Taiwan vs Normandy

The Allied assault on Normandy in June 1944 was the largest amphibious operation in military history. A Chinese attack across the Taiwan Strait would present a remarkably similar geographical scope, though the correlation of forces would be far less favorable for the attacking force.

"U.S. imperialism, Soviet revisionism and the reactionaries in the world are all paper tigers. Armed with Mao Tsetung Thought, the Chinese people and the Chinese People's Liberation Army are invincible. We are determined to liberate Taiwan! We are determined to defend the sacred territory and sovereignty of our great motherland!" Ninth National Congress of the Communist Party of China April 24, 1969

"Some people have made some calculations about how many aircraft, missiles and warships China possesses and presumed that China dare not and will not use force based on such calculations. ... those people who have made such calculations and who have made such conclusions do not understand and do not know about the Chinese history. The Chinese people are ready to shed blood and sacrifice their lives to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the motherland." Premier Zhu Rongji Thursday, March 16, 2000

	D-Day Normandy 06 June 1944	Taiwan 2000
Assault Force	176,000 amphibious troops three airborne divisions 10,000 aircraft 136 warships [BB, C, DD] 3,000 landing craft 2,000 other ships	15,000 amphibious troops three airborne divisions 3,300 combat aircraft 60 warships [DD, FF] ~300 landing craft
Defending Force	400 aircraft ~50,000 troops [six divisions] no naval presence	490 fighter aircraft 220,000-troops 40 warships [DD, FF]
Air Situation	Attacking force had air supremacy many months prior to amphibious assault.	Attacking force would have to obtain air supremacy prior to amphibious assault.
Intelligence	Luftwaffe flew no reconnaissance flights over the coastal regions of Great Britain during the early months of 1944. Germans mounted no air reconnaissance during the first five days of June, because of bad weather.	American intelligence satellites overfly the area a dozen times every day.