text: Chapter 7
  Army Operations in Maritime Environments
  The basic objectives and principles of war do not change. The final objective in war is the
  destruction of the enemy’s capacity and will to fight, and thereby force him to accept the
  imposition of the victor’s will. This submission has been accomplished in the past by
  pressure in and from each of the elements of land and sea, and during World War I and II,
  in and from the air as well. The optimum pressure is exerted through that absolute control
  obtained by actual physical occupation. This optimum is obtainable only on land where
  physical occupation can be consolidated and maintained.
  Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, United States Navy
  This chapter describes Army operations in a predominantly maritime environment. It
  begins with a discussion of the unique characteristics and challenges posed by maritime
  regions. It continues with a discussion of maritime planning considerations, and it
  concludes with a description of a potential operational approach for a maritime
  environment.
  SECTION I – OVERVIEW OF THE MARITIME ENVIRONMENT
  7-1. Previous conflicts have proven the
  critical role of land forces in maritime Although the Pacific Theater of World War II is often
  associated with dramatic battles fought by U.S. Navy and
  theaters. In almost all cases it is land that
  Marine Corps, U.S. Army forces provided considerable
  makes a maritime area important to a
  combat power to the theater. Most of the 22 divisions that
  combatant commander. Land masses near served in the Pacific endured 100 to 300 days of continuous
  or surrounded by water create maritime combat during the island-hopping campaign. Several units
  choke points, enable force projection in and spent over 500 days in the war against Imperial Japanese
  forces. The Americal Division spent over 600 days in combat.
  out of maritime areas, and contain the
  Casualties for Army forces exceeded 85,000 killed, captured,
  majority of the world's population. The
  wounded, or missing in action. The 77th Infantry Division
  ultimate objective of conflict is typically not
  alone sustained 9,212 casualties in 208 days of combat.
  control over vast expanses of open water, During battles that included Guadalcanal, New Guinea, the
  but rather the land and people who control Philippines, and Okinawa, Army forces provided both combat
  it. Planning and training for the unique power and critical sustainment to a complex campaign that
  spanned from Alaska to Australia.
  considerations of operations in these
  environments is critical, as is an integrated
  planning approach with the rest of the joint force. A maritime operational environment adds coordination and
  synchronization requirements for Army echelons that typically operate and train in land operational
  environments. Army and joint force planning must reflect an understanding of the dynamic nature of the
  threats and constraints to land forces in maritime regions. Army movement and maneuver between land
  masses is almost entirely dependent on joint capabilities. Control of critical land masses is essential to the
  sustainment and protection of joint operations in a maritime operational environment. This interdependence
  has been historically crucial to success during armed conflicts against peer threats in maritime theaters, and
  it continues to be crucial in the foreseeable future.
  PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MARITIME
  ENVIRONMENT
  7-2. Habitable land masses vary in size and geology. They include land masses as large as Australia to
  small islets that make up larger atoll systems, such as the Marianas islands in Micronesia or Alaska’s Aleutian
  Islands chain. Regardless of their size, not all islands are suitable for extended occupation without externally