Layered coastal defense around Normandy

E-boats and the lighter R-boats looked well suited to shallow-water attacks against the invasion, but by 1944 Britain had assembled a mature counter-system and enough personnel to operate it around Normandy. Destroyer and coastal-force patrols were placed on either side of the assault lanes, while radar, aircraft, mines, and experienced staffs formed additional layers. Bertram Ramsay coordinated the system, with Cunningham and Philip Vian among the senior naval officers contributing wartime experience. The doctrine was to get between German forces and their objective before an attack developed. German craft therefore had to come to the defenders instead of exploiting superior speed in an open-ended chase.