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