Defence against an amphibious assault is an extremely difficult endeavour as is evident by the long line of successful amphibious assaults undertaken throughout history. Field fortifications has to a large extent been present in defences, yet little research has been done on the effects of field fortifications in preventing successful landing operations. Therefore, this thesis examines the specific role of field fortifications in defence against amphibious assaults. The purpose is to combine theories about amphibious operations with concepts of field fortifications to add depth to existing theories as two historical examples are examined.  Results show that the existing theories’ notions, especially regarding the devastating effects of indirect fire and pre-bombardment, are not true for the two cases of study. It is furthermore shown that avoiding terrain where the enemy’s defence is focused was of little consequence for whether the assault was successful or not. Of greater importance was the power imbalance of attacker versus defender. Lastly, it is argued that the development of advanced weaponry plausibly levels out the power imbalance as effects of pre-bombardment is more likely to be successful.

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