Special Naval Landing Force

The Japanese Special Naval Landing Force (SNLF) were the premiere marine force of the Imperial Japanese Military. Mistakenly called the "Japanese Marines", they were actually different from the USMC because they were still part of the Navy instead of being a separate division. They still nonetheless, performed the same functions as any marine force. They were vital for the successes of Imperial Japan in sweeping territories for their Empire. They fought in the Battle of Shanghai, and subsequent took over of China with the Army. Initially, the marine force were nothing more than sailors who had basic infantry training, but by the time of the Second-Sino Japanese War, their training and equipment drastically improved. They were equipped with both landing crafts and armoured vehicles to be used against naval defenses. As they grow nearer to Western-controlled territories, they soon created and modified effective tactics and strategy in amphibious assaults, that were even adopted by the Allies in their seaborne invasions such as Normandy. They also had their own raiding forces and parachute regiments. They successfully took over the whole South East Asia. But by the time the Allies started beating back the Japanese, the naval landing force were unfortunately merged with the rest of the infantry to defend their territories instead of the beach attacks they were accustomed to. Nonetheless, they performed with outmost savagery, once dishing out over 3,000 U.S. Marine casualties during the Battle of Tarawa.