Q&A · 1:14:25-1:14:48

Breaking an invasion by destroying its lift

An amphibious-warfare answer identifies landing craft and troop-carrying capacity as the vulnerable link that can collapse an invasion.

Question

How much of an invasion fleet must be destroyed to make the invasion collapse?

Short answer

Destroy the landing craft and personnel carriers that deliver the force ashore, and the invasion can lose the lift it needs to continue.

Notes

An invasion depends on the craft that carry troops from ships to shore and continue moving personnel into the lodgment. Destroying enough landing craft and personnel carriers can break that link even if larger warships remain afloat. Transport capacity is the important measure here, not an abstract percentage of the invasion fleet. Amphibious operations can fail when their delivery system is lost.