At the water's edge : defending against the modern amphibious assault / Theodore L. Gatchel.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 235-248) and index.

1. Anti-Landing Defense: The Other Face of Amphibious Warfare -- 2. The Search Begins: Gallipoli, 1915 -- 3. Preparations for Invasion: Great Britain, 1940 -- 4. German Mobile Defense: Sicily and Salerno, 1943 -- 5. German Defense at the Water's Edge: Normandy, 1944 -- 6. The Americans Try Their Hand: Wake and Midway, 1941-1942 -- 7. Japanese Naval Defense: The Southwest Pacific Area, 1942-1944 -- 8. Japanese Defense at the Water's Edge: The Gilberts and Marshalls, 1943-1944 -- 9. Japanese Defense in Transition: Saipan to Iwo Jima, 1944-1945 -- 10. The Ultimate Naval Defense: Okinawa and Japan, 1945 -- 11. A Poor Man's Naval Defense: Inchon and Wonsan, 1950 -- 12. Lessons Learned and Unlearned: The Falkland Islands, 1982 -- 13. Anti-Landing Defense and the Implications for Future Amphibious Operations.

Col. Theodore L. Gatchel, USMC (Ret.), examines amphibious operations from Gallipoli to the Falkland Islands to determine why the defenders were unable either to prevent the attackers from landing or to throw them back into the sea after they had fought their way ashore. He places the reader at the water's edge as such epic battles as Normandy, Iwo Jima, and Inchon are planned and fought.

He then uses these cases to explain why the defenders, including many with distinguished combat records, could not successfully defend against enemy landings. A practitioner, teacher, and student of amphibious warfare, Colonel Gatchel follows these explanations with speculations about how a defender today might try to stop a landing, and the implications of such actions for future amphibious operations.