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Abeachhead is a temporary line created when amilitary unit reaches alanding beach by sea and begins to defend the area as other reinforcements arrive. Once a large enough unit is assembled, the invading force can begin advancing inland. The term is sometimes used interchangeably (both correctly and incorrectly) withbridgehead andlodgement. Beachheads have been important in many military actions; examples include operations such asOperation Neptune duringWorld War II, theKorean War (especially atInchon), and theVietnam War.
Although many references state thatOperation Neptune refers to the naval operations in support ofOperation Overlord, the most reliable references make it clear thatOverlord referred to the establishment of a large-scalelodgement in Normandy, and thatNeptune referred to the landing phase which created the beachhead;Neptune was therefore the first part ofOverlord. According to the D-Day Museum:
The armed forces use codenames to refer to the planning and execution of specific military operations. Operation Overlord was the codename for the Allied invasion of north-west Europe. The assault phase of Operation Overlord was known as Operation Neptune. (...) Operation Neptune began on D-Day (6 June 1944) and ended on 30 June 1944. By this time, theAllies had established a firm foothold in Normandy. Operation Overlord also began on D-Day, and continued until Allied forces crossed the River Seine on 19 August 1944.[1]
Once anamphibious assault starts, victory tends to go to the side which can reinforce the beachhead most quickly. Occasionally, the amphibious forces do not expand their beachheads quickly enough to create alodgement area before the defenders can reinforce their positions; in these cases, the defending forces tend to be victorious. This is exemplified by thelanding at Suvla Bay in theGallipoli Campaign duringWorld War I and the amphibiouslanding at Anzio (duringOperation Shingle) as part of theItalian Campaign of World War II.
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