During the Battle of the Marianas, approximately how many personnel were under the command of a Marine?

• A. 136,000
• B. 50,000
• C. 90,000
• D. 200,000

Answer: (A)

The concept here is the scale of command the Marine leadership exercised during a major Pacific campaign. In the Mariana operation, a Marine commander was responsible for a very large combined force, not just infantry, but the full expeditionary team including Navy and support units. That total came to about 136,000 personnel under the Marine command, reflecting two or more divisions plus the extensive attached support, engineering, medical, aviation, logistics, and naval elements needed to execute the amphibious assault and follow-on operations.

So the best answer is the larger figure because it captures the full scope of the force the Marine commander directed in the Marianas. The smaller figures would represent only portions of the force (a single division’s size or smaller) and the largest option overstates the typical command size for this operation.