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.
...come of the Revolutionary War. The submarines in the Civil War were very unimportant as well. Only one ship, the Housatonic, was sunk by the hands of a submarine in the entire war. The Southern navy did not even put much stock into submarine warfare because they only built a couple during the entire war. So overall, submarines were of no significance during either the Revolutionary War or the Civil War. But, these early developments of the submarine were extremely important because they lead to the later more advanced submarines that were used in future wars in which they did play a major role in. For example, in World War II, German U-boats terrorized the sea and played an important role in World War II. These, and others like the modern day Tridents, would not of exist if it were not for the early developments of submarines during the Civil and Revolutionary Wars.
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.
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.
The outbreak of World War One was accompanied by new strategies, innovations, and inventions that developed modern warfare. World War One saw the widespread use of everything from artillery to machine guns and airplanes to submarines. World War One also saw the world’s most powerful navy, Great Britain’s Royal Navy, pitted against the up and coming German Imperial Navy. From Britain’s effective use of the naval blockade to Germany’s terrifying unrestricted submarine warfare, both sides were constantly looking for new strategies to implement.
Although there are still questions that remain unanswered, the evidence so far uncovered and released to the public points to careless indifference to the innocent lives being endangered for political, and financial gain by decisions made by those in power. This can only lead to one conclusion: that the primary responsibility for the sinking and loss of life is not with Germany but rather with the British Admiralty and the Cunard Company.
In the thirty-eight years of the United States Naval Submarine Service no United States submarine had ever sunk an enemy vessel. With the ignition of the Second World War the poorly equipped and poorly trained Silent Service, nicknamed for the limited access of the media to the actions and achievements of the submarines, would be thrust into the position American submariners had longed for. The attack on Pearl Harbor left the United States Navy with few options for retribution. The three remaining aircraft carriers were to be “the last line of defense.” Commander Stuart S. Murray made the precarious situation clear to his skippers, captains, upon sending them on their first war patrol. He stressed the importance of smart sailing by warning them not “to go out there and win the Congressional Medal of Honor in one day. The submarines are all we have left.” We entered the war with 55 submarines, 27 at Pearl Harbor and 28 at Cavite in the Philippines. At first our submarine strategies lacked ingenuity and failed to use our subs to their full potential. United States subs were assigned to reconnaissance, transporting supplies, and lifeguard duty, picking up downed airmen and sailors. They were even, on occasion, sent to rescue high profile Americans on the run from the enemy or from islands under enemy siege. Although their ability was, unfortunately, wasted in our entrance to the Pacific Theater the Silent Service would soon gain the recognition its men yearned for.
The Modern Era saw great change in naval technology and warfare. The period saw the creation of explosive shells, iron-clad ships, steam-powered vessels, and more. Dramatic advances like these created considerable shifts in global political and economic power.
was useful for firing over the top as you could rest your gun on it.
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.
The sinking of the Lusitania was a tragic event. It occurred on May 7th, 1915 in the North Atlantic ocean. The famous British ocean liner had departed from New York City and was off the coast of Ireland when a German submarine fired torpedoes. The ship had roughly 1,900 passengers on board, most of which were American citizens. The ship was meant for passengers and not for cargo but as lots of reporters have stated there was in fact a handful of war materials aboard the ship which was kept secret from its passengers.Prior to the sinking the Germans had declared that the waters around the British Isles were considered to be a war zone.1 This war zone idea was backed by the fact that the Germans admitted to enforce unrestricted submarine warfare; meaning if you were in the water you were getting blown up with or without prior knowledge. It took a total of eighteen minutes for the Lusitania, in its entirety, to disappear beneath the waves of the North Atlantic ocean.2 After the ship had sunk the American press had openly and with lots of determination and passion deemed the event uncivilized. However, the Lusitania was not the only ship that was torpedoed. A year later in 1916 the Sussex, an unarmed French passenger ship was sunk by another German submarine. 3
Trench Warfare World War 1 is perhaps best known for being a war fought in trenches, ditches dug out of the ground to give troops protection from enemy artillery and machine-gun fire. The trenches spread from the East to the West. By the end of 1914, trenches stretched all along the 475 mile front between the Swiss border and the Channel coast. The trench system on the Western Front consisted of front-line, support and reserve trenches. Three rows of trenches covered between 200 and 500 yards of ground.
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).
Published in 1986, Red Storm Rising is Tom Clancy’s second novel dealing with the former Soviet Union as a potential enemy. This was a time when America’s finest tank and infantry units went on exercises in Germany fully armed with the expectation that the Russians could attack them at any time. This was also a time when the Soviets did the same exercises with the same amount of live ammunition. Therefore there was reason enough to worry about potential conflicts. Deep within the ocean waters, submarines played similar cat and mouse games with other submarines and surface ships. However some of these submarines were more dangerous then a whole army because they were fully loaded with nuclear missles. These facts were well know to the American public and made Red Storm Rising all the more real when it combined land and ocean warfare in a way that captivated millions of readers.
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.
The destroyers followed the Bismarck and sent her position back to the Norfolk. On May 27th at 08.47, the Rodney opened fire on the Bismarck. At 08.48, the King George V followed. The Bismarck tried to fire back but a salvo from the Rodney took out the two forward gun turrets. By 10.00 all the Bismarck’s main guns had been destroyed and her mast had vanished. By 10.10, all her secondary guns had been destroyed and the Bismarck sat in the water like a sitting duck. At 10.15, Tovey ordered the Dorsetshire to finally sink the Bismarck with its torpedoes. Three of the torpedoes were fired at the Bismarck causing massive amounts of damage. She sank into the ocean at 10.40. Out of a crew of 2,200, there were only 110 survivors and 4 were officers .