Entering a Continent: An Historical Review of Port and Beach Operations in the European Theater of Operations, World War II.

Forty years ago planning was commenced for the greatest invasion force in human history. Almost all of the participants have left military service and the institutional memory has gone with them. This essay reviews the planning and execution phases of Operation Overload, to see what problems were confronted, if and how they were overcome, and what lessons learned are still applicable today. The conclusion is that although some of the technology employed in 1944-45 is still useful and in some cases the same equipment is now available in improved form, the assets in terms of people, equipment and funds needed to employ that technology are not available, and if we are required to repeat an OVERLOAD type operation on short notice we would be incapable of doing so given our current and projected force structure. (Author)