Taiwan's population of roughly 24 million provides the scale against which the opening assault is considered. The figures used here include landing ships carrying around 250 personnel and eight larger amphibious docks carrying about 800 troops each. That second group amounts to roughly 6,400 troops, illustrating the difference between having large amphibious formations and landing them together. Merchant shipping could add capacity, but it would also need escort and protection. Concentrating the first wave would strengthen the force available to break out, while dispersing it would spread exposure to defensive fire.
Notable Point · 46:44-50:08
Landing-ship capacity limits the size of the opening assault
Indicative ship capacities show why an opening assault is much smaller than the total force trained for amphibious operations.