Reinventing Amphibious Hydrography: The Inchon Assault and Hydrographic Support for Amphibious Operations

摘要

This essay utilizes the 1950 Korean War amphibious operation at Inchon as an illustrative case study to analyze how the challenges of an unknown amphibious battlespace can be overcome through hydrographic support and how hydrographic information is required by the operational commander in order to achieve mission success. Hydrography data is shown to be crucial for planning and decision making in the modern joint military environment and must be maintained as a key component of a competent amphibious force. This essay demonstrates a central thesis: Hydrographic support is a vital skill that must be maintained and exercised as a core competency for amphibious operations.