Beachhead
Beachhead is a
military term used to describe the line created when a unit (by sea) reaches a beach, and begins to defend that area of beach, while other reinforcements (hopefully) help out, until a unit large enough to begin advancing has arrived. Beachheads were very important in operations such as
Operation Neptune, the
Korean War (especially at
Inchon), and the
Vietnam War, among many other examples.
Although many references state that
Operation Neptune refers to the naval operations in support of
Operation Overlord, the most reliable references make it clear that
Overlord refers to the establishment of a large-scale
lodgement in Normandy, and that
Neptune refers to the landing phase which created the beachhead; i.e.
Neptune was the first part of
Overlord. 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, the Allies 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."Once an
amphibious assault starts, victory tends to go to the side which can reinforce the beachhead most quickly. There are exceptions to this rule where the amphibious forces have not expanded from their beachheads quickly enough to create a
lodgement area before the defenders can reinforce their positions. Two famous examples in which the attackers failed to expand their beachheads before the defending side could bring up reinforcements occurred during the
landing at Suvla Bay in the
Gallipoli Campaign in
World War I, and the
amphibious landing at Anzio during
World War II.
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Airhead*
Bridgehead
