'Dominant' Royal Marines humiliate US troops into surrendering halfway through exercise

3 November 2021, 13:41

Royal Marines have forced US troops into surrendering half-way through a military exercise.

The commandos were reported as "dominating" US marines, leading to the Americans asking to reset the scenario.

The Telegraph said it was told the Royal Marines' "kill board", which listed the amount of damage they wanted to deal against their mock foe, had a tick against nearly every unit and piece of equipment.

It said that Exercise Green Dagger saw the British troops start with less than 20 per cent of the battle area in California, but after repelling a last-dash US marine assault, they controlled about 65 per cent.

Lieutenant Colonel Andy Dow, who commanded the British, said: "Throughout this deployment our focus has been on integrating game-changing capabilities from across the commando force to deliver disproportionate effect in the face of a free-thinking peer adversary."

The exercise helped test the Royal Marines' new approach to warfare, with the elite troops restructuring to focus on fighting overseas as commandos are expected to, following years in the deserts of Afghanistan and Iraq.

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They have bought and tested new weapons and equipment as part of their bid to focus on expeditionary operations.

Some of the marines will be focusing on northern Europe and the "high north" while others will concentrate on the Indo-Pacific region, as the UK looks to get more involved there while China continues its rise.

Exercise Green Dagger takes place in a region the size of Luxembourg in the Mojave Desert, according to ForcesNet.

British and American marines have been training with Dutch counterparts this year.

The Telegraph said the Royal Marines managed to get to the rear of the Americans, attacking their command and control assets and disrupting their enemy's counter-attack attempts.

The British focused on destroying artillery and vehicles, and repelled the final assault with the help of fighter jets, leaving them with about two-thirds of the area having started with about a fifth.

UK forces are undergoing changes as they look to counter new threats posed by states like Russia and China, having spent much of the 21st century concentrating on counter-insurgency missions.

It now wants to focus on domains like cyber and space, and counter so-called "grey-zone" threats, which fall between traditional boundaries of war and peace.