John Grehan - Combined Operations: An Official History of Amphibious Warfare Against Hitler’s Third Reich, 1940-1945

An Official History of Amphibious

Warfare Against Hitlers Third Reich,

1940-1945

Introduced by

John Grehan

COMBINED OPERATIONS

An Official History of Amphibious Warfare Against Hitlers Third Reich, 1940-1945

Published in Great Britain in 2022 by Frontline Books,

an imprint of Pen & Sword Books Ltd, Yorkshire Philadelphia

Based on file reference DEFE 2/1773, from a series of records from the Directorate of Military Intelligence, at The National Archives, Kew and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Introduction Copyright John Grehan, 2022

Text alterations and additions Frontline Books, 2022

ISBN: 978-1-39904-022-8

EPUB ISBN: 978-1-39904-024-2

MOBI ISBN: 978-1-39904-024-2

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This book is intended primarily for students of history, for use at staff colleges and similar establishments, and for the benefit of those interested in ministerial machinery for the direction of war.

It is a record of the activities of Combined Operations Command, its origins and functions, its ramifications in overseas theatres and, above all, its contribution towards winning the war. It is a record of solid material achievement and of significant advances in amphibious technique.

Combined Operations Headquarters was a novel element introduced into the British military organisation. It was begun and developed largely through the genius of Sir Winston Churchill and the outstanding ability and forcefulness of Admiral Mountbatten. The work it did to make amphibious operations possible and its value as a continuing contribution to our national defence organisation are set out for all to read. Even if we cannot anticipate the final verdict of history, we must try to establish the facts on which judgement should be based so that the distinctive contribution of Combined Operations will stand out with incontestable validity.

The main story is told in Chapters 1 to 10; the later chapters, which advisedly incorporate some repetition, may be regarded as supplementary to these and describe the varied activities in more detail.

Inevitably, the story of Combined Operations is largely an account of the efforts of Admiral Mountbatten and his team; his personal example and drive gave impetus to all and everything. The measure of achievement by him personally and by Combined Operations Headquarters can be gathered from the signal made to him which is recorded in Sir Winston Churchills book Triumph and Tragedy:

Today we visited the British and American armies on the soil of France. We sailed through vast fleets of ships with landing craft of many types pouring more and more men and vehicles ashore. We saw clearly the manoeuvre in process of rapid development. We have shared all secrets in common and helped each other all we could. We wish to tell you at this moment, in your arduous campaign, that we realise that much of this remarkable technique and therefore the success of the venture has its origin in developments effected by you and your Staff of Combined Operations. Arnold, Brooke, Churchill, King, Marshall, Smuts.

Amphibious Warfare Headquarters, 1956

GLOSSARY

Abbreviations and Short Titles