The US Marine Corps has been going through an interesting identity crisis through the past few years. When originally conceived, the Marine Corps was meant to serve a few roles. First and foremost, they were a ship's security force. They would conduct and defend against boarding actions. Secondly, they were the force deployed during amphibious assaults. With Marine detachments being removed from ships in the 90's, that leaves amphibious landings. But Marines have been used in a different capacity in the last century, and that is as a large-scale QRF. A large force that can be deployed anywhere in the world, quickly, and with enough support to conduct operations until the Army arrives. However, their amphibious roots haven't been lost either. The Marines still train and conduct amphibious landings, and with their eyes trained on the South China Sea, they are re-orienting towards their island-hopping, amphibious nature.

During the Second Battle of Fallujah, Coalition forces, mostly made up of US Marines, encircled and bombarded the city of Fallujah, which was a known hotspot for insurgent activity. This encirclement allowed the Insurgents within the city to prepare an extensive defensive network of tunnels, fields of fire, and IEDs. After diversionary attacks, the main train station was captured first as a follow-on point for additional forces. Then Marines pushed into the city to push out any remaining Insurgents. After nine brutal days of urban combat, including the infamous Hell House, the fighting had been brought down to sporadic pockets. It was the bloodiest battle of the entire war.

During the Gulf War, many smaller armored skirmishes occurred. While the US had expected the Iraqi military to act as a near-peer adversary, this was simply not the case. The T-72 had a reputation due to it being of Soviet make, however, this reputation would fall short in reality, largely due to moral and supply issues on the Iraqi side.

During much of World War II, the French Resistance movement, later known as the French Forces of the Interior, would play a major role in disrupting German Forces, and feeding vital intelligence to Allied forces both before and after the invasion of Normandy. The movement was made up of everyone from civilians to ex-French Military. Often using guerilla tactics and stolen or smuggled equipment, the partisans would strike at German officers, disrupt supply lines, and collect information for the Allies throughout the duration of the war.

The Battle of Verdun, lasting from the 21 February - 18 December 1916, was the longest battle of the First World War. As with much of the Western Front, Verdun became a very static battle with the Germans launching offensives, but the French line held. The Germans would attack one side of the line, and it would hold. The Germans would attack the other side of the line, and it would hold. The battle became a symbol of the French and their tenacity.

The Battle of Kursk occurred between the 5th of July and the 23rd of August, 1943. It was centered around the city of Kursk, which had become a salient in the Soviet line of advance. The German plan was to flank this salient on the Northern and Southern sides, and encircle the town. However, due to a near religious devotion to the concept of defense-in-depth, the Soviet forces were able to lay down a defense network spanning a total of ~190 Miles. This is largely considered to be the largest armoured battle in history, as well as being the last real offensive action attempted by the Germans in the East.

Lasting from July 1942 - February 1943, the Battle of Stalingrad was of course one of the bloodiest battles in human history. The intense urban combat often led to a single building being occupied by both forces, and seeing fighting over mere single rooms. This battle is the turning point for the Eastern Front, as after this battle, Soviet Forces would continue advancing West towards Berlin for nearly the entire war.