Atlantic Warfare Today : 439 



first forces to land were hampered by German machine gun and mor- 

 tar fire. This was gradually suppressed by fire from the ships and 

 wave after wave of troops were landed on the beaches — the landing 

 ships and cargo carriers maintaining a steady ferry service between 

 the Normandy beaches and the English ports. 



Artificial ports of two types were constructed to assist in the land- 

 ing operations. The larger type, called "Mulberries," were made by 

 floating concrete caissons into position and sinking them. The Mul- 

 berries were equipped with floating pierheads, and floating cause- 

 ways connected them with the shore. They were built on such a 

 scale that they could accommodate ocean-going vessels. Multiple 

 smaller harbors to accommodate smaller vessels were built out of 

 damaged or obsolete warships and merchantmen and were known 

 as "Gooseberries." 



Day after day these improvised ports were in use and the landing 

 and supply operation proceeded as was anticipated until June 18, 

 when a three-day gale hit the Channel, interrupted operations and 

 destroyed some of the harbors. This speeded the determination to 

 attack Cherbourg, which was carried out on June 25 by a combined 

 sea and land attack. Despite the fact that the port of Cherbourg had 

 been wrecked and mined by the Germans it began to be of some serv- 

 ice in the early part of July and supplemented the enormous traffic 

 that was still flowing over the beaches. 



The invasion beaches extended for sixty miles — the naval bombard- 

 ment to establish control of this area involved eighty warships firing 

 800 large guns. Air control was supplied by the United States Eighth 

 and Ninth Air Forces and the British Royal Air Force and involved 

 the use of 10,000 planes. 



Despite the success of the landing in North Africa and in Sicily, 

 the German General Staff continued to believe that a beachhead type 

 of invasion of such volume and so well sustained was impossible. 

 Their defensive preparation had chiefly been made at the ports. Their 

 lack of imagination cost them the war. By the end of July the inva- 

 sion forces began a concerted advance inland. Shortly thereafter other 

 ports such as Dieppe in August and Le Havre in September fell into 

 Allied hands. The beaches of Normandy had served their purpose. 



This brief accoimt indicates some of the features of war as it has 

 been fought in the Atlantic of our time. Were a new war to develop 

 in the Atlantic today it would have features that are not reflected in 

 this account. Some of these were first developed and used against 

 Japan in America's continuation of World War II in the Pacific. 



