Allied target selection in the Second World War shows how easily planners could underestimate water transport. American officers initially emphasized railways and roads because those systems better matched their assumptions about Germany's economy, while the RAF also took time to recognize the scale of canal traffic. The Royal Navy's economic studies and history departments identified major ships being loaded from lighters and river barges rather than conventional quays. Such ships could use their own cranes to lift supplies from barges alongside them. Ports could therefore consist largely of mooring points in a bay or river estuary, without the extensive loading facilities planners expected. Understanding those connections changed both the target list and the facilities that counted as strategically important.
Notable Point · 59:40-1:02:30
Why Allied target analysis had to recognize Europe's canals
British and American planners had to account for the continuing importance of European rivers, canals, barges, and self-loading ships when assessing transport targets.