Invaders: British & American Experience of Seaborne Landings 1939-1945 - Hardcover

The Second World War was the first in which amphibious landings played a truly significant part in the outcome of a global conflict and in this work, drawing on the testimonies of hundreds of participants, the author recounts the experiences of those who partook in all the allied amphibious landings during World War II, and in doing so describes some of the most significant battles of the war. The book is structured broadly chronologically and is divided into two: the first half deals with the European theatre and covers, amongst other landings, Salerno, the Dieppe raid, and the D-Day landing in Normandy; the second half focuses on the Pacific and Guadal canal, Iwo Jima and Okinawa are some of the landings which are covered in detail. Every aspect of amphibious warfare is described and the experiences of the planners, the landing craft crew, the crews of the support ships, the assault troops, technicians, the air crews who provided support, and the follow-up troops and replacements are all told. Literally hundreds of testimonies were taken by the author in the preparation of this book and the resulting work aims to describe the realities and horrors of war as well as the humour and comradeship, and the technical and logistical factors which influenced the allied experience of amphibious warfare.