Given the strength of the British and German naval forces, the North Sea was considered the main naval theater of operations. Military action in the North Sea began in accordance with plans that were developed before the First World War. The main efforts of the British fleet were directed towards a long-range blockade of Germany. Military operations covered a huge area of the North Sea - up to 120 thousand square miles and the English Channel area.
Initially, the British intended to carry out the blockade with search cruising squadrons supported by line forces, without setting up permanent posts. But on August 8, 1914, German submarines appeared near the Orkney Islands, where one of the main bases of the British fleet, Scapa Flow, was located and one of the submarines tried to attack the battleship Monarch. The next day, the British cruiser Birmingham tracked down and sank a German submarine. The British command was forced to withdraw the Grand Fleet (English Grand Fleet - "Big Fleet") west of the Orkney archipelago and decided to strengthen the defenses of Scapa Flow and move to a system of permanent blockade patrols. In the future, the British command was repeatedly forced to withdraw the fleet from Scapa Flow, the base did not have good anti-submarine protection.
On August 11, a cruising squadron was deployed on the Peterhead (British port) - Kristiansand line (a harbor and city in southern Norway, on the Skagerrak), but its density was insignificant - 8-10 cruisers for 240 miles. Although periodically, other cruising squadrons also went out to sea. The Germans took advantage of this almost immediately - the auxiliary cruiser "Emperor Wilhelm the Great" broke into the open sea (it was converted from a transatlantic liner, armed with six 4-inch guns and two 37 mm cannons). The German cruiser missed two passenger ships, since there were many women and children on board, then sank two cargo ships. It should be noted that in the First World War, such manifestations of nobility in war happened more than once, many officers were brought up on chivalrous ideals. On August 26, 1914, the cruiser was caught off guard while bunkering coal off the coast of the then Spanish colony of Rio de Oro (now Western Sahara) in western Africa by the old British cruiser Highflyer. According to the British, they drowned a German ship, the Germans believe that after the cruiser ran out of ammunition, they themselves sunk it in shallow water and left "Wilhelm". This would be the first raider drowned during the First World War.
After that, the British command split the northern and middle part of the North Sea into 7 sectors, where cruising patrols were posted. From time to time, the main linear forces of the fleet also went out to sea - in August they made 5 exits.
At the same time, two or three British submarines were constantly on duty near Helgoland (an archipelago in the North Sea, where there was a large naval base of the German Navy).
The English Channel (English Channel), the strait between England and France, was more powerfully blocked. There were established seven blockade lines of permanent patrols with the involvement of old battleships, armored and light cruisers, destroyers and submarines.
In mid-August, the main body of the British fleet covered the transport of the British Expeditionary Force to France. The decision to transfer 4 infantry divisions and 1 cavalry division was made on August 6. The main port of embarkation was Southampton, for those parts that were in Scotland and Ireland - Glasgow, Dublin and Belfast. In France, the expeditionary forces landed at Le Havre (the main landing point), Rouen, Boulogne. The main forces were deployed in three days - August 15-17. To protect this operation, the British command pulled in almost all of the main forces of the fleet.
Battle of Heligoland Bay (28 August 1914). The British command decided to conduct a diversionary operation in Heligoland Bay to cover the landing at Ostend (it began on the morning of August 27). Reconnaissance revealed the weak points of the Germans' defense, for example, there were no remote reconnaissance patrols, the Germans were careless, did not organize a good anti-submarine defense. For the operation, the British allocated Vice Admiral Beatty's 1st battlecruiser squadron (three ships), Rear Admiral Moore's battlecruiser squadron "K" (two ships), Rear Admiral Christian's 7th cruising squadron (5 armored cruisers and one light cruiser), Commodore Goodenough's 1st light cruiser squadron (6 ships), Commodore Kiiz's submarine flotilla (two destroyers, 6 submarines), Commodore Teruit's 3rd destroyer flotilla (one light cruiser and 16 destroyers) and 1 destroyers (light cruiser and 19 destroyers). The Germans were taken by surprise: there were several light cruisers and destroyers in the sea (besides, the cruisers were in different points, and not in a single fist), all battleships and battle cruisers were locked in the harbor and could not go out to sea due to the low tide.
In general, there was no single battle - there was a series of skirmishes between superior British forces and German ships. Neither the British nor the Germans were able to organize coordinated actions of their diverse forces - cruisers, destroyers, submarines. The situation was aggravated by foggy weather, as part of the British forces did not know about the presence of their other formations - the 1st squadron of light cruisers of Gudenaf was taken by Commodore Keis for the Germans, he called for help from the 3rd flotilla of Teruit. The situation almost ended tragically, with the death of several British ships.
The Germans lost in this battle 3 light cruisers ("Mainz", "Cologne", "Ariadne"), one destroyer, 2 light cruisers were damaged. More than 1 thousand people were killed, wounded, taken prisoner. Killed and the commander of the German light forces in the Heligoland area was Rear Admiral Leberecht Maass (or Maas), he was holding his flag on the light cruiser "Cologne". The British were heavily damaged two light cruisers and three destroyers (32 killed and 55 wounded). It should be noted that the German crews fought heroically, not lowering the flag to the last.
The sinking Mainz.
Actions of the German Navy
The Germans also did not dare to withdraw the fleet for the general battle, and pinned their main hopes on the actions of the submarine fleet. The German command did not try to disrupt the landing of the British Expeditionary Force. In many ways, this position was based on the opinion that the war with France would be short-lived and the British corps would not be able to prevent the defeat of the French army. The German submarine forces in September-October achieved quite good success - they sank 4 cruisers, a hydro-cruiser (a ship that provides group-based seaplanes), 1 submarine, several merchant ships, and dozens of fishing vessels.
The greatest successes were achieved by the German submarine U-9 (it was launched in 1910) under the command of Otto Eduard Weddigen. The submarine on September 22, 1914, within an hour and a half, sank three English cruisers: Hog, Aboukir and Cressy.
Crew U-9. Otto Weddigen stands in the center.
On September 22nd, on patrol, Weddigen spotted three British Navy four-tube heavy cruisers from the 7th Cruising Squadron. Weddigen, with half-discharged batteries, launched an attack on 3 British armored cruisers. During the first approach from a distance of 500 meters, U-9 struck with one torpedo at the Abukir, which began to slowly sink. The British from other cruisers believed that Abukir ran into a mine, stopped to start rescue work. After maneuvering and reloading the apparatus, Weddigen's submarine fired a two-torpedo volley from a distance of one mile down the Hog. The cruiser was struck by only one torpedo, Weddigen approached, loading the bow torpedo tube with the last torpedo, and from 300 meters struck a second blow, while, while maneuvering, the Germans barely avoided a collision with the British ship. At this time, it was reported that the battery was almost completely discharged, only enough to move to a minimum distance from the British. But, the German commander makes a risky decision to hit the third cruiser from the stern apparatus, although there was a possibility that the submarine would lose speed under the very nose of the British. After a long maneuvering, Veddigen was able to direct the stern apparatus to the third cruiser and attacked a mile away. The risk was justified - both torpedoes hit the target, the cruiser sank.
Scheme of the attack of the submarine U-9 1914-22-09
German submarine U-9.
England lost 1,459 people dead, only 300 were able to escape. For the first ever sinking of three warships by a submarine in world history, Veddigen was awarded the Iron Crosses of the 2nd and 1st class, and the entire crew was awarded the Iron Crosses of the 2nd class. This battle came as a shock to all of Britain, more English sailors died than in the entire bloody Battle of Trafalgar (1805). After this incident, British ships began to move only in an anti-submarine zigzag and the captains were forbidden to stop and pick up drowning comrades from the water. This attack showed the sharply increased role of the submarine fleet in the war at sea. On October 15, 1914, the U-9 submarine under the command of Weddigen sank another British cruiser, the commander was awarded the highest military award of Prussia the Order of Merit (Pour le Mérite) and a number of other honorary insignia. The British were able to take revenge on March 18, 1915, U-29 under the command of Weddigen in poor visibility rammed the British battleship, the founder of a new class of these ships - "dreadnoughts" "Dreadnought". The German submarine was killed with the entire crew.
In November-December, the German cruisers conducted two raiding operations against the English coast. The port of Yarmouth was shelled on November 3, Hartlepool, Scarborough, Whitby on December 16. At the same time, the Germans set up minefields. The operation was covered by two squadrons of battleships, submarine forces and destroyers. The German command wanted to lure part of the main forces of the British fleet into the sea and destroy them. But the battle did not take place, only during the second raid there was a brief exchange of fire between the destroyer and cruising forces.
German sailors in Wilgelshaven meet the U-9 boat that has returned after the victory.
British. The actions of the German submarine forces, raids on the coast of cruisers caused great damage to the prestige of the British fleet. London, trying to preserve the authority of the fleet, declared that the actions of the Germans to shell peaceful, supposedly unprotected cities are illegal, since they violate the Hague Convention of 1907.
The British command, responding to the actions of the Germans, changed the deployment of the main forces of the fleet, the system of blockade of the coast of Germany. So at the beginning of December, the blockade patrol line was transferred to the Bergen (Norway) - Shetland Islands line. On patrols, old armored cruisers are exchanged for auxiliary cruisers (these were, as a rule, passenger ships - liners that made regular flights in the ocean), they were distinguished by greater autonomy, stock and speed. From 25 auxiliary cruisers, 5 mobile patrols were formed, each of which was on duty in a specific area.
In addition, the British took other measures to undermine the German economy. On November 5, London declared the entire North Sea a war zone. All merchant ships of neutral countries now had to go to the Atlantic Ocean and back only through the English Channel, with the obligatory call at British ports for inspection. At the same time, the British government demanded that neutral countries stop trading with Germany in their own goods. A number of countries were forced to agree to these requirements. This was a strong blow to the German economy, Berlin was able to maintain trade relations only with Denmark, Sweden and Turkey (and through it with some regions of Asia).
Results of the 1914 campaign in the North Sea
- The war showed that the British and German plans for war in this theater of operations turned out to be mostly wrong. The blockade from the sea of Germany, in military terms, failed as a whole - German raiders broke through into the Atlantic, enemy ships and whole formations went out to sea and reached the British shores. The "Little War" of the German Navy also failed to achieve its main goal - equalization of forces with the "Big Fleet" of Britain.
- The 1914 campaign showed the increased role of the submarine forces. Submarines could conduct successful operational reconnaissance (so the success of the British in the battle in Heligoland Bay was based on reports from submarines that were on duty at the German base), successfully attack large warships, merchant ships, strike even at ships that were at naval bases … The British were forced to revise the long-range blockade system, change the composition of the forces used for it. The British and Germans had to strengthen the anti-submarine defense of their main naval bases.
- Both fleets were not ready for mine warfare, having small reserves of mines. The British planted 2,264 mines in 1914, and only for defensive purposes. Germans from 2273 min. just over half were set up off the coast of England.
- The British and German commands were practically unable to organize interaction between the Navy and the ground forces. The German fleet was not involved at all to support the army, the British allocated a small force to support the troops in Flanders.
- The British and German fleets are faced with a command problem. The British Admiralty limited the competence of the command of the Canal Fleet (the forces that defended the English Channel) and the Grand Fleet to the right to control only individual operations, mainly of an operational-tactical nature. Among the Germans, the emperor and the naval general staff constantly interfered in the actions of the fleet command, which in fact completely deprived the navy of the initiative.
- In the 1914 campaign, the British lost, this is not only combat losses, but also not combat ones (for example, from collisions): 2 battleships, 6 cruisers, 1 hydro-cruiser, several ships of other classes. German losses: 6 cruisers, 9 destroyers and destroyers, 2 minesweepers, 5 submarines.
Mediterranean Sea
The main task of the British-French forces in the Mediterranean was the destruction of the German cruisers Goeben and Breslau (they were part of the Mediterranean squadron under the command of Rear Admiral Wilhelm Souchon) in order to ensure the unhindered transfer of French forces from Africa to France. In addition, it was necessary to ensure the blockade or destruction of the Navy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
On July 28, 1914, Vienna declared war on Belgrade, "Goeben" at that time was in the Adriatic Sea, in the Croatian city of Pola, where the cruiser was undergoing repairs of steam boilers. The German Admiral Souchon, so that he would not be blocked in the Adriatic, went out to the Mediterranean Sea and on August 1, the Goeben arrived in Brindisi, Italy. The Italian authorities, announcing neutrality, refused to supply coal. The Goeben departed for Taranto, Italy, where she was joined by the light cruiser Breslau. Both ships went to Messina (Sicily), where the Germans managed to get coal from German merchant ships.
On July 30, First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill ordered the Mediterranean Fleet Commander, Admiral Archibald Milne, to protect the transfer of French forces from North Africa across the Mediterranean to France. In addition, he was supposed to monitor the Adriatic Sea, from where the Austrian battleships could leave. At the same time, Milne had to send part of his forces to Gibraltar, there was a danger that the Germans would break into the Atlantic. The Mediterranean British fleet, at this time based in Malta, and Mel in its composition: three modern high-speed battle cruisers, four old armored cruisers, four light cruisers and 14 destroyers.
Souchon, not having specific instructions, decided to go to the African coast, so that, after the announcement of the outbreak of hostilities, attack the French ports in Algeria. On the evening of August 3, the German admiral received news that the war had begun, and on the morning of August 4, Admiral Alfred Tirpitz ordered to immediately proceed to Constantinople. The Souchon, being at the intended targets - the ports of Beaune and Philippeville, fired at them and moved east. The bombardment lasted very little time, 103 shells were fired, which caused minimal damage. The French had three squadrons in the Mediterranean, but could not prevent these actions, focusing on the protection of transports. The British battle cruisers "Indomitable" and "Indefatigable" met with the German squadron on the morning of August 4, but since the war between England and Germany had not yet been declared, they limited themselves to observation.
Souchon again entered Messina, where he replenished coal supplies. On August 6, the squadron weighed anchor and sailed towards Istanbul. On August 10, the German cruisers entered the Dardanelles. Neither the French nor the British took serious measures to intercept the German ships. The British were busy blocking Gibraltar and the entrance to the Adriatic Sea, and Milne had long believed that the Germans would go west rather than east. Given the fact that the Ottoman Empire remained a neutral country and was bound by international treaties that did not allow it to pass warships through the straits, it was announced that the German cruisers would become part of the Turkish Navy. On August 16, upon arriving in the Turkish capital, "Goeben" and "Breslau" were officially transferred to the Ports Navy, receiving the names, respectively, "Yavuz Sultan Selim" and "Midilli". But despite the transfer, the crews on the ships remained completely German, and Admiral Souchon continued to be the squadron commander. On September 23, 1914, Wilhelm Souchon became the commander-in-chief of the Turkish naval forces.
In general, London was satisfied that the German cruisers went into the straits. First, they did not join the Austrian fleet, which would increase its strength and activity. Secondly, they did not go to the Atlantic, where they could cause some damage to the sea communications of Britain. Thirdly, the British, as always, played a double game - they were satisfied with the qualitative strengthening of the Turkish Navy. Now the Russian Black Sea Fleet was losing its advantage and was forced to solve the problem not of an amphibious operation and the capture of the Bosphorus with Istanbul, but of defending its coast, hunting for German cruisers. The seizure of the Bosphorus and Istanbul was one of the worst nightmares for London - the Russians went out to the Mediterranean. It was one of the strategic tasks of the British - to prevent Russia from entering the Mediterranean Sea and firmly standing there.
True, later the Anglo-French fleet had to begin a blockade of the Dardanelles in order to prevent German ships from entering the Mediterranean and their actions on communications.
At the same time, the Anglo-French fleet in 1914 kept its forces in the Otrant Strait (connects the Adriatic Sea with the Ionian). In addition, he made ten exits to the Adriatic Sea in order to suppress the actions of the Austrian fleet against Montenegro, at the same time trying to challenge it to a general battle. The Austrian command was not going to start a battle with superior enemy forces and avoided a battle. There were only minor skirmishes. So on December 20, an Austrian submarine attacked and damaged the French battleship "Jean Bar" (of the "Courbet" type).
British ships in pursuit of the Goeben and Breslau.
