Sep 26 - Sep 28, 2024:
Marine Corps Engineer Association (MCEA)More Details
Patch
Unit Details
Strength
Battalion
Type
Engineer
Year
1942 - Present
Description
3rd Combat Engineer Battalion (3rd CEB) was a combat engineer battalion of the United States Marine Corps
"Demolition is the Mission"
The battalion was first formed on 16 September 1942 as 1st Battalion, 19th Marine Regiment.
Two years later on 16 August 1944 they were re-designated the 3d Engineer Battalion.
The battalion was deactivated at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California on 30 November 1945.
From August 1957 until January 1962, the battalion was designated 3d Pioneer Battalion.
On 15 May 1976 the battalion was redesignated as the 3d Combat Engineer Battalion
Years Active:
September 1942 - 6 June 1995
1 October 2007 - 5 August 2014
Description
After New Georgia, the next major operation was an invasion of the island of Bougainville, which was approached by landings at Mono and Stirling in the Treasury Islands on October 25-27, 1943. A Marine division landed on the west coast of Bougainville at Empress Augusta Bay on November 1, 1943. The Marines were followed within the month by an Army division and replaced in the next month by another Army division.
It was late November before the beachhead at Empress Augusta Bay was secure. This beachhead was all that was needed, and no attempt was made to capture the entire island. Allied planes neutralized enemy airfields in the northern part of the island, and the Allied command made use of its naval and air superiority to contain the Japanese garrison on Bougainville and cut its supply line to Rabaul by occupying the Green Islands (February 14, 1944).
Despite these measures, the Japanese maintained pressure against the beachhead, mounting an especially heavy but unsuccessful counterattack as late as March 1944. Success at Bougainville isolated all Japanese forces left in the Solomons. The Japanese sustained comparatively heavy air and naval losses during the campaign, which further crippled the Japanese Combined Fleet and had a vital effect on the balance of naval power in the Central Pacific.
