Submarine Warfare
It took World War I to prove the worth of submarines. Prior to that time, submarines played only a small role in the plans of fleet commanders, serving primarily only as coastal defense units. For the most part, fleet commanders ridiculed the idea that the submarine had a place in naval strategy and tactics. They believed that the submarine was only a play thing. It diverted time and money from other more useful and dependable branches of the service.
This view was to suddenly change when, on 17 September 1914, the German submarine force proved the importance of undersea warfare. On that day, the German submarine U-9 spotted a cloud of smoke and penetrating masts on the horizon. As they came closer, Otto Weddigen, commanding officer of the U-9, could make out three cruisers steaming abreast at a speed of about 10 knots. Each was seperated from the others by two miles. Weddigen gave the order to dive. At 6:20 a.m., he ordered the first torpedo fired. It hit the cruiser HMS ABOUKIR, which began to list heavily. Within 25 minutes, she had capsized and sunk. ABOUKIR had been cruising with her sisters HMS CRESSY and HMS HOUGE. When ABOUKIR was rent by an explosion and sank, the commanding officers of the CRESSY and HOUGE assumed that she had struck a mine. They closed in and began rescue operations. HMS HOUGE was next to go. Two torpedoes struck her hull --sinking her in less than 10 minutes. A glimpse of the U-9's periscope suddenly made CRESSY's captain aware of what had occured. CRESSY tried to make a run for it. It was too late. At 7:17 a.m., Widdigen fired two more torpedoes. CRESSY rolled over on to her beam ends. Fifteen minutes later, she joined her sisters at the bottom.
The news that the German submarine U-9 had attacked and sunk three British armored cruisers in the North Sea caused the entire world to sit up and take notice. Submarines were immediately given more thoughtful consideration. Germany entered World War I with but 28 submarines.
The German’s unrestricted submarine warfare was the main reason for the U.S. to enter war. Wilson had tremendous support from Americans. The Germans had to be stopped. The attacks came without warning killing many innocent people (Winter and Baggett, 1996). The Germans sank numerous ships including our own. The most famous ship sunk was the Lusitiania. Aboard that ship 128 Americans were killed (http://www.angelfire.com/in3/wilson/wilson.html). The Lusitania was torpedoed without any notice. The Lusitania sunk in 18 minutes killing a total of 1198 people (http://www.poltechnic.org/faculty/gfeldmeth/chart.ww1.html).
A Dutchman named Cornelus Van Drebbel, made the very first submarine in 1652, to fight the mighty Spanish ship called the Rotterdam Boat. It carried about twelve oarsmen and even had an air circulator. It never saw any action.
It was July 30th around 11:30 at night. Hashimoto, the captain of the I-58 Japanese submarine climbed up on the bridge. He picked up binoculars. Hashimoto saw a ship because the moon was behind it and gave the order to dive. Hashimoto was very concerned that it was a destroyer ship coming to attack the submarine. Hashimoto could not get a good look at the Indianapolis because it was not zigzagging.
...was recognized for having been travelled remarkably long on its engine before breaking down which exceeded industry standards. The crew were congratulating for their heroics and recognized their arduous task of manning the troublesome submarines.
Throughout the years submarine technology has advanced throughout the years from the original military submarine the turtle to the German u boats during WWII modern nuclear power submarines that we have today. These developments have required a lot of technological improvements. To make the u boats work the Germans need better battery and electrical motor technologies and the nuclear submarine obviously needed nuclear technology. Submarines have always been an innovative way to win the navel war.
The First World War saw a new form of warfare known as Trench warfare which involved trenches which were deep long dugouts made by the soldiers that lived in these trenches. The trenches proved useful as they protected the soldiers from artillery and bomb fire and were most likely situated in the eastern and western fronts of Europe. However the conditions of the trenches were far from exuberant but were in fact severely terrible. There was bad hygiene throughout the trenches, for example soldiers bathed probably only once a month and as such were prone to diseases such as trenches fever (which were due to the lice attracted by the bad hygiene). The weather was no exception as well, in the summer it would be too hot and in the winter it would be too cold and due to the nature of the trenches, when it rained the trenches would be filled with water, and due to such conditions welcomed the disease known as trench foot which was due to prolonged exposure to water and claimed the foots of many soldiers. There was also the constant danger of bomb fire and snipers would always be on the lookout for any movement. Latrines, which were toilets used in the trenches also sprouted fear as the enemy could see them in this area of the trenches and therefore were in constant danger of death. Soldiers also had to follow a strict code of conduct which was known as trench etiquette which ordered them to respect higher officers and they would have to be punished if the trench etiquette was ignored.
While the naval war is usually known for only little attention in histories of World War I, the Royal Navy's blockade of Germany played a dangerous role in the War. The U.S. Navy linking with the Royal Navy played a significant role in overcoming the German U-boats in the North Atlantic. The Germany Navy while technically effective disastrously diminished the German war effort. Germany's building of a High Seas Fleet was one of the causes that public view on Britain turned against Germany and that Britain come unto the War. Yet, the small U-boat fleet, showed a key competition to the British. In the early war, U-boats drowned three British cruisers, shocking the people of both England and Germany. The U-boat campaign was a major reason that public opinion in America turned against Germany and that America entered the War. Despite the huge investment, the German Navy accomplished nothing in return to counter balance the cost for Germany.
Blair Jr., Clay, (1975). Silent Victory: The U.S. Submarine War Against Japan. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, p. 78. p. 1072. Buell, Thomas B. -. (1987)
From July 26, 1953 to January 1, 1959, Fidel Castro led an uprising against the incumbent Cuban president, Flugencio Batista. This insurrection, known as the Cuban Revolution, was successful in the overthrow of the Batista government and implemented a socialist state under Castro’s rule. By 1961, Fidel Castro became the undisputed leader of Cuba with strong popular and military support. Although Castro was the figurehead for revolution in Cuba, his brother Raúl and friend Ernesto “Che” Guevara were instrumental in helping the revolution to succeed. Guevara, an Argentine native, was passionate about guerrilla movements and social revolution.
In the beginning of World War One the common outlook on warfare was that of a primarily mobile and open method of attack. Trench warfare was thought to be a temporary phenomenon which would be replaced by infantry and cavalry skirmishes. No one had predicted that only after a couple of months of open and mobile warfare, the November of 1914 would begin four years of static trench warfare.
Whether fortunately or unfortunately, the limits of innovation are often put to the test. In the case of a submarine launched to sea in 1938, the USS Squalus, bad luck proved disastrous. Within minutes of a test dive, twenty-six men drowned. Years later, Peter Maas compiled the known information about the tragedy into The Terrible Hours: The Greatest Submarine Rescue in History. Over the heartbreaking journey of hopelessness to hope, crisis to survival, and depths to ascension, Maas weaves the sad tale depicting the unknown dangers that technology possesses.
When Lincoln was reelected he ensured that all slaves were freed and that their owners were not compensated. “On January 31, 1865, Congress passed the Thirteenth Amendment, and by the end of year, enough Union states had ratified the amendment to make it a part of the Constitution, abolishing slavery from the United States forever.” (Schultz, n.d.). This is where General Sherman began his March of the Sea which was sixty miles wide and hundreds and hundreds of miles long. The March of the Sea is where a path of destruction was lad in late 1864 from Atlanta to the Atlantic and anyone they came across was pillaged. This was also served to prove to the Confederate states that their government did not have the ability to be ability to protect
The Germans did great damage, and they sunk many of the British merchant ships, (see appendix 1) and if this battle had not been declared, Britain would have been in a very bad situation. Britain was once the world’s largest ship-building nations, and they could easily replace the ships that were sunk but, soon they were not able to keep up with the damage that the German...
Indeed, Hitler’s plan to defeat the Allies with U-boats was looking very good. For some unknown reason the Allied ships could not defend against the U-boats. With Hitler in control it looked like the Axis powers were going to drive the Allies out of the Atlantic and win the Battle of the Atlantic. With Hitler taking over most of England, and Great Britain trying to hold the Germans off, the United States decides to send war aid to Britain. The United States gave the British fifty old American destroyers (Von Der Porten 171).
The Naval Arms Race was a major factor of World War One. In a parliament speech made by Sir Edward Grey (the British Foreign Secretary), it is stated,