I never got to work with any infantry marines but the airwing marines that I got to work with was some smart resourceful bastards.

 

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as long as you can make black powder you can make a gun.
prisoners make guns in prison all the time with limited resources.
all they have is knowledge.

marines with muzzle loaders would still mow down Roman legions.
and I am sure marine armorers could craft flintlock muzzleloading rifles and blunderbuss's with the equipment they have.

 

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I have no idea what this has to do with anything, there are still a limited number of Marines. With no armor or air support there arent enough of them to take even 1000's to 1 casualties to win. Might be easier in your scenario since you are basically teaching the enemy how to make and use your weaponry.

 

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hey, a MEU brings a full battery of artillery (that's 155mm rounds) too, so yeah, those shrapnel rounds will do a good number to a whole lotta dudes all massed up in one formation

 

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to further expand on your post the load out for a MEU

Qty Nomenclature Element
4 M1A1 main battle tank ground
7 to 16 Light Armored Vehicle ground
15 Assault Amphibious Vehicle ground
6 155mm howitzer: M198 or M777 ground
8 M252 81mm mortar ground
8 BGM-71 Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) missile weapon system ground
8 FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missile ground
4 to 6 AH-1W SuperCobra attack helicopters aviation
3 UH-1N Twin Huey utility helicopter aviation
12 CH-46E Sea Knight medium lift assault helicopter aviation
4 CH-53E Super Stallion heavy lift assault helicopter aviation
6 AV-8B Harrier jet aviation
2 KC-130 Hercules re-fueler/transport aircraft aviation
2 Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Unit logistics
1 LMT 3000 water purification unit logistics
4 Tractor, Rubber Tire, Articulated Steering logistics
2 TX51-19M Rough Terrain Forklift logistics
3 D7 bulldozer logistics
1 Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement dump truck logistics
4 Mk48 Logistics Vehicle System logistics
7 500 gallon water containers multiple
63 Humvee multiple
30 Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement trucks


A MEU is basically the single most self contained badass fighting force put on the face of the planet. Especially when all that equipment is manned by US Marines.

 

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that's assuming everything went ashore of course... had they insta-portaled back 2000 years, chances are the ships with the harriers and hovercrafts did not go with them

 

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If you want to use the movie script like I am they took a section of Bagram with them. so they might be lucky and have other aircraft, the script did say there where a couple hundred air force tech's and aircraft mechanics.




bagram is a huge base built by the soviets for the most part.

 

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In the actual question it says with a modern U.S. Marine infantry battalion or MEU [Marine Expeditionary Unit]?


Srs question. Is there a difference between the two? And if so, what is it?

 

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Questions like that have been all over the internet for a long time, but Reddit in all its reposting glory gets the credit.

 

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they would have to go down to matchlock as flint requires mining, mining requires knowledge of locations, plus ability to make the strikers.

Guns require steel, granted they already have barrels, as long as they are willing to burn the fuel (and disassemble their weapons) to run the tools to retool the guns to matchlock. they aren't going to be smelting new guns any time soon, most modern steel is of the wrong variety...guns that blow up when fired=less troops=even worse situation.

smelting requires ceramics, ceramics requires trade with china (at that time) and access to good coke (trade with gaul if you can even convince them to look for it in the first place)

black powder requires saltpeter (probably not that many marines know how to farm large quantities of saltpeter) charred coal or (again, trade with gaul or loads of lumber, plus the ability to cook it properly probably the easiest part) and (not truly necessary but improves the powder) sulfer, trade with arabia...or really, ROME.

Realistically, you could move a modern university back in time and they would have problems making this stuff...so much of it requires thousands of years of precursor steps and technologies which we simply take for granted these days.

and again, ask the Carthaginians exactly how much 'quit' is in the Roman psyche, if you attacked Rome, even taking the city wouldn't be the end of it, not by a long shot.

 

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