The Royal Thai Marine Corps or RTMC ( are the marines of the Royal Thai Navy (RTN). The Royal Thai Marine Corps was founded in 1932, when the first battalion was formed with the assistance of the United States Marine Corps (USMC). It was expanded to a regiment in 1940 and was in action against communist guerrillas throughout the 1950s and 1960s. During the 1960s the USMC assisted in its expansion into a brigade. The RTMC saw action on the Malaysian border in the 1970s, and has now been increased to four brigades.
History Historically, there was no distinction in the Kingdom of Siam between soldiers and marines, with the army performing both functions. The first "Thahan Ma-Rine", meaning "Marine Soldiers", were formed in 1833, during the reign of King Rama III. "Ma-Rine" was simply a transliteration of the English word. The development of the modern Thai Marine Corps can be divided into three periods:
Early years
The Marine Soldiers of the 19th and early 20th centuries were few in number and served mainly as a royal honor guard that provided security for the King whenever he traveled around the country.
On March 2, 1913, however, the Ministry of the Navy reorganized the Marine Soldiers. The Marine artillery platoon was attached to the Operation Command Department of Ships and Fortresses, while the Marine infantry platoon in Bangkok was attached to the Vehicle Division of the Department of the Navy Amphibious Assault Group.
The Revolution in 1932 transformed Thailand from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy. Shortly after, the Royal Thai Navy was reorganized, and the vehicle battalion became the Marine Corps Battalion of the Bangkok Navy Station. This is considered the first Marine Corps Battalion in Thailand.
Post–1932 Revolution (1932–1955)
The 2nd Marine Corps Battalion was established at Sattahip in 1937. Two years later, the 2nd Battalion was expanded into the Marine Corps Department. Shortly after that, a border dispute with French Indochina turned violent, and the Marine Corps Department's "Chanthaburi Division" was engaged in action with the French Foreign Legion (FFL) several times. During World War II, the Marine Corps sent troops to defend the southern border with British Malaya and also guarded Phuket Province from possible attack.
After Empire of Japan's surrender in September 1945, Thai marines helped disarm the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) at Baan Pong District in Ratchaburi Province. In 1950, when communist violence in British Malaya spilled over into Thailand, Marine Corps Troop 6 was sent to help restore the peace in Narathiwat Province.
On June 29, 1951, the Thai government disbanded the Marine Corps Bureau, and Marine units were placed under the command the Army. This was in response to the Manhattan Rebellion in which part of the Navy (including Marines) rebelled against the ruling Army junta. However, this was during the Korean War, and both the United States Armed Forces and the Royal Thai Navy urged Thailand to reconsider.
New Age (1955–present) Four years later, the Thai Government acknowledged that a Marine Corps could perform a useful role in national defense. On July 30, 1955, the government created the Marine Corps Department. In 1961, tensions flared over the disputed temple of Preah Vihear, situated on the Thai side of a high cliff on the Cambodian border but shown on French maps as being in Cambodia. The Chanthaburi and Trat borders with Cambodia gave the Marine Corps Department its first assignment, safeguarding the coastline and southeastern border. Since 1970 the Marine Corps' Chanthaburi-Trat Task Force has been officially assigned the defense of this area.
During 1972 and 1973, Thai marines were involved in the "Operation Sam-Chai" anti-communist operations in Phetchabun Province and the "Pha-Phum" anti-communist operations in Chiang Rai Province. In 1973 and 1974, they took part in anti-communist operations in the southern provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani, and Yala.
Since 1975, RTMC have been assigned to Narathiwat as Reconnaissance Battalion (RECON). In 1977, they captured the communist camp at Krung-Ching in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, and remaining there until 1981.
RTMC today are responsible for border security in Chanthaburi and Trat provinces. They have fought communist insurgents in engagements at Baan Hard Lek, Baan Koat Sai, Baan Nhong Kok, Baan Kradook Chang, Baan Chumrark, and in the battle of Hard Don Nai in Nakhon Phanom Province.
Since 1982, RTMC has been training with international marines, especially the United States Marine Corps, under the codename Cobra Gold (CG), which allows RTMC to gain many experience in new strategies and tactics to adapt to the current military situation. Meanwhile, marines from other nations participating in the training will gain experience in combat tactics and survival in the tropical rain forest.
At present, since 2004, Many Thai marines have died serving their country, and they continue to do so today, especially in the southern border provinces currently affected by the South Thailand insurgency, although they are trained more intensively in anti-irregular forces and counterinsurgency in urban areas. In real situations, Thai marines will be more flexible in their tactics according to the situation to minimize losses. Despite suffering significant casualties and losses, the Thai marines performed well especially in the difficult to reach drainage basin and jungle zone.
One of the Thai marines' most famous works during the South Thailand insurgency is Battle of Bacho. Despite being outnumbered and surrounded by superior Runda Kumpulan Kecil (RKK) insurgent forces, the Thai marines planned well to win the battle with no casualties. On the RKK side, a total of sixteen soldiers were killed during the attack on the 2nd Rifle Company Base, 32nd Task Force Narathiwat. This Battle of Bacho is considered the largest clash in which the death toll was from a group of insurgents who were fully armed.
A monument to their valor stands at the Royal Thai Navy base (aka Sattahip Naval Base) at Sattahip district, Chonburi province.
United Nations Peacekeeping Operations United Nations Iraq–Kuwait Observation Mission 1 Combat Engineer Company in Iraq United Nations Operation in Burundi 1 Combat Engineer Company in Burundi United Nations–African Union Mission in Darfur United Nations Mission in Sudan 1 Force Reconnaissance Company in Sudan 1 Armored Company in Sudan
Organization Royal Thai Marine Corps Headquarters
Royal Thai Marine Corps Education Commandhttp://www.marines.navy.mi.th/index.php/main/index www.marines.navy.mi.th/index.php/main/ Marine Corps School Recruit Training Division Support Division RTMC: Marine Division RTMC: 1st Marine Regiment RTMC: 1st Infantry Battalion King's Guard RTMC: 2nd Infantry Battalion RTMC: 3rd Infantry Battalion RTMC: 2nd Marine Regiment RTMC: 4th Infantry Battalion RTMC: 5th Infantry Battalion RTMC: 6th Infantry Battalion RTMC: 3rd Marine Regiment RTMC: 7th Infantry Battalion RTMC: 8th Infantry Battalion RTMC: 9th Infantry Battalion King's Guard RTMC: Marine Artillery Regiment RTMC: 1st Artillery Battalion RTMC: 2nd Artillery Battalion RTMC: Air Defense Artillery Battalion RTMC: 4th Artillery Battalion RTMC: Marine Service Support Regiment RTMC: Medical Battalion RTMC: Dental Battalion RTMC: Maintenance Battalion RTMC: Transport Battalion RTMC: Marine Assault Amphibious Vehicle Support Company RTMC: Marine Band Platoon RTMC Reconnaissance Battalion also known as (Force Recon/Marine Special Operations Force/RECON) RTMC: Marine Assault Amphibian Vehicle Battalion: equipped with AAV-7A1 and BTR-3E1 RTMC: Marine Tank Battalion: equipped with Type 69-ll MBT RTMC: Anti-Tank Company RTMC: Marine Combat Engineer Battalion: RTMC: Marine Signals Battalion RTMC: Marine Military Police Company RTMC: Marine Security Regiment RTMC: Marine Psychological Operations Company RTMC: Marine Task Forces RTMC: Marine 61st Special Operations Center RTMC: Marines Task Unit 411 RTMC: Paramilitary Marine Regiment
Miscellaneous The Royal Thai Marine Corps uses the Subskimmer
Equipment
Infantry Equipment NameOriginImageNotes Combat HelmetM1Limited use, for ceremonial & training purpose only.PASGTStandard issue.MICHLarge amount, some unit in Special Force and Recon widely use.Load-bearing vest, Bulletproof vestALICE equipmentLarge amount, widely used.CIRASUsed by Recon.Combat UniformERDLThailand version also in use, replaced.Digital WoodlandStandard issue.
Small arms NameOriginTypeCaliberNotes Pistol M1911 Semi-automatic pistol .45 ACP Star Bonifacio Echeverria Semi-automatic pistol .45 ACP Royal Thai Army Ordnance Department Star Bonifacio Echeverria model M mod. Colt Commander Semi-automatic pistol .45 ACP.38 ACP Colt Combat Commander. Smith & Wesson Centennial Revolver .38 ACP Star Bonifacio Echeverria Semi-automatic pistol .38 ACP model M mod. Carl Walther PPK Semi-automatic pistol .38 ACP9×19mm Parabellum Browning Hi-Power Semi-automatic pistol 9×19mm Parabellum Fabrique Nationale Browning High Power. Assault rifle M16A1/A2/A3 Assault rifle 5.56×45mm NATO M4A1/A3 Assault rifle 5.56×45mm NATO Bushmaster M4 Carbine 5.56×45mm NATO Colt AR-15 Carbine 5.56×45mm NATO IWI Tavor Assault rifle 5.56×45mm NATO IWI TAVOR TAR-21Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: IWI X95 Assault rifle 5.56×45mm NATO Heckler & Koch G36 Assault rifle 5.56×45mm NATO Used by recon. Heckler & Koch HK416 Assault rifle 5.56×45mm NATO Used by recon. FN SCAR Automatic rifle 5.56×45mm NATO Used by recon. CQ M-311 Assault rifle 5.56×45mm NATO Shotguns Remington Model 870 Pump action Shotgun 12 gauge Remington Model 1100 Semi-automatic shotgun 12 gauge Sniper rifle Sako Defence Tikka Sniper rifle 5.56×45mm.338 Lapua Machine guns Madsen M-50 Submachine gun 9×19mm Parabellum Micro Uzi Submachine gun 9×19mm Parabellum Micro Uzi M249 Light machine gun 5.56×45mm M60 General-purpose machine gun 7.62×51mm M2 Browning Heavy machine gun 12.7×99mm
Rocket, grenade and MANPAD NameOriginTypeNotes Rocket, grenade and MANPAD M203 Grenade launcher Armbrust Anti-tank weapon M47 Dragon Anti-tank guided missile BGM-71 TOW Anti-tank guided missile Use in Humvee. M40A2 Recoilless rifle QW-18 MANPAD
Combat vehicles NameOriginTypeQuantityNotes Combat vehicles VN-16 Amphibious Infantry Fighting Vehicle 3 (+3) 3 ordered in June 2020 at approximate cost of US$13 million for the Royal Thai Marine Corps and delivered in May 2021. 6 plan AAV-7A1 Amphibious Infantry Fighting Vehicle 12 Variants include: AAVP-7A1, AAVC-7A1, AAVR-7A1. Upgraded locally by Chaiseri to match with the BAE Systems's AAV7A1 RAM/RS standard. AWAV 8x8 Amphibious Infantry Fighting Vehicle 7+(7+7) 8x8 manufactured by Chaiseri, it mounts a RCWS EM&E Guardian 1.5 (12.7mm) The Royal Thai Marine Corps purchased additional armor from Chaiseri Metal and Rubber Co., Ltd., at a price of 503,080,000 baht. Announced in 2026 (B.E. 2569). R600 Amphibious Infantry Fighting Vehicle 2 8x8 Sea Tiger AAPC Amphibious Infantry Fighting Vehicle 1 8x8 BTR-3E1 Armoured personnel carrier 12 8x8 HMV-150 Commando Armoured personnel carrier 24 HMV-150 has an 8.9 liters Cummins ISL engine with a new automatic transmission Allison 4500 with six gears, which were upgraded done by Panus Assembly. First Win Armoured personnel carrier 8 4x4 Phantom 380-X Armoured personnel carrier 2 4x4
Logistic vehicles NameOriginTypeNotes Logistic vehicles Humvee Military light utility vehicle RTMC use M998, M1097A2, M997, M1025, M1045A2, M966. M151 Military light utility vehicle RTMC use M151A2, M151A2 mounting TOW, M718A1, M825. Ford Ranger Pickup truck M35 2-1/2 ton cargo truck Military truck RTMC use M35A2, M50A2, M49A2, M109A2. Isuzu Forward Truck RTMC use SBR, TXD 4x2, TSD 4x4, TWD 6x6, HTW, FTR 4x4. M813 Military truck RTMC use M54A2, M543A2.
Field artillery NameOriginTypeQuantityNotes Howitzer M758 ATMG