Title: Sea Power and Maritime Affairs
1Sea Power and Maritime Affairs
- Lesson 9 The U.S. Navy and World War I, 1914-1918
2Learning Objectives
- Know the events leading to the entry of the
United States into World War I. - Comprehend U.S. strategy and diplomacy in World
War I. - Comprehend the effect of the events of World War
I on Mahanian theory.
3Major Allied Powers
- US (beginning in 1917)
- Great Britain
- Russia
- France
- Italy (partially)
- Japan (Pacific)
- Major Central Powers
- Germany
- Austria-Hungary
- Turkey
4Entangling Alliances
- Triple Entente (Allied Powers)
- Great Britain, Russian Empire, France
- Plus Italy (1915-16)
- U.S. (1917)
- Japan (Pacific)
- Triple Alliance (Central Powers)
- German, Austro-Hungarian, and Ottoman (Turk)
Empires - Plus Bulgaria
- Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated June
1914. - Bosnia part of Austro-Hungarian Empire.
- Serbia - Russia Defense Pact.
5Naval Confrontation
- British Royal Navy
- Home Fleet
- Grand Fleet
- German Imperial Navy
- High Seas Fleet
6British Royal Navy
- First Lord of the Admiralty
- Similar to U.S. Secretary of the Navy.
- Winston Churchill
- First Sea Lord
- Similar to todays U.S. Chief of Naval
Operations. - Admiral Sir John Fisher
- Grand Fleet
- Admiral Sir John Jellicoe
7Strategic Goals of Grand Fleet
- Sea-lift of British Army to France.
- Distant blockade of Germany.
- Avoid German mines and torpedo boats near the
coast. - Scapa Flow - Main Grand Fleet base in the Orkney
Islands. - Goal Destroy High Seas Fleet in a large
engagement.
8Winston Churchill
- First Lord
- of the
- Admiralty
- 1914-1915
9German Imperial Navy
- High Seas Fleet
- Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz
- Numerically inferior to the British Grand Fleet.
- North Sea defenses
- Mines.
- U-boats (unterseeboots) - submarines.
- Not used for commerce raiding early in war.
- Goal
- Defeat portions of the Grand Fleet in small
engagements. - Fleet in Being
- Threatens Allied operations by its presence in
port. - Ineffective commerce raiding by German cruisers.
10Major Naval and Maritime Events
- February 1915- Germany announces unrestricted
submarine warfare - May 1915- Sinking of Lusitania
- 1915- ANZAC landing at Gallipoli
- March 1916 Sussex pledge
- Battle of Jutland
11Gallipoli Campaign - 1915
- German-led Ottoman Turk Fleet
- Closes Dardanelles - Entrance to the Black Sea.
- Allied line of communication with Russia is cut.
- Winston Churchill
- Advocate of amphibious assault on Gallipoli
Peninsula. - Objective Constantinople.
- Admiral Sir John Fisher
- First Sea Lord resigns in protest.
- Dardanelles
- Mines in sea lanes.
- Guns emplaced on shore covering the straits
manned by the Ottoman Turk Army.
12GallipoliCampaign1915
- - Winston Churchill proposes opening supply
route to Russia through the Black Sea.
1318 March 1915 Naval Action
14Allied RetreatfromGallipoliNovember-December
1915
15Failure of Allied Assault
- ANZAC Army Corps
- Mustafa Kemal commands Turk counter-attack.
- Lessons learned in defeat
- Unity of command.
- Control of local waters.
- Element of surprise.
- Rehearsal.
- Beach reconnaissance.
- Shore bombardment.
- Specialized landing craft.
- Ship-to-shore movement.
- Aggressive exploitation of the beachhead.
- Commitment of reserves.
- Winston Churchill resigns in failure.
16Battle of Dogger Bank- 1915
17(No Transcript)
18Battle of Jutland
19Battle of Jutland
- Greatest naval battle to date
- Minor strategic importance
- Tactical lesson
- Speed and long-range gunfire outstripped the
commanders means of observation and control of
own forces - Only fleet action of war
- Seemed to fit Mahanian prescription
- British unhappy not Nelsonian Annihilation
- Admiral Nimitz says it was the battle most
studied by NWC in interwar years (1919-1939)
20Admiral Sir John Jellicoe
Battle of Jutland
21Battle of Jutland 31 May - 1 June 1916
- High Seas Fleet sorties to attack merchant
shipping to Norway. - Jellicoe intercepts in the North Sea with Grand
Fleet. - Battle cruisers used for scouting.
- Jellicoes Grand Fleet Crosses the T of the
High Seas Fleet. - High Seas Fleet maneuvers back to port at night.
22Battle of Jutland 31 May - 1 June 1916
- Largest naval battle to date ends in a tactical
draw. - Only large fleet action of the war.
- Last great battle between battleship fleets.
- Jellicoe fails to win a victory.
- Afraid of stern chase over mines/submarines.
- Turned away from torpedoes.
- Would not risk fighting at night.
- Minor strategic importance to the outcome of the
war. - Tactical lesson Speed and long-range gunfire
outstripped the commander's means of observation
and control of forces.
23Battle of Jutland
24HMS Invincible
British Battle Cruiser sunk at Jutland
25HMS Indefatigable
British Battle Cruiser sunk at Jutland
26Course of the War - 1916
- Ground war in France continued stalemate.
- German U-boats continue commerce raiding.
- Very effective, especially in Mediterranean Sea.
- February 1916 - Resume Unrestricted Submarine
Warfare. - Sussex sunk March 1916 - Wilson protests again.
- Tirpitz relieved of duty.
- Kaiser Wilhelm imposes restrictions on U-boat
attacks again. - British raids on German coast.
- New German High Seas Fleet commander
- Vice Admiral Reinhard Scheer
- Commences raids on British coast.
27Unterseeboots
28U-boats
29Commerce Raiding
- German U-boats threaten to cut off all maritime
supply of Great Britain.
30Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
31U.S. Enters World War I
- Germany announces Unrestricted Submarine Warfare.
(February 1915) - Lusitania (May 1915)
- Sussex (March 1916)
- Germany resumes Unrestricted Submarine Warfare.
(January 1917) - Calculated risk
- U.S. unable to affect war for at least one year.
- Need to cut off British food supplies.
- U.S. declares war. (April 1917)
- U.S. Navy - First rate power, BUT
- Unprepared for anti-submarine warfare.
- Planned for fleet engagement in Caribbean Sea.
32Backing Up
- US Naval strategy in World War I period of
Neutrality (August 1914-1917) - Woodrow Wilson The United States will remain
- neutral in thought and deed.
- Favorable balance of payments for U.S. with
Europe. - Desire to trade with Allied and Central Powers.
33U.S. in World War I
- Naval matters enter American consciousness.
- Wilson converts to pro-Navy viewpoint.
- Forty-eight capital ships planned for U.S. Navy
by 1920. - Naval Construction act of 1916
- Impact of Jutland
- Assistant Secretary of the Navy
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt
- Experiences will influence World War II policies
- Causes for U.S. entrance on side of Allies.
- Shift in European balance of power.
- Unrestricted Submarine Warfare.
- Cultural and economic ties to Allied nations.
- Wilson sees chance for peace in outcome
34A word on Bureaucracy
- Naval leadership wants Naval General Staff
- Rear Admiral Bradley Fiske, Captain William S.
Sims - SECNAV Josephs Daniels
- Fiske-Hobson measure, Act of Congress 3 March
1915 creates CNO - Captain William S. Benson
35Course of the War - 1917
- U.S. Navy Plans
- Atlantic (defeat the submarine)
- Troop Transport
- Reduce Emphasis on battle ships
- Submarine chasers
- Merchant Ships
- Mine laying
- Integrated into convoy system.
- 20-25 merchants and 6-8 destroyers.
- Change from hunt-and-kill patrols to a convoy
system. - Rear Admiral William Sowden Sims, USN - convoy
proponent. - Admiral Sir John Jellicoe
- Appointed First Sea Lord, Chief of Naval Staff.
- Convoys proved to be more effective in countering
U-boats.
36End of the War
- Bolshevik Revolution in Russia - October 1917
- Peace with Germany causes Eastern Front to
disappear. - French Field Marshal Ferdinand Foch
- Supreme Allied Commander (including U.S. forces).
- German offensive repulsed at Second Battle of the
Marne. - Major General John A. Lejeune, USMC assumes
command of the Second U.S. Army Division - 1918. - First time a Marine officer commands an Army
Division.. - German Army defeated - morale becomes very low.
- German sailors become mutinous.
- 11 November 1918 - war ends on Armistice Day.
- Now celebrated as Veterans Day in the U.S.
37Battle of Belleau Wood June 1918
- Teufelhunde -- Devil Dogs
Retreat, hell. We just got here. Captain Lloyd
Williams, USMC
38(No Transcript)
39USS Belleau Wood (LHA 3)
40New Weapons of Naval Warfare
- Submarines
- Germany lost 187 U-boats, however
- Sank 5,234 merchant ships.
- Sank 10 battleships, 20 destroyers, and 9
submarines. - Allied Neutral Ships Lost 1914-18
- 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918
- 3 396 964 2,439 1,035
- Aviation
- Anti-submarine warfare.
- Early attempts at power projection
- Strikes on German naval bases.
- Did not practice anti-surface warfare.
41Effect of World War I on Mahanian Theory
- Support in two areas
- Commercial antagonism and rivalry cause war.
- Faith in the battle fleet for command of the sea.
- Unrestricted Submarine Warfare's implications
ignored. - Commerce raiding can affect the course of the
war. - Importance of convoy system to protect against
submarine attacks.
42Discussion
Next time US Naval Strategy and National Policy,
1919-1941