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• The presentation focuses on the Navy in World War I, spanning from 1914-1918.
• The objectives are to understand the causes, naval strategies, US contribution, effects, and aftermath of WWI.
• The last class covered 1898-1914, including the Spanish-American War and the Navy's development leading up to WWI, including American expansionism and the Roosevelt Corollary.
• The causes of WWI, naval battles, and U.S. involvement will be discussed.

Prelude to War

• Nationalism growth contributed to the start of WWI.
• European imperialism and competition were factors.
• The unification of Germany in 1870 disrupted the European power balance.
• France sought an alliance with Russia to counter the shift in power.
• Germany's naval buildup led Britain to seek allies.
• Europe was divided into an unstable alliance system by 1914.
• Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated on June 28, 1914, by a Bosnian terrorist group.
• Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia for the assassination.

Domino Effect

• Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, triggering a chain reaction.
• Russia mobilized its army to support Serbia.
• France mobilized to support Russia.
• Germany declared war on Russia, France, and Belgium to support Austria-Hungary.
• Britain declared war on Germany to support Belgium.
• Italy initially remained neutral.

World Powers Involved in WWI

• The Central Powers/Triple Alliance included Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire.
• The Triple Entente (Allies) included the UK, France, and Russia.
• Other Entente (Allies) included Bulgaria, rebel groups in South Africa, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Russia, France, Britain, Belgium, Serbia, Japan, Italy (1915), the U.S. (1917) plus other smaller countries.

Initial Land Actions

• Germany initiated the invasion of France.
• France slowed the German advance.
• Britain sent troops to assist France in repelling the invasion of Germany.
• The land battle resulted in a stalemate with costly trench warfare and no major advancement on either side.
• Germany began unrestricted submarine warfare against merchants due to the stalemate.

Eastern Front

• In the Battle of Tannenberg, starting August 23, 1914, Ludendorff's 150,000 troops retreated south and Francois attacked the left flank.
• On August 20, 1914, the Russian 1st Army with 200,000 troops defeated the Germans.
• On August 29, 1914, the Russian 2nd Army with 150,000 troops was outflanked.
• Ludendorff strategically positioned troops based on intercepted communications, and the Russian 1st Army never received orders to assist its 2nd Army.

Trench Warfare

• Both sides dug trenches for defensive positions.
• Modern weapons made old tactics ineffective.
• Attacking became a massacre and soon the entire front line became a series of trenches.

Naval Actions

• Britain initiated a naval blockade declaring the North Sea a "War Zone".
• Britain asserted the right to inspect and destroy ships carrying German war contraband.
• Britain laid a minefield in the North Sea and blockaded German warships in port.
• The Allied powers then deployed a naval strategy blockading the German Navy in ports, conducted coastal raids, and maintained troop/supply transport to the continent, maintaining control of the seas.
• Germany used the surface fleet initially, followed by submarines.
• German submarines were initially considered "experimental" and were built in large numbers.
• German submarines engaged ships suspected of carrying contraband.
• German submarines sank 5,234 Allied ships by the war's end, almost defeating the Allies.
• US entry into the war in April 1917 saved the Allies.

Naval Battles

• A larger British fleet kept the German Navy in port.
• There was limited success in luring British ships into submarine torpedo traps.
• The British had an advantage in surface-to-surface engagements.
• The Germans had an advantage in submarine engagements.
• The Battle of Jutland in May 1916 was the only major fleet engagement.
• The Battle of Jutland was an indecisive battle and the only full-scale clash of battleships in the war.
• The naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet was the Battle of Jutland.
• The German plan was to lure out and trap a portion of the British fleet; part of a strategy to break British blockade.
• The Battle of Jutland involved over 250 ships.
• In the Battle of Jutland, 14 British and 11 German ships were sunk; both sides claimed victory.

Gallipoli Campaign

• The British and French launched an amphibious assault on the Ottoman Empire to break the stalemate of trench warfare.
• The landings were a disaster, with evacuation as the only successful part.
• Lessons learned from Gallipoli: the need for a dedicated amphibious landing craft and training/rehearsal of landing tactics, as well as better coordination of landing forces and naval gunfire.
• In the Gallipoli Campaign the British and French lost their surprise in initial attempt at naval assault, as forts remained superior to battleships.
• All naval powers studied it heavily to determine amphibious doctrine.

Why the US Entered WWI

• The U.S. entered the war in April 1917.
• War was beneficial to the US economy.
• The U.S. was not involved in direct conflict.
• The U.S. had time to prepare for war, passing the Naval Act of 1916.
• The U.S. entered due to unrestricted submarine warfare, the sinking of the Lusitania, and the Zimmerman Telegram.
• 1,200 of 2,000 died in the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915.
• The Zimmerman Telegram (1917) involved Germany trying to recruit Mexico.
• Woodrow Wilson also wanted negotiating power to make the world safe for democracy when the war ended.

US Contribution

• The United States provided supply and convoy escorts.
• Counter submarines in Atlantic and Med and supported the Merchant fleet.
• The US joined the British Navy in the blockade of Germany.
• The United States implemented a North Sea mine barrage, had aircraft scout for convoys and Army and USMC tipped infantry scales in France.
• Also, the US contributed Army, Navy, and USMC aviation units.
• Germany initiated unrestricted submarine warfare which started in 1917.
• Germany initiated it against any enemy merchant ship, any ship suspected of carrying contraband in which over 5,000 merchant ships had been sunk which resulted in a Loss of 178 U-boats.

Naval Actions

• Destroyer escorts, mine fields and Aircraft were used to stop the unrestricted submarine warfare.
• Significant people from the Navy during World War I included SECNAV Josephus Daniels, Asst. SECNAV Franklin Roosevelt, ADM William Benson, and RADM William Sims.
• RADM William S. Sims was the US Naval rep to Britain
• RADM William S. Sims had command of all US Naval forces operating from Britain.
• RADM William S. Sims coordinated Anglo-American efforts against U-boats in the western approaches to Britain and advocated for destroyers (not battleships) and the convoy system.
• During the war there were Atlantic Convoys (1918), the "Area of maximum danger" was always from U Boats.

Allied Naval Strategy

• A North Sea Mine Barrage was constructed in 1918.
• During WWI the Germans used a nickname for U.S. Marines, calling them "Teufel Hunden/Devil Dog."
• WWI ended because Germany was starving and losing the battle.
• Germany tried one last offensive in March 1918 that came within 75 miles of Paris.
• Allies repelled the attack and pushed Germans back behind pre-March lines in which ally troops launched their counter-offensive, The Hundred Days.
• Revolution began in Germany and surrender was quick to follow.
• The Armistice occurred Nov 11, 1918 at 11th min, 11th hour, 11th day in 1918 when German troops capitulated.
• The war officially ended at the Treaty of Versailles (1919) with Germany at fault who were required to create Poland.

New technology that impacted WWI

• New technology included Dazzle Camouflage, Machine Guns, Tanks, Gas, and Airships.