Amazon.com
The history of amphibious invasions is presented in this installment of the
Combat at Sea series from
U.S. News. The story begins with a brief look at the disaster the British encountered at Gallipoli, when an assault force coming from the sea was decimated, turning a bold operation into a horrific disaster. Some military strategists, most notably the U.S. Marine officer John Lejeune, felt that amphibious operations had a place in the modern military, and his efforts to prepare the Marine Corps to hit the beaches are described and illustrated with vintage newsreel footage. As the United States eventually found itself fighting the Japanese in the Pacific, Lejeune's work proved prophetic, and Marines used his strategy to storm beaches in the South Pacific. Throughout World War II, American forces learned from each successive beach assault, and the documentary eventually focuses on how all the lessons came together when the greatest amphibious attack of all took place on D day, June 6, 1944, when Allied forces crossed the English Channel to storm Nazi positions in Normandy. Films of the Normandy invasion focus on several different aspects of the operation, including the roles played by naval gunnery, aerial bombing, and airborne drops of paratrooper divisions. This is an informative look at an aspect of warfare that became surprisingly effective.
--Robert J. McNamara
