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Allied invasion of Sicily, 1943

Landing is a military operation aimed at a bringing the landing force (landing troops) to a shore or to land with the purpose of power projection ashore/landside by forces coming from ships/aircraft and able to fight.

Landing may refer to bringing of either the seafaring (naval landing forces; see amphibious warfare) or airborne forces (air landing troops).

Missions of air landing troops, as defined by the U.S. FM 100-5, Operations manual, include

• Seizing and holding, or otherwise exploiting, important tactical localities or installations, in conjunction with or pending the arrival of other military or naval forces. Such missions include seizure and clearance of landing fields, beachheads, strong points, and ports; seizure of essential observation or other critical terrain; severing hostile lines of communication and supply; the destruction of bridges, locks, public utility enterprises, and other designated demolitions; seizure of river crossings, defiles, and other bottlenecks; blocking a hostile counterattack; interrupting the movements of hostile reserves; cooperating in the pursuit or breakthrough by ground forces by operating against enemy reserves and lines of communication, and blocking hostile avenues of retreat; and preventing the enemy from destroying essential installations, supplies, and matériel which might be of use in our own subsequent operations.
• Executing an envelopment from the air in conjunction with an attack by ground forces.
• Execution of surprise attacks as a diversion or feint in connection with other air landing or ground operations, or to create confusion and disorder among the hostile military and civilian personnel.
• Execution of an attack against an isolated enemy position, impossible or impracticable of attack by ground forces.

• Landing craft

• U.S. War Department, manual FM 100-5, Operations, 1941

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