Sea Power and Maritime Affairs

1. Sea PowerandMaritime Affairs Lesson 11: The U.S. Navy and the World at War, 1914-1918

2. Learning 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.

3. Major Allied Powers • US (beginning in 1917) • Great Britain • Russia • France • Italy (for the most part) • Japan (Pacific)

4. Major Central Powers • Germany • Austria-Hungary • Turkey

5. So what happened? The Beginning of World War I

6. “Entangling 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.

7. Naval Confrontation British Royal Navy Home Fleet Grand Fleet German Imperial Navy High Seas Fleet

8. British Royal Navy: • First Lord of the Admiralty • Similar to U.S. Secretary of the Navy. • Winston Churchill • First Sea Lord • Similar to today’s U.S. Chief of Naval Operations. • Admiral Sir John Fisher • Grand Fleet • Admiral Sir John Jellicoe

9. Strategic 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.

10. Winston Churchill First Lord of the Admiralty 1914-1915

11. German 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.

12. Admiral Alfred von TirpitzFather of the German High Seas Fleet

13. Major 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

14. Three important Actions • Dardanelles/Gallipoli • Dogger Bank • Jutland

15. Gallipoli 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.

16. GallipoliCampaign1915 Winston Churchill proposes opening supply route to Russia through the Black Sea.

17. Gallipoli:

18. 18 March 1915 Naval Action

19. Allied Landings25 April 1915

20. Landings at Gallipoli

21. Gallipoli

22. Allied RetreatfromGallipoliNovember-December 1915

23. Failure 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.

24. Battle of Dogger Bank- 1915:

26. Battle of Jutland

27. Course 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.

28. Unterseeboots

29. U.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.

30. Backing 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.

31. President Woodrow Wilson

32. U.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

33. …A 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

34. Course 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.

35. (Then) Commander William S. SimsAide to President RooseveltReviewing return of the Great White Fleet - February 1909

36. Allied Convoys in the Atlantic

37. Effects of Allied Convoys in the Atlantic

38. End 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.

39. Battle of Belleau Wood June 1918 “Teufelhunde” -- Devil Dogs “Retreat, hell. We just got here.” Captain Lloyd Williams, USMC

41. USS Belleau Wood (LHA 3)

42. New 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 19141915191619171918 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.

43. Effect 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.

44. Learning 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.

45. Questions & Discussion Next time: Naval Strategy and National Policy, 1919-1941