Greetings again!
Sunday is our usual time for another 20th Century Snapshot story. This time we'll talk about what happened in the realm of Sea warfare during World war I .
As we've already mentioned before, Great war was the time of shockingly fast technical advancement. It was also very apparent in naval warfare. But, as with planes and tanks, this technical leap also led to some mistakes and dead ends.
BRING OUT THE BIG GUNS
In naval warfare, recipe was pretty straightforward for centuries, and the race was only about building bigger ships, bigger guns and more guns. Even a shocking events in naval combat history – the appearance of fully armored metal battleships during american civil war, and the decimation of all standard warships of the time – didn't change this perception. Only conclusion designers took from that was „Oh, so ships need to be even heavier and carry even more firepower“. And they went on to build greatest battleships world has ever seen. Metal, armored and packing a serious punch, these naval beasts ruled the seas making all previous ships completely obsolete… for a while at least.
Before World War I, all main naval powers (and those that tried to achieve that status) were engaged in a frantic arms race – who is going to construct bigger battleship and the most of them. New technology was invented frequently, so the maximum possible size kept increasing. Evantually, a new class of warships appeared – the mighty dreadnought. That ship was the peak of engineering (and insanity at the same time) and overshadowed battleships in a blink of an eye. Dreadnoughts were believed to be the very end of warship evolution. They were huge, armed with large caliber cannons only, and could lay waste to any other ship out there.
Equipped with steam turbine propulsion and oil-fired engines, packed with as many high caliber guns as was possible to fit, and armed to the brink of sinking, these juggernauts were a mighty sight. Luckily they all used a rotating cannon turrets otherwise maneuvering them in battle would be a very hard job to do.
However, the majestic appearance of dreadnoughts also caused something unusual – they were barely used during the war. In fact, only one major battle featuring dreadnoughts happened during the entire Great war – the battle at Jutland. Why? Because they were so expensive and so complicated to build (and it took a long time to complete one) that no one had the appetite to risk any of them. Even in their only major engagement in war, the performance in battle wasn't what designers expected. On the opposing side, Dreadnought also met other dreadnoughts, with equal firepower and armor. So, the battle looked similar to gruesome trench and artillery battle of european inland. All dreadnoughts stopped dead and fired at each other from as far as possible until they ran out of ammunition. Night combat was attempted but with equipment of the time and distances these things could fire at… it wasn't useful at all.
Just as engineers looked at their marvel in awe and surprise they didn't bring the decisive advantage that was expected, the archnemesis of their creation appeared from the waves…
…THE SUBMARINE SURPRISE
Now, to be exact, submarines did appear before World war I, but their useability was still questioned. Great war gave them the opportunity they needed to shine. With dreadnoughts ruling over the waves and their massive firepower, any direct attack was costly and difficult. And element of surprise was impossible – because of the shere size of early 20th century warships, it was easy to spot one from dozens of miles away. But, if you were to attack from beneath the waves? Yep, that just might work. And work it did, at least for a few years. Submarines became the only naval warships capable to approach the enemy and inflict serious damage. During World war I submarines sank hundreds of ships and operated in small groups or as lone wolf attacker. Logistics lines were in serious jeopardy because of this elusive enemy. And nations quickly started to compete in submarine construction.
They advanced very quickly, in both quality and numbers. It is true that submarines of that era weren't actually a pleasant place to be. They were cramped, noisy, hot and dangerous, but they could slip through enemy lines and wreak havoc deep in the enemy rear logistics. In fact, besides aircrafts, which were also a technological novelty, submarines were the only weapon that had a chance to breat through thick defenses and score some noticeable victories (unlike all land armies that were stuck in endless slaughter without any movement). That is why only sumbarine commanders and air combat aces had a celebrity status in society.
WHERE ARE GLORIOUS NAVAL BATTLES GONE ?
As said before, building and fielding a large navy was an immensly expensive and hard task, so each side primarily tried to preserve their ships. Everyone tried to avoid open battles, keep their distance and patrol the seas endlessly. The whole effort of naval warfare in World war I became something completely different – protecting and maintaining the supply lines and trade routes, forcing blockades etc.. Countries with large submarine fleets tried to sever as many logistics lines as possible, and countries with large surface ship fleets tried to protect them at any cost.
In this realm of naval combat s number of new tricks were tested:
- Depth charges: specialized underwater bombs that were dropped and activated at a certain depth in attempt to eliminate lurking submarines
- Convoy system: grouping trade ships together and escorting them with warships
- Decoy ships: also called „Q ships“ – ships that appeared deserted and unarmed, but when submarine approached, crew suddenly revealed weapons and made a surprise attack
- Use of hydrophones: basically a submerged microphone that tried to detect sounds from submarine electric motors
- Use or airships or airplanes: they patrolled the sea ahead of ships to spot enemy submarines. At that time submarines couldn't stay submerged for a long time so spotting them ahead of attack while they were still above water was paramount
- Use of underwater steel nets and mines: to prevent submarines from free movement
LESSONS FROM WORLD WAR I NAVAL WARFARE
Even though naval battles in World war I were not a common occurance, plenty of good lessons were taken. For once, it was obvious that the era of battleships and dreadnoughts came to an end, unusually soon but technological pace dictated quick change in tactics. Bigger wasn't always better. Beautiful dreadnoughts of the time, a symbol of naval might, will soon be gone and forgotten after only one chance to prove themselves. Stealthy submarines, aircrafts and aircraft carriers – most of them only the ideas during World war I, will soon came to rule the seas. Only a few decades later, in World war II, this transition will already be completed. Battleships will still be upgraded and used, but only in support role to new wonder weapons.
CONCLUSION
As was the case in planned strategy ahead of land battles of World war I, naval warfare was supposed to be „Trafalgar on steroids“ type of engagement. Same thing was expected but with bigger ships and more destructive firepower. It ended just like words of a famous general describe „No plan survives the first contact with the enemy“. Technology changed, new combat capabilities appeared and that turned the entire naval warfare upside down. Not many old rules of engagement survived this change, and that will be fully obvious just 20 years later when new war starts and all these new lessons are fully applied.
Until next time!
PHOTO SOURCES:
Dreadnoughts: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreadnought
WWI combat submarine: https://www.hi.uni-stuttgart.de/wgt/ww-one/Start/Bleed_White/Submarine_Warfare_and_the_First_World_War/ww1_eng_01_neu.html