amphibious warfare

amphibious warfare
Military operations directed against hostile shores and characterized by attacks launched from the sea by naval and landing forces.

It has been conducted since ancient times. The Greeks attacking Troy (1200 BC) had to make a shore landing, as did the Persian invaders of Greece prior to the Battle of Marathon (490 BC). The British-led landings at Gallipoli (1915) were the main amphibious assault in World War I. The Allies of World War II found amphibious tactics essential in the island-hopping Pacific campaign and in the famous D-Day of the Normandy campaign, which still ranks as the greatest amphibious assault in history. Amphibious warfare's greatest advantage is its mobility and flexibility; its greatest limitation is that the attacker must start from nothing to build up strength ashore. Modern amphibious forces attempt to overcome this by fielding larger and more efficient landing vessels and also by using helicopters and short-takeoff and -landing airplanes to deploy troops beyond the hostile shore.

* * *

      military operations characterized by attacks launched from the sea by naval and landing forces against hostile shores. The main form is the amphibious assault, which may be conducted for any of several purposes: to serve as a prelude to further combat operations ashore; to seize a site required as an advanced naval or air base; or to deny the use of the site or area to the enemy. Landing of expeditionary forces on a shore or at a port already secured by friendly forces is not usually included in the concept.

      Amphibious warfare has been conducted since ancient times, although specialized landing vessels are a modern development. The Greeks attacking Troy (1200 BC) had to gain a lodgment on the shore, as did the Persian invaders of Greece in the Bay of Marathon (490 BC). After the decline of Rome and during the European Middle Ages, the most successful practitioners of amphibious warfare, although on a small scale, were the Norse raiders on the coasts of northern, western, and Mediterranean Europe. During the Napoleonic Wars, Napoleon's failure to control the English Channel and invade England is frequently cited as a classic example of the inability of a strong continental force to project its strength over even the narrowest of seas if it lacks sea power. Similarly, Germany was disadvantaged during World War II by its lack of adequate amphibious capability.

      The British-led landings at Gallipoli (1915) during the disastrous Dardanelles Campaign was the principal amphibious assault during World War I. By contrast, the Allies' counteroffensives in World War II (with the exception of those of the Soviet Union) were predicated upon a series of amphibious operations that were essential to reentering Axis-held territory. The United States' island-hopping campaigns westward across the Pacific involved amphibious assaults against the Japanese-held islands of Guadalcanal in the Solomons, New Guinea, Kwajalein, Tarawa, the Marianas, the Philippines, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. In the Western theatre, the Normandy Invasion (1944), in which Allied forces successfully invaded the German-held coast of northern France, ranks as the greatest amphibious assault in history. The outstanding example of amphibious warfare in the Korean War was the landing of U.S. forces at Inchon on the west coast of Korea in 1950.

      Modern amphibious warfare integrates virtually all forms of land, sea, and air operations. Its greatest advantage lies in its mobility and flexibility; its greatest limitation is that the attacker must build up his strength ashore from an initial zero. After World War II, new debarkation methods and capabilities were developed to overcome the previously slow and ponderous off-loading process. Helicopters (helicopter) were used for resupply and medical evacuation, as well as for landing troops. To improve tactical air support in the battle area, airfields were developed that in a matter of days provided substantially the same capabilities ashore as an attack aircraft carrier.

      In the late 1940s military opinion had recognized that the great concentrations of shipping and the congested beachheads of World War II would be futile against a nuclear-equipped enemy. To eliminate such congestion, helicopters and other vertical-rising or short-takeoff aircraft were to converge on the objective area from high-speed assault transports located many miles out at sea. Though the new concepts were not put to the test by a nuclear-equipped enemy, they did add a new dimension to amphibious operations against conventionally armed enemies, as was demonstrated in landings such as those conducted during the Vietnam War in the 1960s.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Amphibious warfare — is the utilization of naval firepower, logistics and strategy to project military power ashore. In previous eras it stood as the primary method of delivering troops to non contiguous enemy held terrain. In this modern era amphibious warfare… …   Wikipedia

  • Amphibious warfare ships of Australia — The Royal Australian Navy and Australian Army have operated 24 amphibious warfare ships. These ships have been used to transport Army units and supplies during exercises and operational deployments. World War II and Cold War shipsThe Australian… …   Wikipedia

  • Amphibious warfare ship — Infobox Aviation name = Amphibious warfare ship caption = Essex Amphibious Ready Group in the Pacific Ocean. Pictured left to right, the USS Germantown (LSD 42), USS Essex (LHD 2), USS Juneau (LPD 10), and the USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43).… …   Wikipedia

  • List of United States Navy amphibious warfare ships — This is a list of amphibious warfare ships of the United States Navy.Amphibious Assault Ships (General Purpose) (LHA) Tarawa class* USS Tarawa (LHA 1) * USS Saipan (LHA 2) * USS Belleau Wood (LHA 3) * USS Nassau (LHA 4) * USS Peleliu (LHA 5)… …   Wikipedia

  • List of amphibious warfare ships — This is a list of amphibious warfare ships updated as of January 2005.Australia;Royal Australian NavyPlanned: * Canberra class LHD **HMAS Canberra **HMAS Adelaide Active: * Kanimbla class LPA **HMAS Kanimbla **HMAS Manoora China;People s… …   Wikipedia

  • List of amphibious warfare ships of the Royal Navy — This is a list of amphibious warfare ships of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. Active Ships * Ocean class Landing Platform Helicopter (LPH) ** Ocean * Albion class Landing Platform Dock (LPD) ** Albion ** Bulwark Decommissioned = Fearless… …   Wikipedia

  • Magar class amphibious warfare ship — The Magar class is one of the five classes of amphibious warfare ships currently in service with the Indian Navy. There are only two ships in this class: the INS Magar and the INS Gharial. The ships are named after marine animals. The design of… …   Wikipedia

  • Amphibious assault ship — Six of the U.S. Navy s assault ships in formation; lead ship and the ship seen to its left are Tarawa class, all others are Wasp class An amphibious assault ship (also referred to as a commando carrier or an amphibious assault carrier) is a type… …   Wikipedia

  • Amphibious — means able to use either land or water. In particular it may refer to:*Amphibious warfare, warfare carried out on both land and water *Amphibians, vertebrate animals of the Class Amphibia (many of which live on land and breed in water)… …   Wikipedia

  • Amphibious transport dock — An amphibious transport dock (also called a landing platform dock or LPD) is an amphibious warfare ship, a warship that embarks, transports, and lands elements of a landing force for expeditionary warfare missions. Several navies currently… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”