Misplaced Pages

#377622

110-717: In the early days of the Civil War, Scott's proposed strategy for the war against the South had two prominent features. First, all ports in the seceding states were to be rigorously blockaded. Secondly, a strong column of perhaps 80,000 men should use the Mississippi River as a highway to thrust completely through the Confederacy. A spearhead, a relatively small amphibious force of army troops transported by boats and supported by gunboats, should advance rapidly, capturing

220-587: A Franco-Spanish force invaded the British-held island of Minorca . In 1798 Minorca experienced yet another of its many changes of sovereignty when captured by a British landing . As the British Empire expanded worldwide, four colonies ( Halifax , in Nova Scotia ; Bermuda ; Gibraltar ; and Malta ) were designated Imperial fortresses , from which Britain's domination of the oceans and

330-429: A Spanish-French coalition against rebel Berber tribesmen in the north of Morocco , was an amphibious landing where tanks were used for the first time and massive aerial and naval gunfire support was employed by the landing forces, directed by spotting personnel with communication devices. Turning movement In military tactics, a turning movement is a form of maneuver in which the attacking force seeks to avoid

440-556: A common strategic object." All armed forces that employ troops with special training and equipment for conducting landings from naval vessels to shore agree to this definition. Since the 20th century an amphibious landing of troops on a beachhead is acknowledged as the most complex of all military maneuvers. The undertaking requires an intricate coordination of numerous military specialties, including air power , naval gunfire , naval transport , logistical planning , specialized equipment, land warfare , tactics , and extensive training in

550-592: A group meeting at the request of the Navy Department but also with representatives from both the Army and the Treasury Department (Coast Survey). During the summer of 1861, the board issued a series of reports recommending how best to maintain the blockade, taking into account the topography of the coast, the relative merits of the various southern ports, the opposition likely to be encountered, and

660-588: A larger allied offensive effort elsewhere. Such an operation requiring weeks to months of preparation and planning, would use multiple task forces, or even a naval fleet to land corps -size forces, including on large islands, for example Operation Chromite . A strategic landing operation requires a major commitment of forces to invade a national territory in the archipelagic , such as the Battle of Leyte , or continental, such as Operation Neptune . Such an operation may require multiple naval and air fleets to support

770-538: A larger land strategy such as the Kerch–Eltigen Operation , and a strategic opening of a new Theatre of Operations, for example the Operation Avalanche . The purpose of amphibious operations is usually offensive, except in cases of amphibious withdrawals, but is limited by the plan and terrain. Landings on islands less than 5,000 km (1,900 sq mi) in size are tactical, usually with

880-640: A letter to General Winfield Scott outlining his strategy. He proposed an immediate march on Richmond, by now the capital of the Confederacy, directed up the Kanawha River . Alternatively, if Kentucky were to leave the Union, a march directly across that state should take Nashville , and then, he would "act on circumstances." Scott's endorsement of McClellan's letter, which he submitted to the President, shows that he considered it but not favorably. Firstly,

990-423: A major fleet operation at Port Royal , South Carolina, resulted in the capture of a deep-water harbor midway between Savannah and Charleston. The Hatteras expedition had been planned as a raid; the plan called for it to be held only long enough to block up Hatteras Inlet. However, it was transformed into an incursion and led early in the next year to a full invasion, the so-called Burnside Expedition , which included

1100-677: A menacers, calling it the "American Dunkirk " due to its use as a base for privateers . There was regular, intermittent warfare between the French and the Wabanaki Confederacy on one side and the northern New England colonies on the other ( See the Northeast Coast Campaigns of 1688 , 1703 , 1723 , 1724 ). For the French, the Fortress of Louisbourg also protected the chief entrance to Canada , as well as

1210-537: A possession of a harbor that would serve as a coaling station near the southern end of the blockading line, as otherwise, blockaders would spend too much of their time going to and from home port seeking replenishment. All suitable harbors south of the Chesapeake Bay, however, were held by seceded states. To establish the blockade, therefore, at least one of them would have to be taken by the Federal forces. Thus,

SECTION 10

#1732764980378

1320-583: A speed of approximately 5 knots. The sides of the ships were bullet proof, and was designed with a ramp on the bow for disembarkation. A plan was devised to land British heavy tanks from pontoons in support of the Third Battle of Ypres , but this was abandoned. The lessons of the Gallipoli campaign had a significant impact upon the development of amphibious operational planning, and have since been studied by military planners prior to operations such as

1430-693: Is a type of offensive military operation that today uses naval ships to project ground and air power onto a hostile or potentially hostile shore at a designated landing beach . Through history the operations were conducted using ship's boats as the primary method of delivering troops to shore. Since the Gallipoli Campaign , specialised watercraft were increasingly designed for landing troops, material and vehicles, including by landing craft and for insertion of commandos , by fast patrol boats , zodiacs (rigid inflatable boats) and from mini-submersibles . The term amphibious first emerged in

1540-522: Is further reinforced by Britain's poor showing during the war in the battles upon the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain. Without great naval fortresses or forward reinforced ports the Royal Navy was unable to hold and command the lakes, or stop amphibious raiding into Canada, such as the many raids on York (now Toronto ) during the conflict. Even though each side held their own territorial coastlines,

1650-797: The American Civil War , the Mississippi Marine Brigade was established to act swiftly against Confederate forces operating near the Mississippi River and its tributaries. The unit consisted of artillery, cavalry and infantry with the United States Ram Fleet used as transportation. Amphibious warfare during the War of the Pacific of 1879 to 1883 saw coordination of army, navy and specialized units. The first amphibious assault of this war took place during

1760-419: The Battle of Pisagua when 2,100 Chilean troops successfully took Pisagua from 1,200 Peruvian and Bolivian defenders on 2 November 1879. Chilean Navy ships bombarded beach defenses for several hours at dawn, followed by open, oared boats landing army infantry and sapper units into waist-deep water, under enemy fire. An outnumbered first landing-wave fought at the beach; the second and third waves in

1870-506: The Black Sea , conducting many raids and bombardments on Ottoman positions. On 11 October 1917, German land and naval forces launched an amphibious assault, code named Operation Albion , on the islands of Saaremaa (Ösel), Hiiumaa (Dagö) and Muhu (Moon); they controlled the entrance to the Gulf of Riga . By the end of the month German forces had successfully overrun the islands forcing

1980-645: The Egyptians from the reign of Akhenaten as captured on the reliefs at Medinet Habu and Karnak . The Hellenic city states routinely resorted to amphibious assaults upon each other's shores, which they reflected upon in their plays and other art. The landing at Marathon by the Persians on 9 September 490 BC was the largest amphibious operation until the landings at the Battle of Gallipoli . In 1537 Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain , decided to train and assign amphibious-assault skilled units to

2090-551: The 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. One of the first amphibious landings involving armour

2200-611: The Mediterranean and Caribbean seas was maintained, including its ability to deny safe passage to enemy naval and merchant vessels while protecting its own merchant trade, as well as to its ability to project superior naval and military force anywhere on the planet. This was demonstrated during the American War of 1812 , when the ships of the North America Station of the Royal Navy and military forces of

2310-676: The Normandy Landings in 1944 and during the Falklands War in 1982. The campaign also influenced US Marine Corps amphibious operations during the Pacific War , and continues to influence US amphibious doctrine. During the interwar period the campaign "became a focal point for the study of amphibious warfare" in the United Kingdom and United States, because it involved the four types of amphibious operations:

SECTION 20

#1732764980378

2420-774: The Seven Years' War (known in the United States as the French and Indian War ), a war that ended the French colonial era in Atlantic Canada and led to the subsequent British campaign to capture all of French North America by the war's end. Another major amphibious landing took place during the Seven Years' War , the Siege of Quebec in 1759. The British, in addition to colonial American Ranger units, had raised experimental light infantry units to integrate aspects of

2530-602: The Union blockade , however, remains controversial. No one seriously contends that it alone would have won the war for the North. But while it is conceded not to have been sufficient, the question remains if it was necessary, i.e. whether the South would have endured had the blockade not sapped the strength of the Rebel armies beyond the tipping point. Those who deny the importance of the blockade advance two principal arguments. First, it

2640-637: The Western Gunboat Flotilla (soon thereafter to be transformed into the Mississippi River Squadron ) and the United States Ram Fleet , and the Mississippi was open down to Vicksburg. Thus that city became the only point on the river not in Federal hands. Again, the Army under Halleck did not grasp the opportunity that was provided. He failed to send even a small body of troops to aid the ships, and soon Farragut

2750-622: The 1847 Siege of Veracruz . During the Crimean War of 1853–1856 the anti-Russian alliance launched an Anglo-French amphibious operation against Russia at Bomarsund , Finland on 8 August 1854. During the American Civil War of 1861–1865 the United States made several amphibious assaults along the coastlines of the Confederate States . Actions at Hatteras Inlet (August 1861) and at Port Royal, South Carolina were

2860-593: The 1920s to form the Royal Marines ) were used primarily as naval parties onboard Royal Navy warships to maintain discipline and man ships' guns. The RMLI joined a new Royal Navy division, the Royal Naval Division , formed in 1914 (out of those not needed on ships) to fight on land; however, throughout the conflict, army units were depended upon to provide the bulk, if not all, of troops used in amphibious landings. The first amphibious assault of

2970-663: The Acadian Provincial capital Port-Royal (Acadia) of French Canada, during Queen Anne's War (the name of the American theater of the War of the Spanish Succession ). The battle is known as the seminal moment in the conquest of Acadia . The siege resulted in the British imperial Force conquering French Arcadia and renaming Port Royal, Annapolis Royal . One famous instance of a failed amphibious assault

3080-589: The Atlantic seaboard: Wilmington , Charleston , and Savannah. Only the first two were consequential; a mere eight steam-powered blockade runners entered Georgia or northern Florida ports throughout the entire war. The blockade of Charleston merged into the campaign against the city waged by both the Army and the Navy, not completed until the last days of the war. (See Raising the Flag at Fort Sumter .) Rather early in

3190-623: The British Army, Board of Ordnance, and Royal Marines, maintained a blockade of much of the Atlantic seaboard of the United States of America , carried out amphibious raids such as the 22 June 1813 Battle of Craney Island , and then launched the Chesapeake Campaign (defeating American forces in the Battle of Bladensburg , capturing and burning Washington, DC , and raiding Alexandria, Virginia ), from Bermuda. The point

3300-493: The British government were opposed to returning it to the French as part of any peace agreement, but these were eventually overruled, and Louisbourg was returned, over the objections of the victorious British North Americans, to French control after the 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle , in return for French concessions elsewhere. The Siege of Louisbourg (1758) was a pivotal operation of the British military in 1758 (which included Colonial American Provincial and Ranger units) during

3410-528: The British lost two large and powerful squadrons in two separate battles, the Battle of Lake Erie & the Battle of Lake Champlain , losing the British control of the two strategic lakes, for no losses of American ships in either battle. In the Mexican–American War , US forces under Winfield Scott launched the first major amphibious assault in US history, and its largest amphibious assault until WWII, in

Anaconda Plan - Misplaced Pages Continue

3520-587: The Confederate position there occupied bluffs high enough to render them impregnable to the naval gunnery of the day. Following the loss of Island No. 10 shortly before Farragut took New Orleans, the Confederates had abandoned Memphis, Tennessee , leaving only a small rear guard to conduct a delaying operation. In early June, this was swept aside at the First Battle of Memphis by the gunboats of

3630-412: The Confederate positions down the river in sequence. It would be followed by a more traditional army, marching behind to secure victories. The culminating battle would be for the forts below New Orleans . When they fell, the river would be in US hands from its source to its mouth, and the rebellion would be cut in two. The Anaconda had a logical development, both in its origin and the way it played out in

3740-509: The Kanawha was not suited for water transport so the march on Richmond would have to be overland and thus subject to breakdowns of men, horses, and equipment. More seriously, western Virginia (West Virginia had not yet parted from Virginia) was still very much pro-Union; according to Scott's estimate, its populace stood five out of seven opposed to secession. An invasion as proposed would alienate many of them and subject both enemies and friends to

3850-639: The Pacific Coast of South America . The USS  Wachusett with Alfred Thayer Mahan in command, was stationed at Callao, Peru, protecting American interests during the final stages of the War of the Pacific. He formulated his concept of sea power while reading a history book in an English gentleman's club in Lima, Peru. This concept became the foundation for his celebrated The Influence of Sea Power upon History (1890). An amphibious assault took place on

3960-634: The Royal Armada specifically for fighting on and from ships. The Spanish Marines were born under the name Compañías Viejas del Mar de Nápoles ("All-Spanish Sea Companies of Naples "). The idea was to set up a permanent assignation of land troops to the Royal Spanish Navy that would be available for the Crown. The first "professional" marine units were already task-trained amphibious troops, but instead of being disbanded, they were kept for

4070-538: The Russians to abandon them with the loss of some 20,000 troops, 100 guns and the pre-dreadnought battleship Slava . The capture of the islands opened a route for German naval forces into the Gulf of Finland threatening the city of Petrograd , a fact that contributed to the cessation of hostilities on the Eastern front . The first large scale amphibious operations, ones that were to heavily influence theorists in

4180-827: The Spanish Crown's needs. Their first actions took place all along the Mediterranean Sea, where the Turks and pirate settlements were risks for commerce and navigation: Algiers , Malta and Gelves . In 1565, the island of Malta was invaded by the Ottoman Turks during the Great Siege of Malta , forcing its defenders to retreat to the fortified cities. A strategic choke point in the Mediterranean Sea , its loss would have been so menacing for

4290-683: The United Kingdom and the United States during the 1930s with introduction of vehicles such as Vickers-Carden-Loyd Light Amphibious Tank or the Landing Vehicle Tracked . Amphibious warfare includes operations defined by their type, purpose, scale and means of execution. In the British Empire at the time these were called combined operations which were defined as "...operations where naval, military or air forces in any combination are co-operating with each other, working independently under their respective commanders, but with

4400-618: The West, Maj. Gen. Henry Halleck , the Mississippi became a somewhat neglected theater for operations in the West. Halleck, with McClellan's approval, believed in turning the enemy's Mississippi River strongholds rather than attacking them directly, so he moved away from the river. As he saw it, the Tennessee rather than the Mississippi was the "great strategic line of the Western campaign." The Navy Department, however, remained committed to

4510-463: The ability to carry cargo. The more conventional cargo vessels, and their spacious holds, went elsewhere. As a result, Southern exports of cotton fell by 95% from pre-war levels, devaluing its currency, and wrecking its economy. Additionally, the blockade disrupted coastal trade, overloading the marginal Southern railroads and preventing the importation of salt, necessary for preserving food and tanning leather. Unable to sell goods (particularly cotton) on

Anaconda Plan - Misplaced Pages Continue

4620-676: The approaching attack on the Mississippi River forts that shielded New Orleans. Early in 1862, the Gulf Blockading Squadron was reconfigured into two separate entities, the East Gulf Blockading Squadron (EGBS) commanded by Flag-Officer James L. Lardner and the West Gulf Blockading Squadron (WGBS) led by Flag-Officer David G. Farragut . After New Orleans fell to the Union fleet under Farragut on April 29, 1862, Mobile

4730-401: The battery failed, the ships remained active in the ensuing siege that eventually resulted in its capture. Then, the Union was able to mount its guns at the mouth of the harbor, and although the city continued to resist, it was no longer the preferred terminus for blockade runners. While all this was going on, the local defenders were not passive. Extensive efforts to break the blockade included

4840-436: The battle; running his fleet past the forts that defended the city from the south on the night of April 24, 1862, he forced the city to surrender. After repairing his ships from the damage they had suffered while passing the forts, he sent them up the river, where they successively sought and obtained the surrender of Baton Rouge and Natchez . The string of easy conquests came to an end at Vicksburg, Mississippi , however, as

4950-529: The beach, possibly the first purpose-built amphibious landing-craft in history: "These [36 shallow draft, flat-bottomed] boats would be able to land three thousand men and twelve guns in a single wave". Neutral military observers closely studied landing tactics and operations during the War of the Pacific: two Royal Navy ships monitored the Battle of Pisagua ; United States Navy observer Lt. Theodorus B. M. Mason included an account in his report The War on

5060-413: The beaches of Veracruz, Mexico in 1914, when the United States Navy attacked and occupied the city as result of the Tampico Affair . World War I marked the beginning of the first modern amphibious warfare operations. However, tactics and equipment were still rudimentary and required much improvisation. At the time, British Royal Marine Light Infantry (merged with the Royal Marine Artillery in

5170-446: The blockade was immediately transformed from a purely open-water operation to one of at least limited occupation of enemy territory. Although the board recommended that Fernandina, Florida , be taken as the southern anchor of the blockade, two other positions were captured before Fernandina. A pair of minor forts on the Outer Banks of North Carolina near Cape Hatteras were taken by Union forces on August 28–29, 1861, and on November 7

5280-417: The blockade was not properly a strategy although it is often referred to as such by historians. It did not estimate the forces that would be needed to guard the at least 3,000 miles (5,000 km) of coastline in the seceded states. It did not consider an allocation of resources. It did not set out a timeline or even name points of particular concern. Much of that was later done by the Blockade Strategy Board ,

5390-450: The blockade, with at least an 80% success rate. It was estimated the Confederates received thousands of tons of gunpowder, half a million rifles, and several hundred cannons from British blockade runners. As a result, the blockade runners operating from Britain prolonged the war by two years, killing 400,000 additional soldiers and civilians on both sides. Abbreviations used in these notes: Amphibious warfare Amphibious warfare

5500-418: The blockade. The supply problems they did face were most often caused by the poor condition of Confederate railroads . However much of the deterioration of the Southern railroads was caused by overloading due to the blockade disrupting normal coastal sea traffic and control of inland waterways by the Union Navy. Those who believe that the blockade was decisive argue that the Southern forces were strangled at

5610-472: The bulk of his army (5,000 men) to ascend the cliff by the small road and then deploy for battle on the plateau. The operation proved a success, leading to the surrender of the city, and heavily influenced subsequent engagements. In 1762 a British force, with a small colonial American ranger contingent, successfully landed at Havana in Cuba, besieged the city and captured it after a two-month campaign thanks to improved coordination of land and sea forces. In

SECTION 50

#1732764980378

5720-413: The campaign to capture the Mississippi River and thereby lop off the Trans-Mississippi is acknowledged. Virtually all present-day historians agree that the Union's Western campaign was at least as significant as that in the East. To the extent that fighting in the West before mid-1863 can be regarded as preparing for or culminating in the capture of Vicksburg , the Anaconda has been validated. The worth of

5830-423: The campaign. SS River Clyde , built as a collier , was adapted to be a landing ship for the Landing at Cape Helles . Openings were cut in her steel hull as sally ports from which troops would emerge onto gangways and then to a bridge of smaller boats from the ship to the beach. Boiler plate and sandbags were mounted on her bow, and behind them a battery of 11 machine guns was installed. The machine gun battery

5940-419: The capture of Roanoke Island and established the Union Army permanently in eastern North Carolina. Port Royal in Union hands was soon used as a base to make the blockade of Savannah almost complete, but Charleston was not so easily sealed off. Use of its harbor by blockade runners was curtailed, but to close it completely required some of the bitterest and most persistent ground action of the war. When Fernandina

6050-406: The centers of blockade-running activity in Bermuda and Nassau, but ships trying to reach them from the Atlantic Ocean would have to run past the Florida Keys, which remained in Federal control throughout the war and served as the base for the Gulf (later, East Gulf) Blockading Squadron . The same decision by the Confederate War Department led to the abandonment of most of the Atlantic coast except for

6160-435: 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 . The Alhucemas landing on 8 September 1925, performed by

6270-401: The commander there, knew that further resistance was pointless. On July 9, 1863, he surrendered the post and its garrison to the Federal Army of the Gulf and its commander, Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks . Henceforth, in the phrase of Abraham Lincoln , "The Father of Waters again goes unvexed to the sea." The Anaconda Plan as proposed by Scott relied on the blockade, as he stated it, "to envelop

6380-444: The decades to come, were conducted as part of the Battle of Gallipoli in 1915 against the Ottoman Empire during World War I . The Gallipoli peninsula forms the northern bank of the Dardanelles , a strait that provided a sea route to what was then the Russian Empire , one of the Allied powers during the war. Intending to secure it, Russia's allies Britain and France launched a naval attack followed by an amphibious landing on

6490-399: The end of the war and so the blockade existed independently of Scott's plan. In the early days of the secession movement, the status of the border states Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware, all of which allowed slavery, was unclear. All except Delaware had strong pro-Southern interests. Missouri was torn by internal conflict that mimicked in miniature the larger war that was convulsing

6600-530: The end. They point out that the collapse of the Army of Northern Virginia , which in 1865 was virtually all that remained of the Confederacy, followed soon after the loss of Wilmington to the Union. The timing, they contend, was not merely coincidental. Furthermore, the defeat of its armies was not the only way that the South lost. The blockade was not only to capture the ships that attempted to evade it but also to discourage others. The blockade runners may have been numerous, but they were built for speed rather than

6710-412: The experience of battle. The blockade had already been proclaimed by Lincoln. On April 19, 1861, a week after the bombardment of Fort Sumter that marked the outbreak of the war, he announced that the ports of all the seceded states, from South Carolina to Texas, would be blockaded; later, when Virginia and North Carolina also seceded, their coastlines were added. The executive order was not rescinded until

SECTION 60

#1732764980378

6820-440: The field commanders so the war was a series of independent campaigns, each of which was conducted according to the whims of whatever general happened to be in charge. According to her view, the Anaconda is a later conceptual imposition on events for which order did not exist at the time that they took place. For the historians who contend that a rational plan existed, the debate, like the plan itself, has two parts. The importance of

6930-440: The first of many attacks, others occurring on Roanoke Island , NC; Galveston , TX; Fort Sumter , Morris Island and James Island , SC; and several more. The largest such clash happened in January 1865 at Fort Fisher —the largest and most powerful fort in the world at the time—which protected the entrance of Wilmington, North Carolina . The assaulting force consisted of over 15,000 men and 70 warships with over 600 guns. During

7040-445: The following hours succeeded in overcoming resistance and moving inland. By the end of the day, an expeditionary army of 10,000 had disembarked at the captured port. In 1881 Chilean ships transported approximately 30,000 men, along with their mounts and equipment, 500 miles (800 km) in order to attack Lima. Chilean commanders commissioned purpose-built, flat-bottomed landing craft that would deliver troops in shallow water closer to

7150-422: The idea of opening the Mississippi. In the person of Assistant Secretary of the Navy Gustavus Vasa Fox , it decided early on the capture of New Orleans by a naval expedition from the Gulf of Mexico , after which all other towns bordering the river would fall rather than face bombardment. The task of taking New Orleans was entrusted to Captain (later Admiral) David Glasgow Farragut , who followed his own plans for

7260-434: The insurgent States and bring them to terms with less bloodshed than by any other plan." Insofar as he foresaw direct combat, it was to be more or less confined to the central thrust down the Mississippi River. Almost surely he did not anticipate the level of violence that it provoked. For that matter, the blockade itself had to be modified by events, provoking much of the bloodshed that he hoped to avoid. Scott's proposal for

7370-436: The insurrection is seen in the endorsement. After giving the plan more thought he submitted his proposal in a letter to McClellan on May 3, 1861. A second letter, dated May 21, was his final plan outline. Scott was not able to impose his strategic vision on the government. Aged and infirm, he had to retire before the end of the year. He was replaced as General-in-Chief by McClellan. Under McClellan and his eventual successor in

7480-578: The kingdoms of Western Europe that forces were urgently raised to relieve the island. It took four months to train, arm and move a 5,500-man amphibious force to lift the siege. Other countries adopted the idea and subsequently raised their own early marine forces as well. From the 15th to the 20th centuries, several European countries established and expanded overseas colonies . Amphibious operations mostly aimed to settle colonies and to secure strong points along navigational routes. Amphibious forces were fully organized and devoted to this mission, although

7590-434: The landing boats; special supplies were readied to be unloaded and support the 11,000-man landing force strength. The total strength of the amphibious force was 15,000 men, including an armada of 90 ships. A superb example of successful combined operations, of both military branches and different imperial units, is the Siege of Port Royal (1710) . The siege was a combined arms, British/Colonial American amphibious assault upon

7700-414: The landings, and extensive intelligence gathering and planning of over a year. Although most amphibious operations are thought of primarily as beach landings, they can exploit available shore infrastructure to land troops directly into an urban environment if unopposed. In this case non-specialised ships can offload troops, vehicles and cargo using organic or facility wharf-side equipment. Tactical landings in

7810-432: The limited objectives of neutralising enemy defenders and obtaining a new base of operation. Such an operation may be prepared and planned in days or weeks, and would employ a naval task force to land less than a division of troops. The intent of operational landings is usually to exploit the shore as a vulnerability in the enemy's overall position, forcing redeployment of forces, premature use of reserves , and aiding

7920-574: The major ports applied to the Gulf as well, with the result that only Mobile, New Orleans, and Galveston were defended. ( Brownsville, Texas / Matamoros, Tamaulipas , Mexico, at the mouth of the Rio Grande, is a special case that will not be treated here because of its international implications.) Galveston was captured by Federal forces on October 4, 1862, but was retaken by the Rebels on New Year's Day of

8030-428: The nation, Maryland was kept in the Union by jailing many of the opposition faction, and Kentucky tried to keep the peace by proclaiming its neutrality by aiding neither the North nor the South if both would agree to leave the state alone. Because Congress was not in session to authorize presidential initiatives to suppress the rebellion, the burden of raising troops for the war fell on the loyal state governments. Ohio

8140-488: The nature of the ships that would be used by both sides. The board recommendations concerning the Gulf Coast were rather rudimentary and largely ignored, but the blockade on the Atlantic coast followed their plan reasonably closely. All parties recognized from the start that the blockading ships would have to be powered by steam. The limited endurance of steamships then implied that one of the first requirements would be

8250-416: The nearby French fisheries. The French government had spent 25 years in fortifying it, and the cost of its defenses was reckoned at thirty million livres. Although the fortress's construction and layout was acknowledged as having superior seaward defences, a series of low rises behind them made it vulnerable to a land attack. The low rises provided attackers places to erect siege batteries. The fort's garrison

8360-561: The next year. It remained accessible to blockade runners for the rest of the war but, like all of the Trans-Mississippi , was rendered worthless to the Rebellion when the loss of Vicksburg completed Federal control of the Mississippi River. The Blockade Strategy Board had recommended that Ship Island, which lies in the Gulf between Mobile and New Orleans, be taken and used as a base for the (West) Gulf Blockading Squadron. This

8470-420: The nuances of this maneuver for all personnel involved. In essence, amphibious operations consist of the phases of strategic planning and preparation, operational transit to the intended theatre of operations , pre-landing rehearsal and disembarkation, troop landings, beachhead consolidation and conducting inland ground and air operations. Historically, within the scope of these phases a vital part of success

8580-410: The past have utilised small boats , small craft , small ships and civilian vessels converted for the mission to deliver troops to the water's edge. A naval landing operation requires vessels to troops and equipment and might include amphibious reconnaissance . Military intelligence services obtain information on the opponent. Amphibious warfare goes back to ancient times. The Sea Peoples menaced

8690-560: The peninsula with the eventual aim of capturing the Ottoman capital of Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul ). Although the naval attack was repelled and the land campaign failed, the campaign was the first modern amphibious landing, and featured air support, specialized landing craft and a naval bombardment . The seaplane tender HMS  Ark Royal supported the landings under the command of Commander Robert Clark-Hall . Seaplanes were used for aerial reconnaissance , ground support for

8800-504: The raid, demonstration, assault and withdrawal. Analysis of the campaign before World War II led to a belief among many armed forces that amphibious assaults could not succeed against modern defences. The perception continued until the Normandy Landings in June 1944, despite some successful examples of amphibious operations earlier in the war, such as those in Italy , and at Tarawa and in

8910-576: The ranger ideal into the regular army. They also produced the first specially designed landing-craft in order to enable their troops to cross the Saint Lawrence River in force. After considering and rejecting a number of plans for landings on the north shore of the river, Major General James Wolfe and his brigadiers decided in late August to land upriver of the city. The British prepared for their risky deployment upstream. Troops had already been aboard landing ships and drifting up and down

9020-500: The ravages of war. The same argument could be applied to Kentucky. Perhaps most damagingly, the war as proposed would subjugate the Confederacy piecemeal, with by necessity the border states bearing most of the burden, "instead of enveloping them all (nearly) at once by a cordon of ports on the Mississippi to its mouth from its junction with the Ohio , and by blockading ships on the seaboard." The germ of Scott's Anaconda Plan for suppressing

9130-399: The river for several days when on 12 September Wolfe made a final decision on the British landing site, selecting L' Anse-au-Foulon . Wolfe's plan of attack depended on secrecy and surprise—a key element of a successful amphibious operation—a small party of men would land by night on the north shore, climb the tall cliff, seize a small road, and overpower the garrison that protected it, allowing

9240-819: The same year, 1762, British Royal Navy sailors and marines succeed in taking the capital of the East Indies : Manila in the Philippines as well. In 1776 Samuel Nicholas and the Continental Marines , the "progenitor" of the United States Marine Corps , made a first successful landing in the Raid of Nassau in the Bahamas. In 1782 The British rebuffed a long Franco-Spanish attempt to seize Gibraltar by water-borne forces. In 1783

9350-552: The ships and call off the operation. The Siege of Louisbourg (1745) took place in 1745 when a New England colonial force aided by a small British fleet captured Louisbourg , the capital of the French province of Île-Royale (present-day Cape Breton Island ) during the War of the Austrian Succession , known as King George's War in the British colonies . The northern British colonies regarded Louisbourg as

9460-469: The size of the defending army increased in step with the advancing rank of its commander. The campaign for Vicksburg eventually settled into a siege, which terminated on July 4, 1863, with Pemberton's surrender of all the forces under his command. At that time, his army numbered approximately 29,500 men. When word of the loss of Vicksburg reached the garrison at Port Hudson, Maj. Gen. Franklin Gardner ,

9570-645: The south. This 130-mile (210 km) stretch – measured along roads, somewhat longer on the river – including the confluence of the Red River with the Mississippi, became the last contact between the eastern Confederacy and the Trans-Mississippi . No doubt of its importance, the government of Confederate President Jefferson Davis in Richmond strengthened both positions. Command at Vicksburg in particular passed from Brig. Gen. Martin L. Smith to Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn to Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton ;

9680-522: The troops landing at Anzac Cove and the bombing of fortifications. Ark Royal was augmented by a squadron from the No. 3 Squadron of the Royal Naval Air Service , operating from a nearby island. Initial landings, starting on 25 April, took place in unmodified rowing boats that were extremely vulnerable to attack from the shore defences. The first purpose-built landing craft were built for

9790-421: The troops not only fought ashore, but on board ships. By their nature amphibious assaults involve highly complex operations, demanding the coordination of disparate elements; when accomplished properly a paralyzing surprise to the enemy can be achieved. However, when there is a lack of preparation and/or coordination, often because of hubris, disastrous results can ensue. Álvaro de Bazán, Marquis of Santa Cruz ,

9900-411: The use of torpedoes (mines) and armored ships to sink or otherwise render inoperative the Federal vessels. Imaginative methods to achieve the same result in the development and deployment of submarines and torpedo boats . By contrast, the blockade of Wilmington was fairly conventional and is the focus of most debate concerning the efficacy of the blockade. After the middle of July 1863, when Charleston

10010-631: The war was the Battle of Bita Paka (11 September 1914) was fought south of Kabakaul, on the island of New Britain , and was a part of the invasion and subsequent occupation of German New Guinea by the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF) shortly after the outbreak of the First World War . The first British amphibious assault of the war ended in disaster in November 1914. A large British Indian Army force

10120-462: The war, the Federal Navy tried to block the harbor entrance by sinking ballast-laden hulks in the channels, but this proved ineffective or worse. Later, ships used in the blockade were used for the abortive assault on Fort Sumter on April 7, 1863. They also provided artillery support for the infantry attacks on Battery Wagner on July 11 and July 18, 1863. After both of these attempts to take

10230-595: The world market, the Confederate government was already strained financially as early as 1862. As its economy steadily degenerated, it suffered from a general loss of confidence on the part of its citizens. However, the blockade was less successful in preventing arms and money from being smuggled into Southern ports by blockade runners consisting of lightweight shallow draft steamships built in and operating from British shipyards, mostly in Liverpool and Glasgow . Historians estimated that 2,500–2,800 attempts were made to run

10340-530: Was an early proponent of amphibious warfare. The " Terceras Landing " in the Azores Islands on 25 May 1583, was a military feat as Bazán and the rest of commanders decided to make a fake landing to distract the defending forces (5,000 Portuguese , English and French soldiers). Special seagoing barges were also arranged to unload cavalry horses and 700 artillery pieces on the beach; special rowing boats were armed with small cannons to support

10450-543: 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

10560-640: Was created in four days resulting in an order for 200 'X' Lighters with a spoon-shaped bow to take shelving beaches and a drop down frontal ramp. The first use took place after they had been towed to the Aegean and performed successfully in the 6 August landing at Suvla Bay of IX Corps , commanded by Commander Edward Unwin . 'X' Lighters , known to the soldiers as 'Beetles', carried about 500 men, displaced 135 tons and were based on London barges being 105 feet, 6 inches long, 21 feet wide, and 7 feet, 6 inches deep. The engines mainly ran on heavy oil and ran at

10670-467: Was directed to launch an amphibious assault on Tanga , German East Africa . British actions prior to the assault, however, alerted the Germans to prepare to repel an invasion. The Indian forces suffered heavy casualties when they advanced on the city , forcing them to withdraw back to their boats, leaving much of their equipment behind. The Russian army and navy also grew adept to amphibious warfare in

10780-415: Was easily done, as on September 16, 1861, it was abandoned by its Rebel defenders, who feared that they might be cut off from the mainland. Their fears were justified; the next day, USS  Massachusetts arrived and offloaded Federal troops to take possession. Almost immediately, however, the island was transformed from a base and coaling station to a more important function; it became the staging area for

10890-521: Was forced by falling water levels to withdraw his deep-draft vessels to the vicinity of New Orleans. The Army did not attempt to take Vicksburg until November, and then the Army was under the leadership of Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant , after Halleck had been called to Washington to replace McClellan as General-in-Chief. By the time Grant became commander in the West, the Confederate Army had been able to fortify Vicksburg and Port Hudson to

11000-494: Was in 1741 at the Battle of Cartagena de Indias in New Granada , when a large British amphibious assault force commanded by Admiral Edward Vernon , and including a contingent of 200 Virginia "Marines"(not originally meant to be so) commanded by Lawrence Washington (older half brother of George Washington ), failed to overcome a much smaller, but very heavily fortified Spanish defence force and were forced to retreat back to

11110-545: Was largely sealed off, most of the trade between the Confederacy and northern Europe was conducted through Wilmington. The port retained its primacy until near the end of the Rebellion, when Fort Fisher , at the mouth of the Cape Fear River, was captured by Union forces in January 1865. The blockade of Confederate ports on the Gulf of Mexico was less important than that on the Atlantic. Not only were they farther from

11220-482: Was manned by Royal Naval Air Service men. Work began on painting River Clyde ' s hull sandy yellow as camouflage , but this was incomplete by the time of the landing. It was soon clear that the Turkish defence was equipped with rapid-fire weapons, which meant that ordinary landing boats were inadequate for the task. In February 1915, orders had been placed for the design of purpose built landing craft. A design

11330-473: Was never very effective. Throughout the war, more than three-quarters of all attempts to evade the blockade were successful. The one quarter that did not get through can be written off as operational losses. That was because the blockade runners were small and built for speed, rather than capacity. Second and perhaps more important, the Southern armies were not hamstrung for lack of material, at least owing to

11440-536: Was no longer useful as a port. In July 1862, U.S. Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles , wrote a letter to the commanders of both Gulf blockading squadrons that they would need to start recruiting freed blacks to keep up with labor demands. Although a century and a half has elapsed since the end of the Civil War, the importance of the Anaconda Plan remains to some extent a matter of debate. The war

11550-466: Was not the relatively bloodless affair that General Scott promised in his original proposal. Most historians regard this as merely a modification of the basic strategy in the course of events. At least one historian, however, denies that there ever was anything like a coherent strategy for subduing the South. Rowena Reed contends that the central government in Washington was unable to impose its will on

11660-458: Was often based on the military logistics , naval gunfire and close air support . Another factor is the variety and quantity of specialised vehicles and equipment used by the landing force that are designed for the specific needs of this type of operation. Amphibious operations can be classified as tactical or operational raids such as the Dieppe Raid , operational landings in support of

11770-402: Was particularly active in doing so and early acquired the services of George B. McClellan , who was to serve as the commander of its militia, with the rank of Major General of Volunteers. In a few weeks, as the state militias were incorporated into the national service, the militias of Indiana and Illinois were added to his command. From this power base, he felt enabled on April 27, 1861, to write

11880-417: Was poorly paid and supplied, and its inexperienced leaders mistrusted them. The colonial attackers were also lacking in experience, but ultimately succeeded in gaining control of the surrounding defences. The defenders surrendered in the face of an imminent assault. Louisbourg was an important bargaining chip in the peace negotiations to end the war, since it represented a major British success. Factions within

11990-608: Was seized in early March 1862, the war was almost a year old, and some important changes had taken place. Following the Confederate defeats at Forts Henry and Donelson in Tennessee and Roanoke Island in North Carolina, the War Department in Richmond decided to concentrate its armies in vital interior areas, removing them from much of the coast. Only a few major ports would be defended. Only three of these were on

12100-422: Was the only serious problem for the blockade. It remained so, much like Wilmington, until late in the war. In August 1864, Farragut got permission from the Navy Department and troops from the War Department to seize the forts at the entrance to Mobile Bay. Following his famous "Damn the torpedoes" run past the forts, they fell and were occupied by Federal soldiers. Mobile itself remained in Confederate control, but it

#377622