Invasion barges
Discussion
These are jack-up barges which extend bridging from the barge itself to land. Vessels (i.e. ferries) can then dock and offload. The first of them had been seen via satellite a handful of years or so ago and the evolution of the art has been seen in military drills.
https://www.twz.com/sea/our-best-look-yet-at-china...
https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2025/01/china...
They seem to have a quite specific use-case! But still could be used for more benign applications such as offloading heavy mining/construction equipment to developing countries who don't have the port capacity.....
https://www.twz.com/sea/our-best-look-yet-at-china...
https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2025/01/china...
They seem to have a quite specific use-case! But still could be used for more benign applications such as offloading heavy mining/construction equipment to developing countries who don't have the port capacity.....
Looks like the Chinese have studied the post D-Day Mulberry harbour and taken note of its weaknesses (floating harbour moves in a storm, jack-up barge less so).
The issues with the Chinese one are:
The issues with the Chinese one are:
- Total air superiority required, as its a prime target.
- The legs are a vulnerable point, especially on the four leg version.
- Type 1 & 3, which appear to be one tank width wide on the roadway, would be vulnerable to a damaged or broken down tank blocking everything behind it until cleared.
GliderRider said:
Looks like the Chinese have studied the post D-Day Mulberry harbour and taken note of its weaknesses (floating harbour moves in a storm, jack-up barge less so).
The issues with the Chinese one are:
The demonstration shows it on a beach but there looks to be some spots along the Taiwan coast where those barges could unload straight onto land. You'd think that those areas have long been identified for them to go full-tilt into something like this and to not even disguise them as something other than military related....The issues with the Chinese one are:
- Total air superiority required, as its a prime target.
- The legs are a vulnerable point, especially on the four leg version.
- Type 1 & 3, which appear to be one tank width wide on the roadway, would be vulnerable to a damaged or broken down tank blocking everything behind it until cleared.
rodericb said:
The demonstration shows it on a beach but there looks to be some spots along the Taiwan coast where those barges could unload straight onto land. You'd think that those areas have long been identified for them to go full-tilt into something like this and to not even disguise them as something other than military related....
The obvious invasion points are the most heavily defended.Simpo Two said:
rodericb said:
The demonstration shows it on a beach but there looks to be some spots along the Taiwan coast where those barges could unload straight onto land. You'd think that those areas have long been identified for them to go full-tilt into something like this and to not even disguise them as something other than military related....
The obvious invasion points are the most heavily defended.You can bet if Taiwan is aware of these they are increasing the defences where they might be used. The whole point of the Mulberry Harbour was to permit a full scale invasion without the need to take an existing port (with the huge losses that would entail) in the early stages to keep the invasion force resupplied.
It's like the planned - but fortunately never implemented - Allied invasion of the Japanese home islands in 1945.
The geography of Honshu and Kyushu only allows for a certain number of bays and beaches suitable for landing an army in significant numbers, even with the Allied experience of D-Day.
As examination of Japanese documents post-war showed, the Japanese military was well aware of this and had correctly predicted exactly where the Allied landings would have taken place by a simple deduction. And in turn the Allies predicted that the Japanese would predict this, but that attacking prepared positions on a good landing site would be more likely to succeed than trying to force a landing on an unsuitable site, even if the predicted casualties were shocking - 800,000 Allied casualties and 250,000 KIA if I recall correctly, and millions of Japanese dead from combat and the famine caused as the invasion swept through the islands.
The geography of Honshu and Kyushu only allows for a certain number of bays and beaches suitable for landing an army in significant numbers, even with the Allied experience of D-Day.
As examination of Japanese documents post-war showed, the Japanese military was well aware of this and had correctly predicted exactly where the Allied landings would have taken place by a simple deduction. And in turn the Allies predicted that the Japanese would predict this, but that attacking prepared positions on a good landing site would be more likely to succeed than trying to force a landing on an unsuitable site, even if the predicted casualties were shocking - 800,000 Allied casualties and 250,000 KIA if I recall correctly, and millions of Japanese dead from combat and the famine caused as the invasion swept through the islands.
GliderRider said:
You can bet if Taiwan is aware of these they are increasing the defences where they might be used. The whole point of the Mulberry Harbour was to permit a full scale invasion without the need to take an existing port (with the huge losses that would entail) in the early stages to keep the invasion force resupplied.
Though Mulberry Harbours were deployed after D-Day. The invasion force had to land directly on the beaches and keep the Germans far enough away to allow their construction.Gassing Station | Boats, Planes & Trains | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff