A webbed military helmet seen on a beach, symbolism strongly associated with the “D-Day” Normandy landings on June 6, 1944. Of the largest seaborne invasions in history, four of them took place during World War II; the US Army and Marine Corps led all four. (Shutterstock/John Cairns)

These Five Amphibious Landings Were the Biggest in History

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The most famous amphibious landing in history is almost certainly D-Day, the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944—but it was not the largest.

Amphibious warfare is one of the single most complicated military operations. Invading another country from the sea is a truly Herculean task, and has been since antiquity; ancient writers recount Persian emperor Xerxes’ struggle to cross the Hellespont to Greece, eventually succeeding by lashing ships together end over end until his army had created a makeshift bridge. Today, amphibious landings are even more complicated, requiring coordination among naval transportation, shore bombardment, air support, landing craft, infantry, armor, and logistics.

The moving parts are carefully orchestrated, tasked with establishing a foothold on an enemy-held territory and reinforcing it before its defenders can drive them back into the sea. Some amphibious operations have been genuinely enormous, involving hundreds of thousands of troops, thousands of vessels, and enormous logistical networks. Five in particular stand out as history’s largest.

5. Operation Chromite – Korean War

Location: Inchon, South Korea

Invasion force: ~40,000 (South Korea, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Australia, New Zealand, Netherlands)

The Korean War began on June 25, 1950, when North Korean troops under Kim Il-sung launched an invasion across the UN-demarcated 38th parallel into South Korea. Caught by surprise, South Korean forces quickly collapsed, and Kim’s army successfully took nearly all of the country; emergency US assistance stabilized a small section of the front line around the southern city of Busan, where fighting continued.

On June 27, the United Nations—at the time mostly a continuation of the victorious coalition in World War II, rather than the neutral international organization it is today—entered the war on South Korea’s side, with the United States taking a leading role in UN operations. To reverse North Korea’s position, General Douglas MacArthur planned Operation Chromite, a daring amphibious landing at Inchon behind North Korean lines. While........

© The National Interest