Customer Reviews

Across the Reef The Amphibious Tracked Vehicle at War

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Victor Croizat, a retired Marine Colonel, has written an excellent history of the LVT (Landing Vehicle Tracked). From its original purpose as a rescue vehicle known as the “alligator” and designed by Donald Roebling of Florida, it was modified and pressed into service as a tracked cargo carrier in WW II. From this modest logistic beginning at Guadalcanal and Bougainville, a handful of visionaries began to see the craft’s full potential. The reefs at Tarawa prove to be the watershed event for the LVT. When tide and coral prevented the Higgins Boats (LCVP) from bring men ashore, the LVT merely lumbered forward, carrying men and material where the Higgins Boat could not go. From this point forward, in the Pacific Theater at least, the LVT and its many variations became a key element in every amphibious assault. From the Gilberts to Kwajalein in the Marshalls to Saipan, Tinian and Guam in the Marianas and on to Peleliu, Iwo Jima and Okinawa, the landing craft of choice was clearly the LVT. By war’s end, over 18,000 had been produced.

Tactics evolved and each island invasion incorporated lessons learned from the ones that proceeded. The familiar pattern developed quickly. After increased naval and air craft bombardment, the rocket firing gunboats, LCI(G)s, would cross the line of departure. Following closely behind were the armored versions of the LVTs, firing as they lead the troop carrying LVTs ashore. Once the assault troops were ashore, the LVTs reverted to their cargo carrying role, bring ammunition, water and supplies to land and carrying the wounded to hospital ships. Several continued carrying men inland hundreds of yard engaging the enemy with their four MGs as the situation demanded. The armored LVTs would then protect the flanks, firing their 37mm and 75mm canons. Having been found too light to serve as tanks, they would be ashore deployed as self-propelled guns, assisting the artillery batteries or on the reefs serving guard duty.

The book traces the evolution of the vehicle and the tactics utilized in a logical fashion by following the chronology of the War in the Pacific. Two concluding chapters deal briefly with the LVT in Korea and Viet Nam and the state of amphibious operations as they existed in 1989, when the book was printed. In this final chapter, the ancestry of the modern amphibious vehicle is clearly traceable to the Roebling “Alligator”, the modest LVT....

Victor Croizat, a retired Marine Colonel, has written an excellent history of the LVT (Landing Vehicle Tracked). From its original purpose as a rescue vehicle known as the "alligator" and designed by Donald Roebling of Florida, it was modified and pressed into service as a tracked cargo carrier in WW II. From this modest logistic beginning at Guadalcanal and Bougainville, a handful of visionaries began to see the craft's full potential. The reefs at Tarawa prove to be the watershed event for the LVT. When tide and coral prevented the Higgins Boats (LCVP) from bring men ashore, the LVT merely lumbered forward, carrying men and material where the Higgins Boat could not go. From this point forward, in the Pacific Theater at least, the LVT and its many variations became a key element in every amphibious assault. From the Gilberts to Kwajalein in the Marshalls to Saipan, Tinian and Guam in the Marianas and on to Peleliu, Iwo Jima and Okinawa, the landing craft of choice was clearly the LVT. By war's end, over 18,000 had been produced.

Tactics evolved and each island invasion incorporated lessons learned from the ones that proceeded. The familiar pattern developed quickly. After increased naval and air craft bombardment, the rocket firing gunboats, LCI(G)s, would cross the line of departure. Following closely behind were the armored versions of the LVTs, firing as they lead the troop carrying LVTs ashore. Once the assault troops were ashore, the LVTs reverted to their cargo carrying role, bring ammunition, water and supplies to land and carrying the wounded to hospital ships. Several continued carrying men inland hundreds of yard engaging the enemy with the their four MGs as the situation demanded. The armored LVTs would then protect the flanks, firing their 37mm and 75mm canons. Having been found too light to serve as tanks, they would be ashore deployed as self-propelled guns, assisting the artillery batteries or on the reefs serving guard duty.

The book traces the evolution of the vehicle and the tactics utilized in a logical fashion by following the chronology of the War in the Pacific. Two concluding chapters deal briefly with the LVT in Korea and Viet Nam and the state of amphibious operations as they existed in 1989, when the book was printed. In this final chapter, the ancestry of the modern amphibious vehicle is clearly traceable to the Roebling "Alligator", the modest LVT.

Of the 34 major landings during WW II where the LVTs were used, all but 4 took place in the Pacific. Of these few others, three involved river crossings and North Africa. Given their extreme versatility, the added ½" steel protection, the armored versions providing close support at the moment men are most vulnerable, and the ability of the vehicle to carry troops across the 400 yards of open beach and barbed wire, one has to question why they were not used at Normandy. Croizat does not address this beyond saying that in the ETO "...the amtrac was not needed to land assault troops from the sea."

One suspects that the men of Co. A, 116th, might feel otherwise.