Were Mulberry Harbours Essential to the Logistic Support of Operation Neptune?

摘要

The value of MULBERRY harbours is assessed in this piece by taking a chronological path through the planning and execution of Operation Neptune (the assault phase of Operation Overlord - the liberation of North West Europe). This is deliberate; those responsible for Operation Neptune faced a daunting challenge and this apprehension has a significant bearing on the conclusions drawn. To start with an objective review would diminish the importance uncertainty, and the quest to remove it, played in the preparations for the Operation. The reader should attempt to place himself in the position of an invasion planner between 1942 and 1944, suppressing hindsight.