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Worldbuilding

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    $\begingroup$ Civilian shipping would try to stay far, far away from an invasion fleet, and the fleet itself would probably keep them away if they wandered close (since who knows if there is a radio aboard to pass targeting information to the defenders). Otherwise, though, the point is well taken that such a fleet would be pretty spread out, with the landing crafts (and their carriers/tenders) close to shore, but supply ships far enough back to be out of range of land-based guns. It'd probably take an H-bomb rather than a first-generation A-bomb to sink things that far apart, even in the best case. $\endgroup$ Commented Dec 16, 2025 at 23:37
  • $\begingroup$ @Ralph Neutral shipping still operated freely during both world wars. But my point was they are still sets of eyes on the ocean, eyes that might see a giant flash of light on the horizon or perhaps a strange towering pillar of smoke or cloud in the far distance. Maybe they pass a drifting and dead warship days after the attack or even pick up a raft load of survivors, burnt and perhaps dying from some strange illness but still able to tell their story. War is messy and bits and pieces of it get left all over the land and/or seascape. $\endgroup$ Commented Dec 17, 2025 at 3:18
  • $\begingroup$ "The attacking nation would tend to notice the instant its ships stopped communicating with it and then disappeared." -- This point is flawed in that wartime fleets frequently followed a radio-silence doctrine throughout the operation. E.g., Bismarck in Operation Rheinubung, Japanese attacking Pearl Harbor. They also had short-range TBS (talk-between-ships) systems so a fleet could coordinate without detectable signals long-distance. $\endgroup$ Commented Dec 17, 2025 at 6:35
  • $\begingroup$ @Daniel R. Collins Yes I know they did. The point is they didn't maintain it indefinitely did they? The attacking navy would be operating on a plan devised by HQ and that HQ would be as aware of the timetable implied by that plan as the Admiral commanding the fleet at sea was. So at some point they would be expecting updates. If you read some history of say the 2nd world Pacific war you'll see that radio silence wasn't strict and absolute. $\endgroup$ Commented Dec 17, 2025 at 7:36
  • $\begingroup$ It would be held for at least several weeks of an operation, so "notice the instant" is inaccurate. $\endgroup$ Commented Dec 17, 2025 at 17:01