There was a 4th Marines in 1940, which was then reformed in 1944 after surrendering in the Philippines in 1942.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4th\_Marine\_Regiment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4th_Marine_Regiment)
Anytime you hear "4th/5th/6th Marines" etc, it is always a reference to the regiment and not the division. This goes back to the practice prior to WW2 where regiments were the biggest units fielded and were either independent or subordinate to army units. WW2 was the first time Marine units fought at the division level and entire divisions were fielded.
2nd of the 7th would be 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, which is part of the 1st Marine Division. 1stMarDiv consists of the 1st, 5th, and 7th Marine regiments. 2nd MarDiv is historically 2nd, 6th, 8th. 3rd is 3rd, 4th, and 9th. 4th Mardiv is all reservists and is or was 23rd, 24th, and 25th Marine regiments.
I am strictly talking about infantry units here, each division also has an artillery regiment, an air wing, and random support battalions attached to it. Some of these units are also mothballed due to lack of wars currently and they get reactivated when things pop off. 9th Marines is currently mothballed for example, but was active during GWOT and Vietnam.
To add on your question, you rarely hear it phrased that way anymore, in modern times since Vietnam at least you would just say "2/7" (pronounced literally "two-seven").
Also a fun fact since i kind of went down the rabbit hole here, 4th Marine Regiment is the only regimental level Marine unit to burn its colors and surrender (at Corregidor). Because of that, they are only a regiment on paper and serve as a rotational/training command on Okinawa. The actual battalions (1/4, 2/4, 3/4) are spread across the other regiments. For example, 3/4 is or was attached to 7th Marines IIRC
Kind of a silly question. Of course it is interesting to know what in his books are fact and what is fiction. I feel like a know 17th and 18th century European history much better because of the Baroque Cycle, but I always have to keep in the back of my mind that he fictionalizes quite a bit, so I’m never quite sure what is fact and what is fiction.
Look fair enough. I guess I see a distinction between substantive historical facts (like in the baroque cycle) and sort of history channel war trivia, which is how I see this. But no reason for me to yuck your yum if that’s what you’re interested in.
If it was a deliberate stretching of real history then I would be interested in knowing the reason behind it. But I'm also content to accept that it was a mistake and/or that it doesn't really matter.
For the reason, look to answer he gave for using Finux instead of Linux.
>"Since Finux was the principal operating system used by the characters in the book, I needed some creative leeway to have the fictitious operating system as used by the characters be different in minor ways from the real operating system called Linux. Otherwise I would receive many complaints from Linux users pointing out errors in my depiction of Linux. This is why Batman works in Gotham City, instead of New York--by putting him in Gotham City, the creators afforded themselves the creative license to put buildings in different places, etc."
[link](https://wiki.c2.com/?McClainLooney)
There was a 4th Marines in 1940, which was then reformed in 1944 after surrendering in the Philippines in 1942. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4th\_Marine\_Regiment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4th_Marine_Regiment)
I see, looks like I got it confused with the 4th Marine Division... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4th_Marine_Division_%28United_States%29
Anytime you hear "4th/5th/6th Marines" etc, it is always a reference to the regiment and not the division. This goes back to the practice prior to WW2 where regiments were the biggest units fielded and were either independent or subordinate to army units. WW2 was the first time Marine units fought at the division level and entire divisions were fielded.
Good info! So does the phrase "2nd of the 7th" mean 2nd Regiment of the 7th Division? or vice versa?
2nd of the 7th would be 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, which is part of the 1st Marine Division. 1stMarDiv consists of the 1st, 5th, and 7th Marine regiments. 2nd MarDiv is historically 2nd, 6th, 8th. 3rd is 3rd, 4th, and 9th. 4th Mardiv is all reservists and is or was 23rd, 24th, and 25th Marine regiments. I am strictly talking about infantry units here, each division also has an artillery regiment, an air wing, and random support battalions attached to it. Some of these units are also mothballed due to lack of wars currently and they get reactivated when things pop off. 9th Marines is currently mothballed for example, but was active during GWOT and Vietnam. To add on your question, you rarely hear it phrased that way anymore, in modern times since Vietnam at least you would just say "2/7" (pronounced literally "two-seven"). Also a fun fact since i kind of went down the rabbit hole here, 4th Marine Regiment is the only regimental level Marine unit to burn its colors and surrender (at Corregidor). Because of that, they are only a regiment on paper and serve as a rotational/training command on Okinawa. The actual battalions (1/4, 2/4, 3/4) are spread across the other regiments. For example, 3/4 is or was attached to 7th Marines IIRC
This was super-helpful. Thanks!
Great question! Follow up - does it matter? At all? In any way whatsoever?
Kind of a silly question. Of course it is interesting to know what in his books are fact and what is fiction. I feel like a know 17th and 18th century European history much better because of the Baroque Cycle, but I always have to keep in the back of my mind that he fictionalizes quite a bit, so I’m never quite sure what is fact and what is fiction.
Look fair enough. I guess I see a distinction between substantive historical facts (like in the baroque cycle) and sort of history channel war trivia, which is how I see this. But no reason for me to yuck your yum if that’s what you’re interested in.
If it was a deliberate stretching of real history then I would be interested in knowing the reason behind it. But I'm also content to accept that it was a mistake and/or that it doesn't really matter.
For the reason, look to answer he gave for using Finux instead of Linux. >"Since Finux was the principal operating system used by the characters in the book, I needed some creative leeway to have the fictitious operating system as used by the characters be different in minor ways from the real operating system called Linux. Otherwise I would receive many complaints from Linux users pointing out errors in my depiction of Linux. This is why Batman works in Gotham City, instead of New York--by putting him in Gotham City, the creators afforded themselves the creative license to put buildings in different places, etc." [link](https://wiki.c2.com/?McClainLooney)