An interwar exercise in India appeared to work without specialist landing ships because conventional shipping and landing craft could meet its limited demands. It was small and faced little simulated threat, conditions unlike a contested large-scale landing. Under those rules, craft that moved troops from ship to shore mattered more than the larger transport system. The example shows how exercise success can conceal missing capacity when the scenario never tests the force against the scale or opposition expected in war.
Notable Point · 6:21-7:10
Why small exercises concealed the shipping gap
An apparently successful interwar exercise shows how limited opposition and small scale could hide the absence of specialist amphibious shipping.