War At Sea World War I & World War II

1. War At Sea World War I & World War II Moira Frier Jenna MacDonald Graham Mann

2. World War I

3. Naval Warfare in WWI • 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)

4. 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 Commander of the Grand Fleet in 1917 British Light Cruiser, HMSArethusa

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. Battle of Jutland - 31 May 1916 • Largest naval battle of World War I • Fought 31 May – 1 June 1916 in North Sea near Jutland, Denmark • Intention of Germans was to destroy portion of Grand Fleet • Royal 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

15. Causes and Aims • 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

16. Results • 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

17. World War II

18. Naval Warfare in WWII • Aircraft carrier became premier vessel of fleet • Submarines 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

19. Anti-Submarine Warfare • 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 screen • Development allowed detection of surfaced U-Boats and surface ships when implemented in 1940-41

20. Battle of the River Plate – 13 Dec. 1939 • First major battle of WWII • Took 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

21. First Battle of Narvik -10 April 1940 • British victory in which 2 British destroyers were sunk and 9 German ships were sunk • Took place in Narvik, Norway • German torpedoes had severe problems with magnetic detonator systems, likely due to high northern latitude

22. Second Battle of Narvik -13 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

24. Battle of Taranto - 11-12 Nov. 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 bombers • Halved Italian battleship fleet – Italians withdrew to safer anchorages • Japanese studied attack when planning Pearl Harbor

25. Battle of Cape Matapan – 27-29 March 1941 • 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)

26. Pearl Harbor – 7 Dec. 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

28. Battle of the Coral Sea – 4-8 May 1942 • 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

29. Battle of Midway– 4-7 June 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

30. Battle of Guadalcanal - 12-15 Nov. 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

31. Battle of the Philippine Sea – 19-20 June 1944 • Largest aircraft carrier battle in history and decisive American victory • Occurred between United States and Empire of Japan • Over 600 Japanese planes were destroyed, as well as 3 carriers and 2 oil ships, while only 123 American planes were destroyed

32. Battle of the Atlantic – Sept. 1939-May 1945

33. Battle of the Atlantic – Sept. 1939-May 1945 • Longest military campaign of the Second World War • Arguably the most important • Canada was major participant • Determination 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 1943 • U-Boats and German warships battled Allied warships and convoys • Convoys travelled from North America and South Atlantic and were destined for United Kingdom and Soviet Union

34. Causes and Aims • 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

35. Results • Germans failed to stop flow of supplies to Britain • This allowed massive buildup of troops and supplies for Normandy landings • Over 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

36. Comparison

37. Changes Between Wars • 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

38. Reasons for Changes • 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

39. Effects of 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

40. Importance of Naval Warfare • Naval superiority was crucial to the war in several ways: • Was needed to allow safe travel for merchant ships and supplies/troops • Allowed 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