AHC: The most successful Overlord possible.

Yes, the 52d Division. It was also slated to fly in to the Apeldorn airfield when that was captured at the end of Op MARKET-GARDEN. The limit at the start of Op OVERLORD were the transport wings. Not enough aircraft to keep up the pace of moving all the 'air divisions' in the first few days. Perhaps a second separate airborne op in the following weeks? Monty considered for a moment a early July amphib. op on the west coast of the Cotientin peninsula. That could have included a air drop.
 

BlondieBC

Banned
Who did major amphibious landings outside of maybe Japan? The Japanese were pretty lousy at it too. Learning from the marines would be better or as someone said actually using the marines would be better than that.

Japanese would good at amphibious landings all the way back to 1914.
 

BlondieBC

Banned
Why was Marshall opposed to marines serving in Europe?

My understanding is that the Navy wanted the Pacific to be a Navy/Marine war, and Marshall was reacting to that by keeping Marines out of Europe. It is the old joke, that every Army officer knows who and where the real enemy is located at. It is the Navy officers fighting for funding in the Halls of Congress.
 

BlondieBC

Banned
The Japanese basically landed on uncontested areas. They didn't make opposed amphibious landings and at their best they were in no way comparable to the Royal Marines or USMC.

No one makes contested landings unless forced. You always land on an unprotected area, or barring that, a weaker area. The Japanese landing unopposed is not a weakness, it is a strength in their planning.

And even Normandy followed that pattern. The Allies landing well away from the heavier defended areas (Calais, German Blight) to a relatively unimportant area.
 
No one makes contested landings unless forced. You always land on an unprotected area, or barring that, a weaker area. The Japanese landing unopposed is not a weakness, it is a strength in their planning.

And even Normandy followed that pattern. The Allies landing well away from the heavier defended areas (Calais, German Blight) to a relatively unimportant area.

1) That still means they had zero experience in contested landings which is what you had in Normandy 2) I know of no one who considers them as good as the Royal Marines or USMC during WWII
 
1) That still means they had zero experience in contested landings which is what you had in Normandy 2) I know of no one who considers them as good as the Royal Marines or USMC during WWII

Actually they did. Which is one reason they prefered to avoid beach assaults. Khota Baru & Wake island were two with defended beaches. There were others. A more important difference was scale. The Japanese seldom indulged in multi corps landings, like operation TORCH or HUSKEY. The Japanese Marines of SNLF that is. The IJA did conduct larger corps size invasions. Luzon is one example.
 
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