#Naval Amphibious Assault

[whencyclopedia]

Utah Beach

Utah Beach was the westernmost of the five beaches attacked in the D-Day Normandy landings of 6 June 1944 and the one taken with the fewest casualties. Paratroopers were also dropped behind Utah, and despite being widely dispersed and suffering heavy casualties, they managed to secure this western flank of the invasion and liberate the first French town, Ste-Mère-Église.

Operation Overlord

The amphibious assault on the beaches of Normandy was the first stage of Operation Overlord, which sought to free Western Europe from occupation by Nazi Germany. The supreme commander of the Allied invasion force was General Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969), who had been in charge of the Allied operations in the Mediterranean. The commander-in-chief of the Normandy land forces, 39 divisions in all, was the experienced General Bernard Montgomery (1887-1976). Commanding the air element was Air Chief Marshal Trafford Leigh Mallory (1892-1944), with the naval element commanded by Admiral Bertram Ramsay (1883-1945).

Nazi Germany had long prepared for an Allied invasion, but the German high command was unsure where exactly such an invasion would take place. Allied diversionary strategies added to the uncertainty, but the most likely places remained either the Pas de Calais, the closest point to British shores, or Normandy with its wide flat beaches. The Nazi leader Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) attempted to fortify the entire coast from Spain to the Netherlands with a series of bunkers, pillboxes, artillery batteries, and troops, but this Atlantic Wall, as he called it, was far from being complete in the summer of 1944. In addition, the wall was thin since there was no real depth to the defences.

Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt (1875-1953), commander-in-chief of the German army in the West, believed it would be impossible to stop an invasion on the coast and so it would be better to hold the bulk of the defensive forces as a mobile reserve to counterattack against enemy beachheads. Field Marshal Erwin Rommel (1891-1944), commander of Army Group B, disagreed and considered it essential to halt any invasion on the beaches themselves. Further, Rommel believed that Allied air superiority meant that movements of reserves would be severely hampered. Hitler agreed with Rommel, and so the defenders were strung out wherever the fortifications were at their weakest. Rommel improved the static defences and added steel anti-tank structures to all the larger beaches. In the end, Rundstedt was given a mobile reserve, but the compromise weakened both plans of defence.

The German response would not be helped either by their confused command structure, which meant that Rundstedt could not call on any armour (but Rommel, who reported directly to Hitler, could), and neither commander had any control over the paltry naval and air forces available or the separately controlled coastal batteries. Nevertheless, the defences were bulked up around the weaker defences of Normandy to an impressive 31 infantry divisions plus 10 armoured divisions and 7 reserve infantry divisions. The German army had another 13 divisions in other areas of France. A standard German division had a full strength of 15,000 men.

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[girlactionfigure]

The Israeli Navy says it has received the second of two new landing craft, and a short while ago the vessel docked at the Haifa Naval Base.

The US-built INS Komemiyut is the Navy's second landing craft, after the INS Nahshon, which was received last year.

The vessel made a lengthy trip to Israel from the Pascagoula shipyard in Mississippi.

Landing craft are primarily used to transport troops and equipment across the sea and deploy them on the shore during an amphibious assault.

The Israeli Navy used such vessels since its inception in 1948 and until 1993, when the last of the aging landing crafts were decommissioned, with the military assessing at the time that it had no use for newer models.

The new procurement of the landing crafts for the Israeli Navy began some five years ago.

[masonjarhead]

From 20 - 24 of November, 1943, the US Army conducted an amphibious assault on the Makin Atoll within the Gilbert Islands. The Japanese had taken the island as a means of cutting off US Naval vessels in the Pacific, and act as a safeguard to the Marshall Islands. After a thorough bombing campaign, the Island would be captured over the course of the next few days. This battle would serve as an important proving ground the the US "island hopping" strategy in the Pacific.

[usarmytrooper]

Today is the 79th Anniversary of Operation Overlord

On June 6, 1944, nearly 160,000 British, Canadian, and American troops crossed the English Channel to attack Hitler’s Fortress Europe at Normandy. It was the largest amphibious operation in history.

Above: Map depicting the D-Day landings by Allied forces.

Above: The text of the Order of the Day for 6 June 1944 issued by Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) and General Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Prior to the assault, the United States’ 82d and 101st Airborne Divisions were assigned objectives on the Cotentin Peninsula west of Utah Beach, while the British 6th Airborne Division was assigned to capture the bridges over the Caen Canal. The Airborne operations were intended to impede the German response to the beachhead. Supreme Allied Commander (European Theater of Operations) had been told that casualties among the Airborne units could be as high as 80%. They jumped into Europe anyway.

Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower speaks to men of the 101st Airborne prior to their boarding lanes that would take them to jump into Normandy. Eisenhower stayed at the airstrip until all of the planes had taken off safely before returning to his headquarters. Happily, casualties among the paratroopers were much lower than predicted. Of approximately 13,100 paratroopers who jumped into battle, approximately 2,500 (19%) were killed, wounded, or missing by the end of D-Day.

Approximately 3,000 landing craft and 2,500 ships were used during the invasion. Preliminary naval bombardment of German positions commenced at 05:45 and continued until 06:25 from five battleships, twenty cruisers, sixty-five destroyers, and two monitors. Infantry began arriving on the beaches at around 06:30.

Above: (Top) The Battleship HMS Rodney fires on German positions at Caen, (Lower Left) Battleship USS Arkansas engages the enemy at Omaha Beach, (Lower Middle) Battleship USS Nevada fires her ten 14-inch guns in support of the Invasion, (Lower Right) Battleship USS Texas underway en route to England to participate in the Invasion.

Above: US Troops begin to establish a beachhead, signaling the beginning of the end of the Nazi occupation of Europe.

On D-Day, some 132,000 men were transported to the beaches by sea, and a further 24,000 entered France by air. The battlefield conditions were brutal and the Allied hold on the beaches was tenuous, particularly at Omaha Beach, the sector most heavily defended by German troops. But they held on. By July 25, 1944, the Allies had landed approximately 1.5 million troops in France and were ready to implement Operation Cobra, the Allied break out from Normandy. By the end of August, approximately 2,050,000 Allied troops had landed in France and resistance by Hitler’s Wehrmacht was crumbling.

Above: US Troops exit a landing craft to attempt to establish a beachhead at Omaha Beach.

The Allies suffered approximately 226,000 casualties during the period from D-Day to the end of August: the American armies suffered 124,394 casualties, of whom 20,668 were killed, and 10,128 were missing. Casualties within the Canadian and British Armies are placed at 83,045: 15,995 killed, 57,996 wounded, and 9,054 missing.

During the same period, Allied air forces flew over 80,000 sorties in support of Operation Overlord, suffering approximately 17,000 additional casualties and the loss of over 4,000 aircraft.

They truly were the Greatest Generation. After what they did for all of us, it is only fitting that we pause for a moment to remember and reflect on the sacrifices they made at the altar of freedom.

[47burlm]

D- Day

D-Day was the name given to the June 6, 1944, invasion of the beaches at Normandy in northern France by troops from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and other countries during World War II. France at the time was occupied by the armies of Nazi Germany, and the amphibious assault—code-named Operation Overlord—landed some 156,000 Allied soldiers on the beaches of Normandy by the end of the day.

Despite their success, some 4,000 Allied troops were killed by German soldiers defending the beaches. At the time, the D-Day invasion was the largest naval, air and land operation in history, and within a few days about 326,000 troops, more than 50,000 vehicles and some 100,000 tons of equipment had landed. By August 1944, all of northern France had been liberated, and in spring of 1945 the Allies had defeated the Germans. Historians often refer to D-Day as the beginning of the end of World War II.

[mareislandfoundation]

A Legacy

It is in the heart of the first United States naval base on the Pacific Ocean and it stands on the same foundation as the original commandant’s mansion. The first mansion was the home of one of the most famous naval officers in US history, Admiral David Glasgow Farragut, and it was destroyed in the Mare Island earthquake of 1898. Today’s mansion still stands on that original foundation, but much has changed from the days when that first mansion was constructed in the 1850’s. The mansion has transitioned from outdoor to indoor plumbing, oil lamps to electric lighting, carriage houses to garages etc. Of course, most of those changes were the result of the labors of public works employees or contractors, but the 10,340 bricks that constitute the walkways that meander through the spacious gardens were the work of one man who happened to command the naval base.

Vice Admiral Lowry was a man of small stature, but he was also a highly decorated naval officer who saw service in both World Wars. He was awarded the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service as Commanding Officer of the Heavy Cruiser USS Minneapolis (CA-36), during operations at the battle of the Coral Sea only 5 months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Following that attack Japanese forces had been rolling nearly unopposed across the Pacific. Then on 7 and 8 May 1942 his ship inflicted considerable damage on the Japanese and rendered vital protection to the US aircraft carrier USS Lexington to which it was assigned. The Battle of the Coral Sea was important as it was the first pure carrier-versus-carrier battle in history as neither surface fleet sighted the other. Though a draw, it was an important turning point in the war in the Pacific because, for the first time, the Allies had stopped the Japanese advance and lines of communication to Australia and New Zealand were kept open.

Admiral Lowry later commanded the invasions on the other side of the world at Salerno and Anzio (Italy). Lowry's Task Force 81 contained over 250 combat-loaded vessels and amphibious assault craft of all sizes and descriptions. Admiral Lowry also commanded the 74 vessels of Task Force X-Ray, assigned to see American forces safely ashore and to support their beachhead operations at Anzio. With the war ended, Admiral Lowry was soon put in command of Mare Island Naval Shipyard where he indulged one of his great passions, gardening. Admiral Lowry commanded Mare Island for 2 ½ years from 1947 to 1950 and during that time he constructed all the brick pathways that interlace the gardens behind the mansion.

Dennis Kelly

[judgemark45]

Norfolk naval base, December 20, 2012

From bottom to top, front to back:

Aircraft carrier DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER (CVN 69)

Aircraft carrier GEORGE H. W. BUSH (CVN 77)

Aircraft carrier ENTERPRISE (CVN 65)

Amphibious assault ship BATAAN (LHD 5)

Aircraft carrier ABRAHAM LINCOLN (CVN 72)

Aircraft carrier HARRY S TRUMAN (CVN 75)

Amphibious assault ship WASP (LHD 1)

Amphibious assault ship KEARSARGE (LHD 3)

Amphibious landing platform dock NEW YORK (LPD 21)

A T-AKE dry cargo ammunition ship

Amphibious assault ship IWO JIMA (LHD 7)

and various cruisers, destroyers, frigates and submarines of the Atlantic Fleet USN image/ Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ernest R. Scott

[usafphantom2]

Aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford will return from mission in defense of Israel

The largest aircraft carrier in the United States returns from the Mediterranean Sea, where it has been parked for almost three months.

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 03/01/2024 - 08:27in Military, War Zones

The U.S. Navy has determined that its largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), will return home after a nearly three-month mission to defend Israel in the Middle East.

The USS Gerald Ford has been stationed at a close distance of Israel's attack in the Mediterranean Sea since October, in an effort to prevent the country's war against Hamas from turning into a regional conflict. However, the U.S. Navy states that the ship will begin its journey back home "in the next few days" and will be replaced by the USS Bataan - an amphibious assault ship named after a battle fought in the Philippines during World War II.

The USS Gerald R. Ford is one of the largest aircraft carriers in the world and the latest and most advanced aircraft carrier in the United States. He was already in the Mediterranean - involved in naval exercises with Italy - before receiving orders to provide support to Israel's Defense Forces after the October 7 terrorist attacks perpetrated by Hamas.

“Immediately after Hamas' brutal attack on Israel, the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group was ordered to go to the eastern Mediterranean to contribute to our regional deterrence and defense posture,” the U.S. Navy said in a statement.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin extended Ford's detachment three times in the hope that his presence would dissuade Iran and groups aligned with Iran, especially Hezbollah from Lebanon, from attacking Israel.

The ship, which carried about 5,000 sailors and more than 100 warplanes in eight squadrons, is now returning to its naval base in Virginia. However, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower will remain in the Red Sea to face the recent attacks on commercial ships perpetrated by Yemen's Houthi rebels.

“The DoD (Department of Defense) will continue to leverage its posture of collective force in the region to dissuade any state or non-state actor from escalating this crisis beyond Gaza,” the Navy said.

At the end of October, a U.S. Navy warship located in the northern Red Sea shot down three cruise missiles along with a batch of drones that were launched from Yemen and appeared to target Israel, the Pentagon said.

Tags: Military Aviationaircraft carrierUSN - United States Navy/U.S. NavyWar Zones - Middle East

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Fernando Valduga

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has works published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. He uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.

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[lonestarbattleship]

The incomplete HAWAII (CB-3) being moved to a berth, likely on her way to the scrapyard. Photographed on either May 20 or June 20, 1959. Likely the latter since the Navy Heritage and History Center has a better track record with dates.

Note: her 12 inch/50 caliber Mark 8 gun turrets have already been removed. They were removed in preparation for Hawaii would have become an Aircraft Carrier Task Force Command Ship, under SCB-83 and her hull designation changed to (CBC-1). Unlike the proposed ballistic and guided missile conversions, this conversion was budgeted in 1952.

Painting by Wayne Scarpaci

"This was as parallel to this program was a project to convert the unfinished Oregon City class heavy cruiser NORTHAMPTON (CLC-1) (later CC-1, ex-CA-125) to a National Emergency Command Post Afloat (NECPA). The NECPA program command ship (NORTHAMPTON) was where the US President and his Staff would direct US Military Forces during a nuclear conflict."

"Command and control of USN carrier forces during WWII was generally conducted from a standard vessel of the Task Force, with either a battleship or a carrier usually designated as flagship. But the presence of the force commander and his staff aboard was disruptive and resulted in overcrowded conditions, which impacted the combat effectiveness of the assigned ship. But with the superiority of the dedicated Amphibious Command Ship (AGC) concept for command and control of assault forces repeatedly demonstrated during WWII. Serious postwar consideration was given to the concept of a similar dedicated type of ship for Command and Control of Carrier Task Forces. In keeping with this concept in 1952 the USN developed the SCB-83 project to convert the HAWAII into a dedicated Carrier Task Force Command Cruiser (CBC-1). This design was strictly intended as a single mission ship featuring extensive flag facilities for command and control of carrier task forces, but no accommodations for amphibious or other types of operations.

The ship would have been armed with six 5 inch/54 caliber guns in single mounts, shipped three forward and three aft, with eight 3 inch/70 caliber guns in four enclosed twin mounts amidships. It would have fitted an AN/SPS2 radar atop a forward tower and an AN/SPS8A height finder on the aft superstructure. There was to be an SK-2 parabolic dish for tropospherical backscatter communications mounted atop short tower aft of the stack, forward of the AN/SPS8A. Two Mk37/directors with Mk25 fire control radars were provided on the superstructure fore and aft. The superstructure was built up amidships to accommodate the flag staff facilities and the single stack of the original CB design retained."

Work was halted after the turrets were removed and would continue after experience was gained from the conversion of NORTHAMPTON. However, it was discovered that it was easier and cheaper to convert USS WRIGHT (CVL-49) into the second Command ship without the loss of capability and HAWAII was sent back to the reserve fleet in Philadelphia Navy Yard.

The hull remained in the reserve fleet for 12 years before it was finally scrapped along with the incomplete hulls of KENTUCKY (BB-66) and ILLINOIS (BB-65).

U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command: NH 89293

Mariner's Museum and Park: P0001.014/01-#PN4850, P0001.014/01-#PN4858, P0001.014/01-#PN4853, P0001.014/01-#PN4847, P0001.014/01-#PN4848, P0001.014/01-#PN4849

Information, diagram and painting from "USN BATTESHIP CONVERSIONS PROJECTS" by Wayne Scarpaci: link

source

[whencyclopedia]

D-Day was 80 years ago today!

D-Day was the first day of Operation Overlord, the Allied attack on German-occupied Western Europe, which began on the beaches of Normandy, France, on 6 June 1944. Primarily US, British, and Canadian troops, with naval and air support, attacked five beaches, landing some 135,000 men in a day widely considered to have changed history.

Where to Attack?

Operation Overlord, which sought to attack occupied Europe starting with an amphibious landing in northwest France, Belgium, or the Netherlands, had been in the planning since January 1943 when Allied leaders agreed to the build-up of British and US troops in Britain. The Allies were unsure where exactly to land, but the requirements were simple: as short a sea crossing as possible and within range of Allied fighter cover. A third requirement was to have a major port nearby, which could be captured and used to land further troops and equipment. The best fit seemed to be Normandy with its flat beaches and port of Cherbourg.

The Atlantic Wall

The leader of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), called his western line of defences the Atlantic Wall. It had gaps but presented an impressive string of fortifications along the coast from Spain to the Netherlands. Construction of gun batteries, bunker networks, and observation posts began as early as 1942.

Many of the German divisions were not crack troops but inexperienced soldiers, who were spending more time building defences than in vital military training. There was a woeful lack of materials for Hitler's dream of the Atlantic Wall, really something of a Swiss cheese, with some strong areas, but many holes. The German army was not provided with sufficient mines, explosives, concrete, or labourers to better protect the coastline. At least one-third of gun positions still had no casement protection. Many installations were not bomb-proof. Another serious weakness was naval and air support. The navy had a mere 4 destroyers available and 39 E-boats while the Luftwaffe's (German Air Force's) contribution was equally paltry with only 319 planes operating in the skies when the invasion took place (rising to 1,000) in the second week.

Neptune to Normandy

Preparation for Overlord occurred right through April and May of 1940 when the Royal Air Force (RAF) and United States Air Force (USAAF) relentlessly bombed communications and transportation systems in France as well as coastal defences, airfields, industrial targets, and military installations. In total, over 200,000 missions were conducted to weaken as much as possible the Nazi defences ready for the infantry troops about to be involved in the largest troop movement in history. The French Resistance also played their part in preparing the way by blowing up train lines and communication systems that would ensure the defenders could not effectively respond to the invasion.

The Allied fleet of 7,000 vessels of all kinds departed from English south-coast ports such as Falmouth, Plymouth, Poole, Portsmouth, Newhaven, and Harwich. In an operation code-named Neptune, the ships gathered off Portsmouth in a zone called 'Piccadilly Circus' after the busy London road junction, and then made their way to Normandy and the assault areas. At the same time, gliders and planes flew to the Cherbourg peninsula in the west and Ouistreham on the eastern edge of the planned landing. Paratroopers of the 82nd and 101st US Airborne Division attacked in the west to try and cut off Cherbourg. At the eastern extremity of the operation, paratroopers of the 6th British Airborne Division aimed to secure Pegasus Bridge over the Caen Canal. Other tasks of the paratrooper and glider units were to destroy bridges to impede the enemy, hold others necessary for the invasion to progress, destroy gun emplacements, secure the beach exits, and protect the invasion's flanks.

The Beaches

The amphibious attack was set for dawn on 5 June, daylight being a requirement for the necessary air and naval support. Bad weather led to a postponement of 24 hours. Shortly after midnight, the first waves of 23,000 British and American paratroopers landed in France. US paratroopers who dropped near Ste-Mère-Église ensured this was the first French town to be liberated. From 3.00 a.m., air and naval bombardment of the Normandy coast began, letting up just 15 minutes before the first infantry troops landed on the beaches at 6.30 a.m.

The beaches selected for the landings were divided into zones, each given a code name. US troops attacked two, the British army another two, and the Canadian force the fifth. These beaches and the troops assigned to them were (west to east):

Utah Beach - 4th US Infantry Division, 7th US Corps (1st US Army commanded by Lieutenant General Omar N. Bradley)

Omaha Beach - 1st US Infantry Division, 5th US Corps (1st US Army)

Gold Beach - 50th British Infantry Division, 30th British Corps (2nd British Army commanded by Lieutenant-General Miles C. Dempsey)

Juno Beach - 3rd Canadian Infantry Division (2nd British Army)

Sword Beach - 3rd British Infantry Division, 1st British Corps (2nd British Army)

In addition, the 2nd US Rangers were to attack the well-defended Pointe du Hoc between Utah and Omaha (although it turned out the guns had never been installed there), while Royal Marine Commando units attacked targets on Gold, Juno, and Sword.

The RAF and USAAF continued to protect the invasion fleet and ensure any enemy ground-based counterattack faced air attack. As the Allies could put in the air 12,000 aircraft at this stage, the Luftwaffe's aerial fightback was pitifully inadequate. On D-Day alone, the Allied air forces flew 15,000 sorties compared to the Luftwaffe's 100. Not one single Allied aircraft was lost to enemy fire on D-Day.

Packing Normandy

By the end of D-Day, 135,000 men had been landed and relatively few casualties were sustained – some 5,000 men. There were some serious cock-ups, notably the hopeless dispersal of the paratroopers (only 4% of the US 101st Air Division were dropped at the intended target zone), but, if anything, this caused even more confusion amongst the German commanders on the ground as it seemed the Allies were attacking everywhere. The defenders, overcoming the initial handicap that many area commanders were at a strategy conference in Rennes, did eventually organise themselves into a counterattack, deploying their reserves and pulling in troops from other parts of France. This is when French resistance and aerial bombing became crucial, seriously hampering the German army's effort to reinforce the coastal areas of Normandy. The German field commanders wanted to withdraw, regroup and attack in force, but, on 11 June, Hitler ordered there be no retreat.

All of the original invasion beaches were linked as the Allies pushed inland. To aid thousands more troops following up the initial attack, two artificial floating harbours were built. Code-named Mulberries, these were located off Omaha and Gold beaches and were built from 200 prefabricated units. A storm hit on 20 June, destroying the Mulberry Harbour off Omaha, but the one at Gold was still serviceable, allowing some 11,000 tons of material to be landed every 24 hours. The other problem for the Allies was how to supply thousands of vehicles with the fuel they needed. The short-term solution, code-named Tombola, was to have tanker ships pump fuel to storage tanks on shore, using buoyed pipelines. The longer-term solution was code-named Pluto (Pipeline Under the Ocean), a pipeline under the Channel to Cherbourg through which fuel could be pumped. Cherbourg was taken on 27 June and was used to ship in more troops and supplies, although the defenders had sunk ships to block the harbour and these took some six weeks to fully clear.

Operation Neptune officially ended on 30 June. Around 850,000 men, 148,800 vehicles, and 570,000 tons of stores and equipment had been landed since D-Day. The next phase of Overlord was to push the occupiers out of Normandy. The defenders were not only having logistical problems but also command issues as Hitler replaced Rundstedt with Field Marshal Günther von Kluge (1882-1944) and formally warned Rommel not to be defeatist.

Aftermath: The Normandy Campaign

By early July, the Allies, having not got further south than around 20 miles (32 km) from the coast, were behind schedule. Poor weather was limiting the role of aircraft in the advance. The German forces were using the countryside well to slow the Allied advance – countless small fields enclosed with trees and hedgerows which limited visibility and made tanks vulnerable to ambush. Caen was staunchly defended and required Allied bombers to obliterate the city on 7 July. The German troops withdrew but still held one-half of the city. The Allies lost around 500 tanks trying to take Caen, vital to any push further south. The advance to Avranches was equally tortuous, and 40,000 men were lost in two weeks of heavy fighting. By the end of July, the Allies had taken Caen, Avranches, and the vital bridge at Pontaubault. From 1 August, Patton and the US Third Army were punching south at the western side of the offensive, and the Brittany ports of St. Malo, Brest, and Lorient were taken.

German forces counterattacked to try and retake Avranches, but Allied air power was decisive. Through August 1940, the Allies swept southwards to the Loire River from St. Nazaire to Orléans. On 15 August, a major landing took place on the southwest coast of France (French Riviera landings) and Marseille was captured on 28 August. In northern France, the Allies captured enough territory, ports, and airfields for a massive increase in material support. On 25 August, Paris was liberated. By mid-September, the Allied troops in the north and south of France had linked up and the campaign front expanded eastwards pushing on to the borders of Germany. There would be setbacks like Operation Market Garden of September and a brief fightback at the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944, but the direction of the war and ultimate Allied victory was now a question of not if but when.

[nullnvoid911]

A Naval Special Warfare operator embarks onto a combatant craft assault from amphibious transport dock ship USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26) during Operation POLAR DAGGER.

Joshua Samoluk / US Navy, August 23, 2023

[theculturedmarxist]

Rumors on Twitter the other day that the USS Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln left port in San Diego the other day, and apparently it seems to be true.

The French Navy is also closely involved, as the amphibious assault ship FS Tonnerre (L-9014), of the Mistral type, has been ordered to join the NATO naval force. The French are also sending a floating hospital to the area to help care for those in need in the Gaza Strip. Already, the US Navy's most modern aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), is in the eastern Mediterranean, while the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) is heading to the area. It is worth noting that the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) sailed from the San Diego naval base yesterday, along with the battle group accompanying it. His destination is not yet known. A day earlier, another carrier battle group, USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), had sailed from San Diego.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

D-Day was a powerful illustration of how alliances make us stronger in the defense of freedom. This lesson has never resonated more.

[President Biden]

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

June 6, 2024

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

JUN 07, 2024

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had good news for the American people when he gave his twenty-ninth Fireside Chat on June 5, 1944. The day before, on June 4, Rome had fallen to Allied troops. “The first of the Axis capitals is now in our hands,” Roosevelt said. 

The president pointed out that “it is…significant that Rome has been liberated by the armed forces of many nations. The American and British armies—who bore the chief burdens of battle—found at their sides our own North American neighbors, the gallant Canadians. The fighting New Zealanders from the far South Pacific, the courageous French and the French Moroccans, the South Africans, the Poles and the East Indians—all of them fought with us on the bloody approaches to the city of Rome. The Italians, too, forswearing a partnership in the Axis which they never desired, have sent their troops to join us in our battles against the German trespassers on their soil.”

This group of ordinary men from many different countries had worked together to defeat the forces of fascism.

But FDR warned Americans that the fall of Rome was only the beginning. “We shall have to push through a long period of greater effort and fiercer fighting before we get into Germany itself,” he said. [T]he victory still lies some distance ahead. That distance will be covered in due time—have no fear of that. But it will be tough and it will be costly.”

FDR knew something his audience did not. On the other side of the Atlantic, paratroopers, their faces darkened with cocoa, were already dropping into France, and the soldiers, sailors, and airmen of the Allies were on their way across the English channel. 

The order of the day from their commander Dwight D. Eisenhower that day had read: “You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed people of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world. 

“Your task will not be an easy one,” it read, but it assured the troops that the Germans had suffered great defeats and Allied bombing had reduced German strength, while “[o]ur Home Fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to Victory!”

Eisenhower’s public confidence did not reflect his understanding that the largest amphibious invasion in military history was a gamble. On June 5, in pencil on a sheet of paper, he had written a message to be communicated in case the invasion failed.     

“Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops,” it read. “My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that bravery and dedication to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone.”

On the morning of June 6, 1944, five naval assault divisions stormed the beaches of Normandy. Seven thousand ships and landing craft operated by more than 195,000 naval personnel from 8 countries brought almost 133,000 troops to beaches given the code names UTAH, OMAHA, GOLD, JUNO, and SWORD. By the end of the day, more than 10,000 Allied troops were wounded or killed, but the Allies had established a foothold in France that would permit them to flood troops, vehicles, and supplies into Europe. When FDR held a press conference later that day, officials and press both were jubilant. 

Today, eighty years later, world leaders and more than two dozen U.S. veterans of D-Day gathered to commemorate that day. They met above Omaha Beach at the Normandy American Cemetery, where the remains of 9,388 Americans, many of whom were killed on D-Day, are buried. 

“Hitler and those with him thought democracies were weak, that the future belonged to dictators,” President Joe Biden said in a speech. “Here, on the coast of Normandy, the battle between freedom and tyranny would be joined.” 

Biden honored the visiting veterans by name—Kenneth Blaine Smith, Bob Gibson, Ben Miller, Louis Brown, Woody Woodhouse, Marjorie Stone—and recounted what they did that day: operating radar, driving an M4 tractor mounted with an anti-aircraft gun, dragging injured soldiers to safety, treating wounds, driving trucks carrying supplies, flying and fixing planes. 

Echoing FDR’s chat about the fall of Rome, Biden attributed D-Day’s success to ordinary people. “Every soldier who stormed the beach, who dropped by parachute or landed by glider; every sailor who manned the thousands of ships and landing craft; every aviator who destroyed German-controlled air fields, bridges, and railroads—all—all were backed by other brave Americans, including hundreds of thousands of people of color and women who courageously served despite unjust limitations on what they could do for their nation,” Biden said. 

The story of the veterans “has always been the story of America,” Biden said. “Just walk the rows of this cemetery…. Nearly 10,000 heroes buried side by side, officers and enlisted, immigrants and native-born. Different races, different faiths, but all Americans. All served with honor when America and the world needed them most.” 

“Millions back home did their part as well.  From coast to coast, Americans found countless ways to pitch in. They understood our democracy is only as strong as all of us make it, together.” 

“The men who fought here became heroes not because they were the strongest or toughest or were fiercest—although they were,” Biden said, “but because they…knew, beyond any doubt, there are things that are worth fighting and dying for.” 

“Freedom is worth it. Democracy is worth it. America is worth it. The world is worth it—then, now, and always.”

“Here we proved the forces of liberty are stronger than the forces of conquest,” Biden said. “Here we proved that the ideals of our democracy are stronger than any army or combination of armies in the entire world.”

D-Day also proved that alliances make us stronger, Biden said, a principle that after the war led to the creation of “the greatest military alliance in the history of the world,” NATO. He continued, to applause: “America’s unique ability to bring countries together is an…undeniable source of our strength and our power. Isolationism was not the answer 80 years ago, and it is not the answer today.”  

“The struggle between a dictatorship and freedom is unending,” he said, and he vowed that the U.S., NATO, and allied countries will not walk away from Ukraine in its fight to resist Russia’s assault. “[T]o bow down to dictators,” he said, “means we’d be forgetting what happened here on these hallowed beaches.”

“History tells us freedom is not free,” Biden said. “If you want to know the price of freedom, come here to Normandy…and remember: The price of unchecked tyranny is the blood of the young and the brave. 

“In their generation, in their hour of trial, the Allied forces of D-Day did their duty. Now the question for us is: In our hour of trial, will we do ours?

“We’re living in a time when democracy is more at risk across the world than at any point…since these beaches were stormed in 1944. Now, we have to ask ourselves: Will we stand against tyranny, against evil, against crushing brutality of the iron fist? 

“Will we stand for freedom? Will we defend democracy? Will we stand together?

“My answer is yes. And it only can be yes.” 

“Let us be the generation that when history is written about our time—in 10, 20, 30, 50, 80 years from now—it will be said: When the moment came, we met the moment. We stood strong. Our alliances were made stronger. And we saved democracy in our time as well.”

During the ceremony, the past and the present came together. Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky shook the hand of a U.S. veteran in a wheelchair. When the man tried to kiss Zelensky’s hand, the Ukraine president instead stooped and hugged him. “You’re the savior of the people,” the man said. Zelensky answered, “You saved Europe.” The exchange continued: “You’re my hero.” “No, you are our hero.” 

As the crowd cheered, the old man turned to look at the younger one and said, “I pray for you.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[jiangsuriverexcavator]

The Benefits of Amphibious Carrier [Infographic]

Amphibious carriers, also known as amphibious assault ships or helicopter carriers, are versatile naval vessels designed to support amphibious operations.

These ships have several benefits that make them valuable assets to a navy:

1. Amphibious Assault Capability:

Troop Deployment: Amphibious carriers can deploy and transport a large number of troops, typically including Marines and their equipment, to conduct amphibious assaults on shorelines.

Versatility: These ships can support a variety of amphibious operations, ranging from humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to full-scale military invasions.

2. Aircraft Operations:

Helicopter Operations: Amphibious carriers are equipped with helicopter decks and hangar facilities, enabling them to support helicopter-borne operations for troop transport, reconnaissance, and other missions.

STOVL Aircraft: Some amphibious carriers are designed to accommodate Short Takeoff Vertical Landing (STOVL) aircraft like the Harrier, F-35B, or other VTOL (Vertical Takeoff and Landing) aircraft, providing additional air support capabilities.

3. Command and Control Center:

Amphibious Ready Group (ARG): These carriers often serve as the flagship for an Amphibious Ready Group, providing command and control capabilities for the entire group of ships involved in an amphibious operation.

Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence (C4I): Amphibious carriers are equipped with advanced communication and intelligence systems, enhancing situational awareness and coordination during operations.

4. Medical Facilities:

Hospital Facilities: Some amphibious carriers are equipped with medical facilities, enabling them to serve as floating hospitals during humanitarian missions or in the aftermath of natural disasters.

5. Logistical Support:

Transport of Vehicles and Equipment: Amphibious carriers have well-equipped vehicle decks for transporting tanks, armored vehicles, and other heavy equipment, supporting the logistics of amphibious operations.

Replenishment at Sea: These ships can participate in replenishment at sea, ensuring a sustained presence and operational capability for extended periods.

6. Flexible Response:

Rapid Deployment: Amphibious carriers provide the ability to rapidly respond to crises or conflicts, projecting power across coastlines and supporting a range of military and humanitarian missions.

7. Deterrence:

Strategic Presence: The presence of amphibious carriers in certain regions can serve as a deterrent, influencing the strategic calculus of potential adversaries.

8. Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR):

Versatile Deployment: Amphibious carriers are capable of supporting HADR missions, delivering aid and relief supplies quickly to disaster-stricken areas.

While amphibious carriers offer numerous advantages, it's important to note that their effectiveness depends on factors such as technology, maintenance, and the overall strategy and doctrine of the navy utilizing them.

Related:

What is Beyond Borders: Amphibious Carriers and the Future of Naval Warfare?