Gilbert Islands in the Pacific. Although the negative perception prevailed among Allied planners in the interwar years, the war situation after 1940 meant that such operations had to be considered. However, despite early successes in North Africa and Italy, it was not until Normandy that the belief that opposed landings could not succeed was completely excised.
Interwar developments
One of the first amphibious landings involving armour was conducted by the
Irish National Army in 1922, during the
Irish Civil War. Landings against Republican rebels at
Westport,
Fenit and
Cork all involved armour cars. The Westport and Fenit landings involved light armoured cars and
18-pounder artillery guns being hoisted off the ships by crane. Heavier armoured cars were used at Cork, resulting in some difficulty. While Irish troops could reach the coast in small boats from naval vessels offshore, the ships had to dock to unload the heavy vehicles and artillery guns. These operations were a major success for the Irish government forces, mainly due to the element of surprise and the use of armoured vehicles and artillery. Government forces were able to capture all the major towns and cities in southern
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
.
The
Alhucemas landing
The Alhucemas landing ( es, Desembarco de Alhucemas; also known as Al Hoceima landing) was a landing operation which took place on 8 September 1925 at Alhucemas by the Spanish Army and Navy and, in lesser numbers, an allied French naval and ae ...
on 8 September 1925, performed by a Spanish-French coalition against rebel Berber tribesmen in the north of
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
, was an amphibious landing where tanks were used for the first time and massive aerial and
naval gunfire support
Naval gunfire support (NGFS) (also known as shore bombardment) is the use of naval artillery to provide fire support
Fire support is defined by the United States Department of Defense as " Fires that directly support land, maritime, amphibiou ...
was employed by the landing forces, directed by spotting personnel with communication devices.
Floating depots were organized with medical, water, ammunition and food supplies, to be dispatched ashore when needed. The barges used in this landing were the surviving "K" boats from
Gallipoli, upgraded in Spanish shipyards.
In 1938, Japanese forces attacked Chinese defenders over the
Yangtze River
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...
at the
Battle of Wuhan. Soon, the Japanese would later further improve its techniques upon seaborne assaults by the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
. By World War II, marines such as the
Special Naval Landing Force
The Special Naval Landing Forces (SNLF; ja, 海軍特別陸戦隊, Kaigun Tokubetsu Rikusentai) were naval infantry units of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and were a part of the IJN Land Forces. They saw extensive service in the Second Sino ...
, used amphibious landings to attack and sweep across territories in South East Asia. Their technique of surprise landings in continuous success and the support from the Navy, inspired the British and American landings in World War II such as
D-Day and the
Pacific Campaign.
Britain
During the
inter-war period
In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relative ...
, the combination of the negative experience at
Gallipoli and economic stringency contributed to the delay in procuring equipment and adopting a universal doctrine for amphibious operations in the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
.
The costly failure of the
Gallipoli campaign coupled with the emerging potential of
airpower
Airpower or air power consists of the application of military aviation, military strategy and strategic theory to the realm of aerial warfare and close air support. Airpower began in the advent of powered flight early in the 20th century. Airp ...
satisfied many in naval and military circles that the age of amphibious operations had come to a close.
[Maund, LEH. ''Assault From the Sea'', Methuen & Co. Ltd., London 1949. pp. 3–10] Still, throughout the 1920s and 1930s, animated discussion in
Staff College
Staff colleges (also command and staff colleges and War colleges) train military officers in the administrative, military staff and policy aspects of their profession. It is usual for such training to occur at several levels in a career. For e ...
s in Britain and the
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
Staff College at
Quetta
Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه) is the tenth most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in south-west of the country close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is the capital of ...
surrounded the strategic potential of the
Dardanelles campaign compared with the strategic stalemate of the
Western Front. The economic austerity of the worldwide
economic depression and the government's adoption of the
Ten Year Rule
The Ten Year Rule was a British government guideline, first adopted in August 1919, that the armed forces should draft their estimates "on the assumption that the British Empire would not be engaged in any great war during the next ten years".
The ...
assured that such theoretical talk would not result in the procurement of any large scale equipment.
Despite this outlook, the British produced the ''
Motor Landing Craft'' in 1920, based on their experience with the early 'Beetle' armoured transport. The craft could put a medium tank directly onto a beach. From 1924, it was used with landing boats in annual exercises in amphibious landings. It was later called ''Landing Craft, Mechanized'' (''LCM'') and was the predecessor of all
Allied landing craft mechanised
Landing is the last part of a flight, where a flying animal, aircraft, or spacecraft returns to the ground. When the flying object returns to water, the process is called alighting, although it is commonly called "landing", "touchdown" or ...
(LCM).
The
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
and
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
formed a landing craft committee to "recommend... the design of landing craft".
A prototype motor landing craft, designed by
J. Samuel White
J. Samuel White was a British shipbuilding firm based in Cowes, taking its name from John Samuel White (1838–1915).
It came to prominence during the Victorian era. During the 20th century it built destroyers and other naval craft for both the ...
of
Cowes, was built and first sailed in 1926. It weighed 16 tons and had a box-like appearance, having a square bow and stern. To prevent fouling of the propellers in a craft destined to spend time in surf and possibly be beached, a crude
waterjet propulsion system was devised by White's designers. A
Hotchkiss petrol engine drove a centrifugal pump which produced a jet of water, pushing the craft ahead or astern, and steering it, according to how the jet was directed. Speed was 5-6
knot
A knot is an intentional complication in cordage which may be practical or decorative, or both. Practical knots are classified by function, including hitches, bends, loop knots, and splices: a ''hitch'' fastens a rope to another object; a ' ...
s and its beaching capacity was good.
[Fergusson, Bernard ''The Watery Maze; the story of Combined Operations'', Holt, New York, 1961. pp. 38-43] By 1930, three MLC were operated by the Royal Navy.
For a short journey, from shore to shore, the cargo could be rolled or carried into the boat over its ramp. On longer journeys, ship to shore, a derrick would lower the MLC into the sea from the transporting vessel. The derrick would then lower the vehicle or cargo load. Upon touching down on shore, soldiers or vehicles exited by the
bow ramp.
Although there was much official apathy toward amphibious operations, this began to change in the late 1930s. The
Royal Naval Staff College
The Royal Naval College, Greenwich, was a Royal Navy training establishment between 1873 and 1998, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Royal Navy's staff college, which provided advanced training for officers. The equiv ...
at Greenwich, drafted a document detailing combined operations requirements and submitted it to the
Chiefs of Staff in 1936. The document recommended the establishment of an inter-service 'Training and Development Centre', with a permanent force of
Royal Marines attached to it. Its functions were to "train in all methods for the seizure of defended beaches; develop the materiel necessary for such methods, with special regard to protection of troops, speed of landing, and the attainment of surprise; and develop methods and materiel for the destruction or neutralization of enemy defenses, including bombardment and aircraft co-operation.
The
Inter-Service Training and Development Centre
The Inter-Service Training and Development Centre (ISTDC) was a department under the British Chiefs of Staff set up prior to World War II for the purpose of developing methods and equipment to use in Combined Operations.
The ISTDC came into bei ...
was established at
Fort Cumberland, near
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
in 1938, and brought together representatives from the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
,
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
, and
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
convened with the portfolio of developing methods and equipment to use in
Combined Operations.
The Centre examined certain specific problems, including craft for landing tanks, beach organisation, floating piers, headquarters ships, amphibian tanks, underwater obstacles, the landing of water and petrol and the use of small craft in amphibious raids
By the end of 1939 the ISTDC had codified a policy for landings, and defended it at Staff College discussions. Operational experience during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
introduced modifications to this landing policy, but it was essentially the policy used in the
Torch
A torch is a stick with combustible material at one end, which is ignited and used as a light source. Torches have been used throughout history, and are still used in processions, symbolic and religious events, and in juggling entertainment. I ...
and
Husky
Husky is a general term for a dog used in the polar regions, primarily and specifically for work as sled dogs. It refers to a traditional northern type, notable for its cold-weather tolerance and overall hardiness. Modern racing huskies that mai ...
landings four years later.
The essential shape of this landing policy is described by Bernard Fergusson in ''The Watery Maze'',
Among the many tactical innovations introduced by the centre, codified in the ''Manual on Combined Operations'' and the ''Standard Naval Bombardment Code'', was the use of Floating Piers (
pontoons) to bridge the water gap, the creation of Smoke Generating devices to obscure the assault and the use of
infra-red directional beacons for landing accuracy. The centre also played a role in the development of the first specialized landing crafts, including the
Assault Landing Craft, the
Mechanized Landing Craft (LCM(1)), the
Landing Craft Tank (Mk. 1), Support Landing Craft LCS(1), LCS(2) and
Landing Ship Infantry.
Divisional-sized amphibious landing exercises were carried out by the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
in the 1930s.
United States
In contrast to the British attitude, the U.S. military, especially the
Marine Corps
Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refl ...
remained enthusiastic at the possibilities of amphibious warfare. The Marine Corps was searching for an expanded mission after
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, during which it had merely been used as a junior version of the Army
infantry
Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...
. During the 1920s, it found a new mission — to be a
fast-reacting, light infantry fighting force carried rapidly to far off locations by the
US Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
. Its special role would be amphibious landings on enemy-held islands, but it took years to figure out how to do that. The
Mahanian notion of a decisive fleet battle required
forward bases for the Navy close to the enemy. After the
Spanish–American War
, partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence
, image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg
, image_size = 300px
, caption = (cloc ...
the Marines gained the mission of occupying and defending those forward bases, and began a training program on
Culebra Island,
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
.
[Millett, ''Semper Fidelis,'' ch 12]
As early as 1900 the
General Board of the United States Navy
The General Board of the United States Navy was an advisory body of the United States Navy, somewhat akin to a naval general staff and somewhat not. The General Board was established by general order 544, issued on March 13, 1900 by Secretary ...
considered building advance bases for naval operations in the
Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...
and the
Caribbean. The Marine Corps was given this mission in 1920, but the challenge was to avoid another disaster like
Gallipoli. The conceptual breakthrough came in 1921 when
Major "Pete" Ellis wrote ''Advanced Base Operations in Micronesia'' a secret 30,000-word manifesto that proved inspirational to Marine strategists and highly prophetic. To win a war in the Pacific, the Navy would have to fight its way through thousands of miles of ocean controlled by the Japanese—including the
Marshall
Marshall may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria
Canada
* Marshall, Saskatchewan
* The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia
Liberia
* Marshall, Liberia
Marshall Islands
* Marshall Islands, an i ...
,
Caroline,
Marianas and
Ryukyu
The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yonagu ...
island chains. If the Navy could land Marines to seize selected islands, they could become forward bases.
Ellis argued that with an enemy prepared to defend the beaches, success depended on high-speed movement of waves of
assault craft, covered by heavy
naval gunfire and
attack from the air. He predicted that the decisive action would take place on the beach itself, so the assault teams would need not just infantry but also
machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) ar ...
units,
light artillery,
light tanks
A light tank is a tank variant initially designed for rapid movements in and out of combat, to outmaneuver heavier tanks. It is smaller in size with thinner armor and a less powerful main gun, tailored for better tactical mobility and ease of ...
, and
combat engineer
A combat engineer (also called pioneer or sapper) is a type of soldier who performs military engineering tasks in support of land forces combat operations. Combat engineers perform a variety of military engineering, tunnel and mine warfare tas ...
s to defeat beach obstacles and defenses. Assuming the enemy had its own artillery, the landing craft would have to be specially built to protect the landing force. The failure at Gallipoli came because the
Turks
Turk or Turks may refer to:
Communities and ethnic groups
* Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages
* Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
* Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...
could easily reinforce the specific landing sites. The Japanese would be unable to land new forces on the islands under attack.
Not knowing which of the many islands would be the American target, the Japanese would have to disperse their strength by garrisoning many islands that would never be attacked. An island like
Eniwetok
Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with i ...
in the
Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Intern ...
, would, Ellis estimated, require two regiments, or 4,000 Marines. Guided by Marine
observer aircraft, and supplemented by Marine
light bombers, warships would provide enough firepower so that Marines would not need any
heavy artillery
The formal definition of large-calibre artillery used by the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms (UNROCA) is "guns, howitzers, artillery pieces, combining the characteristics of a gun, howitzer, mortar, or multiple-launch rocket syst ...
(in contrast to the Army, which relied heavily on its artillery). Shelling defended islands was a new mission for warships. The Ellis model was officially endorsed in 1927 by the Joint Board of the Army and Navy (a forerunner of the Joint Chiefs of Staff).
However, actual implementation of the new mission took another decade because the
Marine Corps
Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refl ...
was preoccupied in
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
and the Navy was slow to start training in how to support the landings. The prototype
advanced base force
The United States Marine Corps's Advanced Base Force (Advance Base Force in some references) was a coastal and naval base defense force that was designed to set up mobile and fixed bases in the event of major landing operations within, and beyo ...
officially evolved into the
Fleet Marine Force
The United States Fleet Marine Forces (FMF) are combined general- and special-purpose forces within the United States Department of the Navy that perform offensive amphibious or expeditionary warfare and defensive maritime employment. The Flee ...
(FMF) in 1933.
[Allan R. Millett, ''"Semper Fidelis: The History of the United States Marine Corps"'', (New York City, NY: The Free Press, 1991).] In 1939, during the annual
Fleet Landing Exercises, the FMF became interested in the military potential of
Andrew Higgins
Andrew Jackson Higgins (28 August 1886 – 1 August 1952) was an American businessman and boatbuilder who founded Higgins Industries, the New Orleans, Louisiana, New Orleans-based manufacturer of "LCVP (United States), Higgins boats" (Landing ...
's design of a powered, shallow-
draught boat. These
LCVPs, dubbed the 'Higgins Boats', were reviewed and passed by the U.S. Naval
Bureau of Construction and Repair The Bureau of Construction and Repair (BuC&R) was the part of the United States Navy which from 1862 to 1940 was responsible for supervising the design, construction, conversion, procurement, maintenance, and repair of ships and other craft for the ...
. Soon, the Higgins boats were developed to a final design with a ramp, and were produced in large numbers.
Second World War
By the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
tactics and equipment had moved on. The first use of British landing craft in an opposed landing in the Second World War, saw the disembarkation of
French Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, Armoured Cavalry Arm, cavalry, Military engineering, engineers, Airborne forces, airborne troops. It was created ...
naires of the
13th Demi-Brigade and supporting French
Hotchkiss H39 tanks on the beach at
Bjerkvik
Bjerkvik is a village in Narvik Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The village is located at the end of Herjangsfjorden, an arm of Ofotfjorden. Bjerkvik sits less than south of the border of Troms county and about across the fjord from ...
,
eight miles (13 km) above Narvik, on 13 May during the Norwegian campaign.
[Buffetaut 1994, p. 27]
The first major and successful amphibious operation was
Operation Ironclad
The Battle of Madagascar (5 May – 6 November 1942) was a British campaign to capture the Vichy French-controlled island Madagascar during World War II. The seizure of the island by the British was to deny Madagascar's ports to the Imperial ...
, a British campaign to capture
Vichy French-controlled Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
. The naval contingent consisted of over 50 vessels, drawn from
Force H, the
British Home Fleet
The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet.
Before the First ...
and the British
Eastern Fleet
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
* Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
* Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
* Eastern Air ...
, commanded by Rear Admiral
Edward Neville Syfret.
The fleet included the aircraft carrier ''Illustrious'', her sister ship ''Indomitable'' and the aging battleship ''Ramillies'' to cover the landings. The first wave of the
British 29th Infantry Brigade and
No. 5 Commando landed in
assault craft on 5 May 1942, follow-up waves were by two brigades of the
5th Infantry Division and Royal Marines. Air cover was provided mainly by
Fairey Albacore
The Fairey Albacore is a single-engine biplane torpedo bomber designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Fairey Aviation. It was primarily operated by the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm (FAA) and was heavily used during the Second ...
and
Fairey Swordfish
The Fairey Swordfish is a biplane torpedo bomber, designed by the Fairey Aviation Company. Originating in the early 1930s, the Swordfish, nicknamed "Stringbag", was principally operated by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy. It was also us ...
torpedo
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...
bombers which attacked Vichy shipping.
Purpose-built
landing craft were among the vessels used at the evacuation from
Dunkirk (
Operation Dynamo
Operation or Operations may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity
* Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory
* ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...
) and an amphibious operation was tried out at
Dieppe
Dieppe (; Norman: ''Dgieppe'') is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France.
Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to N ...
in 1942. The operation proved a costly failure, but the lessons, hard learned, were used later. Many small-scale operations were conducted by the Allies on the Axis-held coast of Europe, including raids on the
Lofoten Islands,
St Nazaire and
Bruneval
Saint-Jouin-Bruneval is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France.
Geography
A farming village in the Pays de Caux, situated some north of Le Havre, at the junction of the D940, D139 and D111 roads. ...
.
Specialized infantry landing craft
In the run up to
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, many specialized landing craft, both for infantry and vehicles, were developed. In November 1938, the
Inter-Service Training and Development Centre
The Inter-Service Training and Development Centre (ISTDC) was a department under the British Chiefs of Staff set up prior to World War II for the purpose of developing methods and equipment to use in Combined Operations.
The ISTDC came into bei ...
proposed a new type of
landing craft.
Its specifications were to weigh less than ten
long tons, to be able to carry the thirty-one men of a British Army
platoon
A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may rang ...
and five
assault engineers or
signaller
A signaller, signalman, colloquially referred to as a radioman or signaleer in the armed forces is a specialist soldier, sailor or airman responsible for military communications. Signallers, a.k.a. Combat Signallers or signalmen or women, are ...
s, and to be so shallow drafted as to be able to land them, wet only up to their knees, in eighteen inches of water.
All of these specifications made the
Landing Craft Assault
Landing Craft Assault (LCA) was a landing craft used extensively in World War II. Its primary purpose was to ferry troops from transport ships to attack enemy-held shores. The craft derived from a prototype designed by John I. Thornycroft Ltd. ...
; a separate set of requirements were laid down for a vehicle and supplies carrier, although previously the two roles had been combined in the
Motor Landing Craft.
J. S. White of Cowes built a prototype to the Fleming design.
[Buffetaut, p. 26] Eight weeks later the craft was doing trials on the Clyde. All landing craft designs must find a compromise between two divergent priorities; the qualities that make a good sea boat are opposite those that make a craft suitable for beaching.
[Saunders 1943, p. 11.]
The craft had a hull built of double-diagonal
mahogany planking. The sides were plated with "10lb. D
IHT" armour, a heat treated steel based on D1 steel, in this case
Hadfield's Resista ".
[Buffetaut 1994, p. 49]
The
Landing Craft Assault
Landing Craft Assault (LCA) was a landing craft used extensively in World War II. Its primary purpose was to ferry troops from transport ships to attack enemy-held shores. The craft derived from a prototype designed by John I. Thornycroft Ltd. ...
remained the most common British and
Commonwealth landing craft of World War II, and the humblest vessel admitted to the books of the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
on
D-Day. Prior to July 1942, these craft were referred to as "Assault Landing Craft" (ALC), but "Landing Craft; Assault" (LCA) was used thereafter to conform with the joint US-UK nomenclature system.
The
Landing Craft Infantry was a stepped up
amphibious assault ship
An amphibious assault ship is a type of amphibious warfare ship employed to land and support ground forces on enemy territory by an amphibious assault. The design evolved from aircraft carriers converted for use as helicopter carriers (and, a ...
, developed in response to a British request for a vessel capable of carrying and landing substantially more troops than the smaller
Landing Craft Assault
Landing Craft Assault (LCA) was a landing craft used extensively in World War II. Its primary purpose was to ferry troops from transport ships to attack enemy-held shores. The craft derived from a prototype designed by John I. Thornycroft Ltd. ...
(LCA). The result was a small steel ship that could land 200 troops, traveling from rear bases on its own bottom at a speed of up to 15 knots. The original British design was envisioned as being a "one time use" vessel which would simply ferry the troops across the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
, and were considered an expendable vessel. As such, no troop sleeping accommodations were placed in the original design. This was changed shortly after initial use of these ships, when it was discovered that many missions would require overnight accommodations.
The first LCI(L)s entered service in 1943 chiefly with the Royal Navy (RN) and United States Navy. Some 923 LCI were built in ten American shipyards and 211 provided under lend-lease to the Royal Navy.
Specialized vehicle landing craft
Following the
Inter-Service Training and Development Centre
The Inter-Service Training and Development Centre (ISTDC) was a department under the British Chiefs of Staff set up prior to World War II for the purpose of developing methods and equipment to use in Combined Operations.
The ISTDC came into bei ...
's (ISTDC) successful development of the infantry carrying
LCA, attention turned to the means of efficiently delivering a tank to a beach in 1938. Inquires were made of the army as to the heaviest tank that might be employed in a landing operation. The army wanted to be able to land a 12-ton tank, but the ISTDC, anticipating weight increases in future tank models specified 16
tons burthen for Mechanised Landing Craft designs.
Another governor on any design was the need to land tanks and other vehicles in less than approximately feet of water.
Design work began at
John I. Thornycroft Ltd. in May 1938 with trials completing in February 1940.
Although early LCM(1)s were powered by two Thornycroft 60 bhp petrol engines, the majority were powered by Chrysler, in-line, 6-cylinder Crown petrol engines. Constructed of
steel and selectively clad with armour plate, this shallow-draft,
barge
Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...
-like boat with a crew of 6, could ferry a tank of 16 long tons to shore at 7
knots (13 km/h). Depending on the weight of the tank to be transported the craft might be lowered into the water by its davits already loaded or could have the tank placed in it after being lowered into the water.
Although the Royal Navy had the
Landing Craft Mechanised
Landing is the last part of a flight, where a flying animal, aircraft, or spacecraft returns to the ground. When the flying object returns to water, the process is called alighting, although it is commonly called "landing", "touchdown" or ...
at its disposal, in 1940, Prime Minister
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...
demanded an amphibious vessel capable of landing at least three 36-ton
heavy tanks directly onto a beach, able to sustain itself at sea for at least a week, and inexpensive and easy to build.
Admiral Maund, Director of the
Inter-Service Training and Development Centre
The Inter-Service Training and Development Centre (ISTDC) was a department under the British Chiefs of Staff set up prior to World War II for the purpose of developing methods and equipment to use in Combined Operations.
The ISTDC came into bei ...
(which had developed the
Landing Craft Assault
Landing Craft Assault (LCA) was a landing craft used extensively in World War II. Its primary purpose was to ferry troops from transport ships to attack enemy-held shores. The craft derived from a prototype designed by John I. Thornycroft Ltd. ...
), gave the job to naval architect Sir Roland Baker, who within three days completed initial drawings for a landing craft with a beam and a shallow draft. Ship builders
Fairfields
Fairfields is a district and civil parish that covers a large new development area on the western flank of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. As the first tier of Local Government, the parish council is responsible for the people who l ...
and
John Brown agreed to work out details for the design under the guidance of the Admiralty Experimental Works at
Haslar. Tank tests with models soon determined the characteristics of the craft, indicating that it would make on engines delivering about .
Designated the LCT Mark 1, 20 were ordered in July 1940 and a further 10 in October 1940.
The first LCT Mark 1 was launched by
Hawthorn Leslie
R. & W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company, Limited, usually referred to as Hawthorn Leslie, was a shipbuilder and locomotive manufacturer. The company was founded on Tyneside in 1886 and ceased building ships in 1982.
History
The company was form ...
in November 1940. It was an all-welded 372-ton steel-hulled vessel that drew only of water at the bow. Sea trials soon proved the Mark 1 to be difficult to handle and almost unmanageable in some sea conditions. The designers set about correcting the faults of the Mark 1 in the LCT Mark 2. Longer and wider, three Paxman diesel or
Napier Lion
The Napier Lion is a 12-cylinder, petrol-fueled 'broad arrow' W12 configuration aircraft engine built by D. Napier & Son from 1917 until the 1930s. A number of advanced features made it the most powerful engine of its day and kept it in prod ...
petrol engines replaced the Hall-Scotts, and 15 and 20 lb. armoured shielding was added to the wheelhouse and gun tubs.
The Mark 3 had an additional midsection that gave it a length of and a displacement of 640 tons. Even with this extra weight, the vessel was slightly faster than the Mark 1. The Mk.3 was accepted on 8 April 1941, and was prefabricated in five sections. The Mark 4 was slightly shorter and lighter than the Mk.3, but had a much wider beam () and was intended for cross channel operations as opposed to seagoing use. When tested in early assault operations, like the ill-fated Canadian commando raid on
Dieppe
Dieppe (; Norman: ''Dgieppe'') is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France.
Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to N ...
in 1942, the lack of manoeuvring ability led to the preference for a shorter overall length in future variants, most of which were built in the United States.
When the United States entered the war in December 1941, the U.S. Navy had no amphibious vessels at all, and found itself obliged to consider British designs already in existence. One of these, advanced by K.C. Barnaby of
Thornycroft, was for a double-ended LCT to work with landing ships. The Bureau of Ships quickly set about drawing up plans for landing craft based on Barnaby's suggestions, although with only one ramp. The result, in early 1942, was the LCT Mark 5, a 117-foot craft with a beam of 32 feet that could accommodate five 30-ton or four 40-ton tanks or 150 tons of cargo. With a crew of twelve men and one officer, this 286 ton landing craft had the merit of being able to be shipped to combat areas in three separate water-tight sections aboard a cargo ship or carried pre-assembled on the flat deck of an Landing Ship, Tank, LST. The Mk.5 would be launched by heeling the LST on its beam to let the craft slide off its chocks into the sea, or cargo ships could lower each of the three sections into the sea where they were joined.
A further development was the Landing Ship, Tank designation, built to support amphibious operations by carrying significant quantities of vehicles, cargo, and landing troops directly onto an unimproved shore. The British Operation Dynamo, evacuation from Dunkirk in 1940 demonstrated to the British Admiralty, Admiralty that the Allies needed relatively large, ocean-going ships capable of shore-to-shore delivery of tanks and other vehicles in amphibious assaults upon the continent of Europe. The first purpose-built LST design was . To carry 13 Churchill tank, Churchill infantry tanks, 27 vehicles and nearly 200 men (in addition to the crew) at a speed of 18 knots, it could not have the shallow draught that would have made for easy unloading. As a result, each of the three (''Boxer'', ''Bruiser'', and ''Thruster'') ordered in March 1941 had a very long ramp stowed behind the bow doors.
In November 1941, a small delegation from the British Admiralty arrived in the United States to pool ideas with the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
's Bureau of Ships with regard to development of ships and also including the possibility of building further ''Boxer''s in the US. During this meeting, it was decided that the Bureau of Ships would design these vessels. The LST(2) design incorporated elements of the first British LCTs from their designer, Sir Rowland Baker, who was part of the British delegation. This included sufficient buoyancy in the ships' sidewalls that they would float even with the tank deck flooded. The LST(2) gave up the speed of HMS ''Boxer'' at only 10 knots but had a similar load while drawing only 3 feet forward when beaching.
In three separate acts dated 6 February 1942, 26 May 1943, and 17 December 1943, Congress provided the authority for the construction of LSTs along with a host of other auxiliaries, destroyer escorts, and assorted
landing craft. The enormous building program quickly gathered momentum. Such a high priority was assigned to the construction of LSTs that the previously laid keel of an aircraft carrier was hastily removed to make room for several LSTs to be built in her place. The keel of the first LST was laid down on 10 June 1942 at Newport News, Virginia, Newport News, Va., and the first standardized LSTs were floated out of their building dock in October. Twenty-three were in commission by the end of 1942. Lightly armored, they could steam cross the ocean with a full load on their own power, carrying infantry, tanks and supplies directly onto the beaches. Together with 2,000 other landing craft, the LSTs gave the troops a protected, quick way to make combat landings, beginning in summer 1943.
D-Day
The most famous amphibious assaults of the war, and of all time, were the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, in which British, Canadian, and US forces landed at Utah Beach, Utah, Omaha Beach, Omaha, Gold Beach, Gold, Juno Beach, Juno and Sword Beach, Sword beaches in the largest amphibious operation in history.
The organizational planning of the landings (
Operation Neptune
Operation or Operations may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity
* Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory
* ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...
) was in the hands of Admiral Bertram Ramsay. It covered the landing of the troops and their re-supply. Many innovative elements were included in the operation to ensure its success.
Operation Pluto was a scheme developed by Arthur Hartley, chief engineer with the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, to construct an undersea Pipeline transport, oil pipeline under the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
between England and France to provide logistical support to the landed armies. Allied forces on the European continent required a tremendous amount of fuel. Pipelines were considered necessary to relieve dependence on oil tankers, which could be slowed by bad weather, were susceptible to Nazi Germany, German submarines, and were also needed in the
Pacific War. Geoffrey William Lloyd, the Minister for Petroleum gained the support of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, Admiral Mountbatten, Chief of
Combined Operations for the operation.
Two types of pipeline were developed. The first type was the flexible ''HAIS'' pipe with a () diameter lead core, weighing around 55
long tons per nautical mile (), was essentially a development by Siemens Brothers (in conjunction with the National Physical Laboratory, UK, National Physical Laboratory) of their existing undersea telegraph cables, and known as HAIS (from Hartley-Anglo-Iranian-Siemens). The second type was a less flexible steel pipe of similar diameter, developed by engineers from the Iraq Petroleum Company and the Burmah Oil Company.
In June 1942 the Post Office cable ship ''Iris'' laid lengths of both Siemens' and Henleys' cable in the Clyde. The pipeline was completely successful and PLUTO was formally brought into the plans for the invasion of Europe. The project was deemed "strategically important, tactically adventurous, and, from the industrial point of view, strenuous". After full-scale testing of an 83 km (45 nautical mile) HAIS pipe across the Bristol Channel between Swansea in Wales and Watermouth in North Devon, the first line to France was laid on 12 August 1944, over the 130 km (70 nautical miles) from Shanklin Chine on the Isle of Wight across the English Channel to Cherbourg Naval Base. A further HAIS pipe and two HAMELs followed. As the fighting moved closer to Germany, 17 other lines (11 HAIS and 6 HAMEL) were laid from Dungeness (headland), Dungeness to Ambleteuse in the Pas-de-Calais.
In January 1945, 305 tonnes (300 long tons) of fuel was pumped to France per day, which increased tenfold to 3,048 tonnes (3,000 long tons) per day in March, and eventually to 4,000 tons (almost 1,000,000 Imperial gallons) per day. In total, over 781 000 m³ (equal to a cube with 92 metre long sides or over 172 million imperial gallons) of gasoline had been pumped to the
Allied forces in Europe by Victory in Europe Day, VE day, providing a critical supply of fuel until a more permanent arrangement was made, although the pipeline remained in operation for some time after.
Mulberry harbour, Portable harbours were also prefabricated as temporary facilities to allow rapid offloading of cargo onto the beaches during the invasion of Normandy, Allied invasion of Normandy. The
Dieppe Raid of 1942 had shown that the Allies of World War II, Allies could not rely on being able to penetrate the Atlantic Wall to capture a port on the north French coast. The problem was that large ocean-going ships of the type needed to transport heavy and bulky cargoes and stores needed Draft (hull), sufficient depth of water under their keels, together with Crane (machine), dockside cranes, to off-load their cargo and this was not available except at the already heavily defended French harbours. Thus, the Mulberries were created to provide the port facilities necessary to offload the thousands of men and vehicles, and tons of supplies necessary to sustain Operation Overlord and the Invasion of Normandy, Battle of Normandy. The harbours were made up of all the elements one would expect of any harbour: Breakwater (structure), breakwater, piers, roadways etc.
At a meeting following the
Dieppe Raid, Vice-Admiral John Hughes-Hallett declared that if a port could not be captured, then one should be taken across the English Channel, Channel. The concept of Mulberry harbours began to take shape when Hughes-Hallett moved to be Naval Chief of Staff to the Operation Overlord, Overlord planners.
The proposed harbours called for many huge Caisson (engineering), caissons of various sorts to build breakwaters and piers and connecting structures to provide the roadways. The caissons were built at a number of locations, mainly existing ship building facilities or large beaches like Conwy Morfa around the British coast. The works were let out to commercial construction firms including Balfour Beatty, Costain Group, Costain, BAM Nuttall, Nuttall, Henry Boot PLC, Henry Boot, Sir Robert McAlpine and Peter Lind & Company, who all still operate today, and Holland, Hannen & Cubitts, Cubitts, Holloway Brothers (London), Holloway Brothers, Mowlem and Taylor Woodrow Construction, Taylor Woodrow, who all have since been absorbed into other businesses that are still operating. On completion they were towed across the English Channel by Tugboat, tugs to the Normandy coast at only 4.3 Knots (8 km/h or 5 mph), built, operated and maintained by the Corps of Royal Engineers, under the guidance of Reginald D. Gwyther, who was appointed CBE for his efforts.
By 9 June, just 3 days after D-Day, two harbours codenamed Mulberry "A" and "B" were constructed at Omaha Beach and Arromanches-les-Bains, Arromanches, respectively. However, a large storm on 19 June destroyed the American harbour at Omaha, leaving only the British harbour still intact but damaged, which included damage to the 'Swiss Roll' which had been deployed as the most western floating roadway had to be taken out of service. The surviving Mulberry "B" came to be known as Port Winston at Arromanches. While the harbour at Omaha was destroyed sooner than expected, Port Winston saw heavy use for 8 months—despite being designed to last only 3 months. In the 10 months after D-Day, it was used to land over 2.5 million men, 500,000 vehicles, and 4 million tonnes of supplies providing much needed reinforcements in France.
Other
Other large amphibious operations in the European theatre of World War II and the Pacific War, war in the Pacific include:
Europe:
Pacific:
Korean War
During the Korean War the U.S. X Corps (United States), X Corps, consisting of the 1st Marine Division (United States), 1st Marine Division and 7th Infantry Division (United States), 7th Infantry Division Battle of Inchon, landed at Inchon. Conceived of and commanded by U.S. Douglas MacArthur, General Douglas MacArthur, this landing is considered by many military historians to have been a tactical jewel, one of the most brilliant amphibious maneuvers in history (See Battle of Inchon#Analysis, analysis in main article).
The success of this battle eventually resulted in link up with U.S. Army forces that broke out of the Pusan perimeter, and led by the 1st Cavalry Division and its Task Force Lynch, cleared much of South Korea. A second landing by the Tenth Corps on the east coast approached the Chosin Reservoir and hydroelectric plants that powered much of Communist China's heavy industry, and led to intervention by China, Chinese forces on behalf of North Korea. Amphibious landings also took place during the First Indochina War, notably during Operation Camargue, one of the largest of the conflict.
Suez Crisis and Falklands War
The British
Royal Marines made their first post-World War II amphibious assault during the Suez Crisis of 1956 when they successfully landed at Suez on 6 November as part of a joint seaborne/airborne operation code-named MUSKETEER.
Despite all the progress that was seen during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, there were still fundamental limitations in the types of coastline that were suitable for assault. Beaches had to be relatively free of obstacles, and have the right tide, tidal conditions and the correct slope. However, the development of the helicopter fundamentally changed the equation.
The first use of helicopters in an amphibious assault came during the Anglo-French-Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956 (the Suez War). Two British light fleet carriers were pressed into service to carry helicopters, and a battalion-sized airborne assault was made. Two of the other carriers involved, and , were converted in the late 1950s into dedicated "commando Landing Platform Helicopter#Royal Navy, carriers."
Nearly 30 years later in the
Falklands War, the 1st Marines Brigade of the Argentine Marine Corps along with Amphibious Commandos Group, Navy's Special Forces performed Operation Rosario landing at Mullet Creek near Stanley, Falkland Islands, Stanley on 2 April 1982, while later the Royal Marines' 3 Commando Brigade, (augmented by the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
's Parachute Regiment (United Kingdom), Parachute Regiment) landed at Port San Carlos on 21 May 1982 during Operation Sutton.
Landing at Cyprus
The Turkish Armed Forces launched an amphibious assault on 20 July 1974, on Kyrenia, following the 1974 Cypriot coup d'état. The Turkey, Turkish naval force provided naval gunfire support during the landing operation and transported the amphibious forces from the port of Mersin to the island. The Turkish landing forces consisted of around 3,000 troops, tanks, armoured personnel carriers and artillery pieces.
Iran-Iraq war
During the Iran–Iraq War, the Iranians launched Operation Dawn 8 (Persian language, Persian: عملیات والفجر ۸), in which 100,000 troops comprising 5 Army divisions and 50,000 men from the IRGC and the Basij advanced in a two-pronged offensive into southern Iraq. Taking place between 9 and 25 February, the assault across the Shatt al-Arab achieved significant tactical and operational surprise. The Iranians launched their assault on the peninsula at night, their men arriving on rubber boats. Iranian Navy SEALs spearheaded the offensive despite a shortage of gear. Prior to this action Iranian Naval Commandos performed reconnaissance of the Faw Peninsula. The Iranian SEALs penetrated an obstacle belt and isolated Iraqi bunkers whose troops had taken cover from the heavy rains inside or were sleeping. Iranian demolition teams detonated charges on the obstacles to create a path for the Iranian infantry waiting to begin their assault.
Not only did the amphibious landings provide a significant lodgement behind Iraq's tactical front, but they also created a psychological shock wave throughout the Persian Gulf region. Soon after the initial landings, Iranian combat engineers were able to construct bridges to improve the flow of ground troops into the lodgement area. Iran managed to maintain their foothold in Al-Faw against several Iraqi counter-offensives and chemical attacks for another month despite heavy casualties until a stalemate was reached. The Faw Peninsula was later Second Battle of al-Faw, recaptured by Iraqi forces, by the massive and illegal Iraqi chemical attacks against Iran, use of chemical weapons, the same day as the US launched Operation Praying Mantis on Iran, destroying their navy.
Persian Gulf War
During the Gulf War, Persian Gulf War, Assault Craft Unit 5 was able to position U.S. Marine and naval support off the coast of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. This force was composed of 40
amphibious assault ship
An amphibious assault ship is a type of amphibious warfare ship employed to land and support ground forces on enemy territory by an amphibious assault. The design evolved from aircraft carriers converted for use as helicopter carriers (and, a ...
s, the largest such force to be assembled since the Battle of Inchon.
The objective was to fix the six Iraqi divisions deployed along the Kuwaiti coast. The purpose behind this amphibious maneuver (known as an amphibious demonstration) was to prevent 6 Iraqi divisions poised for the defense of the littorals from being able to actively engage in combat at the real front. The operation was extremely successful in keeping more than 41,000 Iraqi forces from repositioning to the main battlefield. As a result, the Marines maneuvered through the Iraq defense of southern Kuwait and outflanked the Iraqi coastal defense forces.
Iraq War
An amphibious assault was carried out by
Royal Marines, U.S. Marines and units of the Polish GROM, special forces when they landed at the Al-Faw Peninsula on 20 March 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Iraq War.
Invasion of Anjouan
On March 25, 2008, 2008 invasion of Anjouan, Operation Democracy in Comoros was launched in the Comoros by government and African Union troops. The amphibious assault led to the ousting of Colonel Bacar's government, which had taken over the autonomous state of Adjouan.
Battle of Kismayo (2012)
From September 28 to October 1, 2012, the Somali National Army led an assault in conjuncture with allied militia and Kenyan troops to liberate the city of Kismayo from insurgent control. The operation, known as Battle of Kismayo (2012), Operation Sledge Hammer, started with the landing of Somali and Kenyan troops outside the city of Kismayo. By October 1, the coalition forces were able to push Al-Shabaab (militant group), Al-Shabaab out of the city.
See also
* List of marines and naval infantry forces
* Marines
* Navy
* Raid (military)#Seaborne
Notes
References
Further reading
* Alexander, Joseph H., and Merrill L. Bartlett. ''Sea Soldiers in the Cold War: Amphibious Warfare, 1945-1991'' (1994)
* Bartlett, Merrill L. ''Assault from the Sea: Essays on the History of Amphibious Warfare'' (1993)
* Dwyer, John B. ''Commandos From The Sea: The History Of Amphibious Special Warfare In World War II And The Korean War'' (1998)
* Ireland, Bernard. ''The World Encyclopedia of Amphibious Warfare Vessels: An illustrated history of modern amphibious warfare'' (2011)
* Isely, Jeter A., Philip A. Crowl. ''The U.S. Marines and Amphibious War Its Theory and Its Practice in the Pacific'' (1951)
* Millett, Allan R. '' Semper Fidelis: History of the United States Marine Corps'' (2nd ed. 1991) ch 12-14
* Moore, Richard S. "Ideas and Direction: Building Amphibious Doctrine," ''Marine Corps Gazette'' (1982) 66#11 pp 49–58.
* Reber, John J. "Pete Ellis: Amphibious Warfare Prophet," ''U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings'' (1977) 103#11 pp 53–64.
* Venzon, Anne Cipriano. ''From Whaleboats to Amphibious Warfare: Lt. Gen. "Howling Mad" Smith and the U.S. Marine Corps'' (Praeger, 2003)
External links
{{commons category-inline
Amphibious warfare,
Warfare by type