Comments by "Seven Proxies" (@sevenproxies4255) on "Midway: Was a Japanese Invasion Possible?" video.

  1. I'm curious about an issue regarding amphibious assaults in WWII. Is there a reason why smoke wasn't deployed to cover the advance of troops unloading unto beaches during battles like the d-day assault on the beaches of Normandy? Of course, maybe smoke was used but popular depictions of it in movies and games show masses of soldies storming headlong into the jaws of bunkers and pillboxes firing back at them with machine guns and such. I'm thinking: what if the battleships fired massive smoke shells designed to blanket the beaches in thick billowing clouds of smoke to cover the advancing troops? Wouldn't that have reduced the effectiveness of german machine gun emplacements due to not being able to pick out any individual targets until allied infantry got close enough to throw grenades into the bunkers and neutralize their occupants?
    10
  2. Huh... Sounds like battleships were kind of obsolete even during WWII.
    4
  3. Riceball01: Well, looking at the terrain and the advantage of the defenders, it's arguable that clear visibility along the beaches favours the defenders more than it favors the attackers. The infantry storming the beaches were sitting ducks out in the open and had little chance at actually shooting back at the machine gunners in their concrete bunkers and pillboxes. It was only really when the attackers got close enough to employ explosives, grenades, sub-machine guns and flamethrowers behind the wall of defenses that they actually managed to neutralize their targets. As for visibility regarding naval artillery, this isn"t really an issue. Most allied forces were knowledgeable in night time operations, even with artillery and airforce (meaning: they don't use naked eyes while firing but maps, clocks and radio communication). It stands to reason they could've employed similar tactics as they would've used if the attack took place at night. I would also argue that the advance up the beaches would've gone a lot quicker and the mg-emplacements would've been neutralized sooner if smoke screens had been used, which would've reduced the necessity for sustained naval artillery barrages during the assault.
    1
  4. nattygsbord: Well, at least they learned that if you're gonna build large warships, you better build them as aircraft carriers instead of giant gunboats.
    1