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The U.S. assault on Vera Cruz was the largest amphibious operation in U.S. history before World War II. The invasion presented enormous logistical challenges for the Polk administration. Congress had failed to provide new regiments in time to take part in the operation, so a large portion of Zachary Taylor's Army of Occupation stationed in towns below the Rio Grande had to be diverted to open up the new front. In Washington, U.S. Army Quartermaster General Thomas S. Jesup oversaw the massive effort, shipping some fifteen thousand men, weapons and other equipment from the United States and northern Mexico to Lobos Island, an island midway between Tampico and Vera Cruz, which had been selected as a rendezvous point for the invasion.
On March 3, 1847, the combined force sailed to Antón Lizardo, twelve miles south of Vera Cruz. Aided by Commodore David E. Conner's Home Squadron, Scott landed an army of 10,000 men on the beaches south of Vera Cruz on March 9, 1847. Meeting no opposition, they quickly established positions around the city, and on March 22 began a bombardment of the city.
