CORPS RESERVE [Illustration: _The Browning air-cooled .30-caliber machine gun was the weapon of choice for raider battalions because of its low weight in comparison to other available machine guns. The raider battalions were not armed with heavy weapons._ Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 56108] [Illustration: _Marine riflemen take on Japanese snipers while others put a captured 37mm field gun into operation during the raid on Koiari. Parachutists and raiders expected to surprise the enemy, but were themselves surprised instead when they landed in the midst of a well-defended supply dump. The enemy pinned the Marines to the beach with heavy fire, until evening._ Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 69783] From Makin to Bougainville: Marine Raiders in the Pacific War _by Major Jon T. Hoffman, USMCR_ _In February 1942, Lieutenant General Thomas Holcomb, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, ordered the creation of a new unit designated the 1st Marine Raider Battalion. This elite force, and its three sister battalions, went on to gain considerable fame for fighting prowess in World War II. There is more to the story of these units, however, than a simple tale of combat heroics. The inception, growth, and sudden end of the raiders reveals a great deal about the development and conduct of amphibious operations during the war, and about the challenges the Corps faced in expanding from 19,000 men to nearly a half million. The raiders also attracted more than their share of strong leaders. The resulting combination of courage, doctrine, organization, and personalities makes this one of the most interesting chapters in Marine Corps history._ _Creating the Raiders_