The operation against Fort Fisher also provided dramatic demonstration of a fleet's ability to mass superior firepower at any point of s shore defense position. Fear of concentrated naval gunfire forced inaction of General Hoke's division stationed between the fort and Wilmington, forestalling any interference with the landing of the federal expeditionary force and enabling General Terry to split the Confederate defense forces.
Colonel Lamb, the fort's gallant commandant, later recorded: "For the first time in the history of sieges the land defenses of the works was destroyed, not by any act of the besieging army, but by the concentrated fire, direct and enfilading, of an immense fleet poured into them without intermission, until torpedo wires were cut, palisades breached so that they actually afforded cover for assailants, and the slopes of the work were rendered practicable for assault."
The second attack became a classic example of complete Army-Navy coordination.
Setting the Stage for D-Day. --Old B-R'er
No comments:
Post a Comment