combat in and on seas, oceans and any other major bodies of water. controlled by the allied powers...
TRANSCRIPT
War At SeaWorld War I & World War II
Moira FrierJenna
MacDonaldGraham
Mann
World War I
• Combat in and on seas, oceans and any other major bodies of water.
• Controlled by the Allied Powers with Central Powers trying to break blockade and establish blockade of their own
• Technology dominated by battleship• British ships had larger guns and Germans had better
optical equipment and range-finding• Dreadnoughts were the best ships, the fastest and most
powerful ship of the time• Technology was dominated by the battleship
(dreadnoughts)
Naval Warfare in WWI
The Battle of Heligoland Bight – 28 Aug. 1914
• First naval battle of the war • Germans lost 1200 men, British lost 35• Influenced British Vice Admiral Beatty’s appointment to
British Light Cruiser, HMS Arethusa
Commander of the Grand Fleet in 1917
The Battle of Coronel – 1 Nov. 1914
• Royal navy had spent months searching for German quadron• Five German vessels, four British vessels• British lost two ships and other two badly damaged• German victory that prompted Battle of Falklands
HMS Monmouth
Battle of the Falklands- 8 Dec. 1914
• British battle cruisers sunk 5 German cruisers• Last sea fight determined by gunnery alone• Cleared Pacific and South Atlantic of Germans• Demonstrated British sea power
British battle cruiser HMS Invincible
Raid on Scarborough, Harlepool and Whitby – 16 Dec. 1914
• German group attacked several North Sea English seaports• Bombardment lasted from 8:10am – 9:30am• Public outrage at Royal Navy
Remains after a sea raid
Battle of Dogger Bank – 24 Jan. 1915
• German submarine war heavily in progress• Inspired by success of previous raids• British intercepted Germans at Dogger Bank• Not a major victory but morale booster for Britain
German ship Blucher sinking
Sinking of RMS Lusitania – 7 May 1915
• Torpedoed by a German U-Boat • Over 1198 deaths, including over 100 Americans• Lusitania was carrying arms• Contributing factor to United States joining the war
The Lusitania
Battle of Jutland - 31 May 1916
• British fought running battle against Germans• Largest sea battle of WWI• Majority of Germans managed to escape • German High Seas Fleet did not venture into North Sea again• Intensive U-boat campaign started instead in 1917
German High Seas Fleet
Battle of dover Strait – 20 April 1917
• German Kiserliche Marine raided Allied positions in Dover Strait• Floating mines prevented Germans from entering the English Channel• Two British ships were bombarded by German destroyers• German fleet fled the channel without any losses
HMS Dover, British Cruiser destroyed by Germans
Battle of Otranto Straits - 14/15 May 1917
• Three Austro-Hungrian cruisers and two destroyers• Sank two Italian ships and fourteen Allied patrols• Combined British, French and Italian flotilla attacked• Poor Allied tactics led to Austrians escaping
Damaged Austrian cruiser Novara
The Raid on Zeebrugge – 23 April 1918
• British planned to neutralize German ports in Belgium• Secretly planned to block the port exits of the Zeebrugge and Ostend• British Cruiser, Vindictive, caught fire in the operation• Blockage was unsuccessful, German’s remained in control of the ports• 500 British casualties
British Cruiser, HMS Vindictive
Largest naval battle of World War IFought 31 May – 1 June 1916 in North Sea
near Jutland, DenmarkIntention of Germans was to destroy portion
of Grand FleetRoyal Navy wanted to destroy High Seas
Fleet or at least keep German force away from shipping lanes
Fourteen British ships and eleven German ships sunk with great loss of life
Both sides claimed victory
Battle of Jutland - 31 May 1916
German plan was to lure out a battlecruiser squadron from naval bases by sending in a fast German battlecruiser force
Allied squadron would then be defeated by large U-Boat force
British had copy of main German code book from captured ship, and therefore knew the German plan
British deployed battle squadron before Germans could get into position, and prepared for battle
Causes and Aims
British lost 155 000 tons of ships, while Germans lost 62 000 tons
Germans lost 2500 ships while British lost 6000 seamen
British maintained control of the North Sea, though the winner of the battle was undetermined
German High Seas Fleet did not venture into the North Sea again, and instead started a more intensive U-Boat campaign in 1917
Results
World War II
Aircraft carrier became premier vessel of fleetSubmarines also became increasingly important
and were used primarily for stopping/destroying resources from North America
Most important shipboard developments were in the area of anti-submarine warfare
Aircraft were used much more often in conjunction with sea vessels, and aircraft became a much more important tool in destroying ships and submarines
Naval Warfare in WWII
German U-Boats had large stealth advantage over Allied escorts as they could not be detected underwater
Allied scientists developed Anti-Submarine Detection Investigation Committee (ASDIC) which allowed detection (also known as sonar)
The system worked by emitting sound signals at regular time intervals and the return ping from a solid object (submarine) allows detection
Radar (Radio Detection and Ranging) emits radio waves that are reflected by solid objects
on cathode ray screenDevelopment allowed detection of surfaced U-
Boats and surface ships when implemented in 1940-41
Anti-Submarine Warfare
First major battle of WWIITook place just off the River Plate estuary in the
South Atlantic, off the coast of Argentina and Uruguay
More damage to Allied forces, but considered Allied victory
False intelligence led to the scuttling of the Graf Spree, the heavy cruiser that was the main target of the battle
Battle of the River Plate – 13 Dec. 1939
British victory in which 2 British destroyers were sunk and 9 German ships were sunk
Took place in Narvik, NorwayGerman torpedoes had severe problems with
magnetic detonator systems, likely due to high northern latitude
First Battle of Narvik -10 April 1940
Royal Navy considered victory at Narvik imperative
First U-Boat, U-64, sunk by Allied plane (Fairey Swordfish)
Three German destroyers sunk by Warspite and her escorts and other five were scuttled by German crews due to low fuel and ammunition
Result was British victory with 8 German ships and 1 U-Boat sunk or scuttled and no British ships sunk
Second Battle of Narvik -13 April 1940
British air/sea attack based from HMS Illustrious designed to cripple Italian fleet and permit re-supply of British in North Africa
British caught Italians by surprise with torpedo bombersHalved Italian battleship fleet – Italians withdrew to
safer anchoragesJapanese studied attack when planning Pearl Harbor
Battle of Taranto - 11-12 Nov. 1940
Cape is southwest coast of Greece’s Peolponnesian peninsula
British Royal Navy ships accompanied by Royal Australian Navy intercepted and severely damaged ships of Italian Regia Marina
Decisive Allied victory (2300+ Italians dead and 5 ships)
Battle of Cape Matapan – 27-29 March 1941
Removed the United States Navy’s battleship force as threat to Japanese Empire
Aircraft carrier force attacked American fleet at Pearl Harbor
Within short time of strike, five of eight battleships were sunk and the rest damaged
Pearl Harbor – 7 Dec. 1941
Battle between Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied naval and air forces of US and Australia
Tactical victory for Japanese but strategic victory for Allies
Japanese expansion stopped and allowed future Allied offensive campaigns
Battle of the Coral Sea – 4-8 May 1942
Regarded as most important naval battle of WWII in Pacific Campaign
United States decisively defeated Japanese attack and caused irreparable damage to Japanese navy
Battle paved the way for further offensive campaigns against Japanese
Battle of Midway– 4-7 June 1942
Decisive battle in months-long Guadalcanal campaign (Solomon Islands)
Allies seized airfield and ensuing naval battle caused extensive losses on both sides
U.S. was successful in protecting seized airfield and prevented troops from reaching Guadalcanal
Strategic victory for Allies
Battle of Guadalcanal - 12-15 Nov. 1942
Largest aircraft carrier battle in history and decisive American victory
Occurred between United States and Empire of JapanOver 600 Japanese planes were destroyed, as well as 3
carriers and 2 oil ships, while only 123 American planes were destroyed
Battle of the Philippine Sea – 19-20 June 1944
Battle of the Atlantic – Sept. 1939-May 1945
Longest military campaign of the Second World WarArguably the most importantCanada was major participantDetermination of Allied sailors and airmen, North
American industrial capacity and breaking of German codes allowed eventual success
Height was mid-1940 to the end of 1943U-Boats and German warships battled Allied warships
and convoysConvoys travelled from North America and South
Atlantic and were destined for United Kingdom and Soviet Union
Battle of the Atlantic – Sept. 1939-May 1945
British needed over one million tons of imported goods per week to survive the war
Axis powers (mostly Germany) wanted to cut off supplies to Britain
From 1942 on, Germans wanted to prevent buildup of supplies that would allow British landing in occupied Europe
British needed to defeat German naval threat to allow invasion of Europe
Causes and Aims
Germans failed to stop flow of supplies to BritainThis allowed massive buildup of troops and
supplies for Normandy landingsOver 3500 Allied merchant ships were sunk and
over 30 000 merchant sailors killed; 175 Allied warships were sunk
783 German submarines were sunk and 28 000 sailors were killed; 174 remaining U-Boats were surrendered to the Allies
Results
Comparison
Technological advances on ships (radar, weaponry, sonar, etc.)
Aircraft carriers became huge part of naval warfare – perhaps the most significant military development of the war
Submarines played a larger role (in WWII) and became bigger and more deadly
Attacks in WWII became more amphibious (airplanes became a very important weapon against ships and submarines – hence the importance of the aircraft carrier)
Naval warfare influenced battles on land as well as at sea in WWII; naval warfare was strictly between sea-going vessels in WWI (ex. Pearl Harbor)
Supply ships were a much more important target in WWII; unrestricted warfare was not a large part of WWI
Changes Between Wars
Social: high casualties led to greater desire for improved technology in anti-submarine warfare
Political: mastering the seas was necessary for both sides in winning the war
Economic: supply convoys to Britain were necessary for Britain to keep up the war and keep economy running
Military: loss of ships on both sides led to the desire for improved technology and designs for ships and submarines
Reasons for Changes
Anti-submarine improvements allowed Allies to fend off the German U-Boat threat and receive supplies necessary for landing at Normandy
German U-Boat advancements led to heavy British casualties throughout the war
Development of aircraft carriers allowed navies to play larger role in the overall war (more effective weapon against land targets)
Eventual Allied victory at sea allowed overall victory by accommodating large troop and supply buildup
Effects of Changes
Naval superiority was crucial to the war in several ways:Was needed to allow safe travel for merchant
ships and supplies/troopsAllowed access to other countries (for Britain –
ex. Landing at Normandy)Was crucial in many joint land-sea campaigns
(ex. Japan island hopping)Allies would not have been able to keep up war
effort without the supplies from North America
Importance of Naval Warfare