Naval warfare: Difference between revisions

{{War}}'''Naval warfare''' is [[combat]] in and on the [[sea]], the [[ocean]], or any other [[battlespace]] involving a major body of water such as a large [[lake]] or wide [[river]].

The [[Military|armed forces]] branch designated for naval warfare is a [[navy]]. Naval operations can be broadly divided betweeninto riverine and /littoral applications ([[brown-water navy]]), open-ocean applications ([[blue-water navy]]), andbetween somethingriverine/littoral inand betweenopen-ocean applications ([[green-water navy]]), although these distinctions are more about strategic scope than tactical or operational division. The strategic offensive purpose of naval warfare is [[Power projection|projection of force]] by water, and its strategic defensive purpose is to frustratechallenge the similar projection of force by enemies.

Mankind has fought battles on the sea for more than 3,000 years.<ref name="RolfWarming">{{Cite journal|last=Warming|first=Rolf|url=https://www.academia.edu/41911906|title=An Introduction to Hand-to-Hand Combat at Sea: General Characteristics and Shipborne Technologies from c. 1210 BCE to 1600 CE|journal=On War on Board: Archaeological and Historical Perspectives on Early Modern Maritime Violence and Warfare (Ed. Johan Rönnby)|date=January 2019|language=en}}</ref> Even in the interior of large landmasses, transportation before the advent of extensive [[rail transport|railway]]s was largely dependent upon [[river]]s, [[lake]]s, [[canal]]s, and other [[navigable waterway]]s.

=== Mediterranean Sea ===

The first recorded sea battle was Thethe [[Battle of the Delta]], the [[Ancient Egypt]]ians defeated the [[Sea Peoples]] in a sea battle circa {{Circa|1175 BC}}.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Gary |last=Beckman |title=Hittite Chronology |journal=Akkadica |volume=119–120 |year=2000 |pages=19–32 [p. 23] |issn=1378-5087 }}</ref>

{{cns|[[Assyria]]n reliefs from the 8th century BC show [[Phoenicia]]n fighting ships, with two levels of oars, fighting men on a sort of bridge or deck above the oarsmen, and some sort of ram protruding from the bow. No written mention of strategy or tactics seems to have survived.|date=February 2024}}

{{cns|The [[Greece|Greeks]] of [[Homer]] just used their ships as transport for land armies, but in 664 BC there is a mention of a battle at sea between [[Corinth, Greece|Corinth]] and its colony city [[Corcyra]].|date=February 2024}}

{{cns|Ancient descriptions of the [[Persian Wars]] were the first to feature large-scale naval operations, not just sophisticated fleet engagements with dozens of [[trireme]]s on each side, but combined land-sea operations. It seems unlikely that all this was the product of a single mind or even of a generation; most likely the period of evolution and experimentation was simply not recorded by history.|date=February 2024}}

{{cns|After some initial battles while subjugating the Greeks of the [[Ionia]]n coast, the Persians determined to invade Greece proper. [[Themistocles]] of [[Athens]] estimated that the Greeks would be outnumbered by the Persians on land, but that Athens could protect itself by building a fleet (the famous "wooden walls"), using the profits of the [[silver]] mines at [[Laurium]] to finance them.|date=February 2024}}

{{cns|The first Persian campaign, in 492 BC, was aborted because the fleet was lost in a storm, but the second, in 490 BC, captured islands in the [[Aegean Sea]] before landing on the mainland near [[Battle of Marathon|Marathon]]. Attacks by the Greek armies repulsed these.|date=February 2024}}

{{cns|The third Persian campaign in 480 BC, under [[Xerxes I of Persia]], followed the pattern of the second in marching the army via the [[Hellespont]] while the fleet paralleled them offshore. Near [[Battle of Artemisium|Artemisium]], in the narrow channel between the mainland and [[Euboea]], the Greek fleet held off multiple assaults by the Persians, the Persians breaking through a first line, but then being flanked by the second line of ships. But the defeat on land at [[Battle of Thermopylae|Thermopylae]] forced a Greek withdrawal, and Athens evacuated its population to nearby [[Salamis Island]].|date=February 2024}}

{{cns|The ensuing [[Battle of Salamis]] was one of the decisive engagements of history. Themistocles trapped the Persians in a channel too narrow for them to bring their greater numbers to bear, and attacked them vigorously, in the end causing the loss of 200 Persian ships vs 40 Greek. [[Aeschylus]] wrote a play about the defeat, ''[[The Persians]]'', which was performed in a Greek theatre competition a few years after the battle. It is the oldest known surviving play. At the end, Xerxes still had a fleet stronger than the Greeks, but withdrew anyway, and after losing at [[Battle of Plataea|Plataea]] in the following year, returned to [[Asia Minor]], leaving the Greeks their freedom. Nevertheless, the Athenians and Spartans attacked and burned the laid-up Persian fleet at [[Battle of Mycale|Mycale]], and freed many of the Ionian towns. These battles involved triremes or biremes as the standard fighting platform, and the focus of the battle was to ram the opponent's vessel using the boat's reinforced prow. The opponent would try to maneuver and avoid contact, or alternately rush all the marines to the side about to be hit, thus tilting the boat. When the ram had withdrawn and the marines dispersed, the hole would then be above the waterline and not a critical injury to the ship.|date=February 2024}}

{{cns|During the next fifty years, the Greeks commanded the Aegean, but not harmoniously. After several minor wars, tensions exploded into the [[Peloponnesian War]] (431 BC) between Athens' [[Delian League]] and the Spartan [[Peloponnese]]. Naval strategy was critical; Athens walled itself off from the rest of Greece, leaving only the port at [[Piraeus]] open, and trusting in its [[navy]] to keep supplies flowing while the Spartan army besieged it. This strategy worked, although the close quarters likely contributed to the plague that killed many Athenians in 429 BC.|date=February 2024}}

{{cns|There were a number of sea battles between [[galley]]s; at [[Battle of Rhium|Rhium]], [[Battle of Naupactus (429 BC)|Naupactus]], [[Battle of Pylos|Pylos]], [[Battle of Syracuse (415 BC)|Syracuse]], [[Battle of Cynossema|Cynossema]], [[Battle of Cyzicus|Cyzicus]], [[Battle of Notium|Notium]]. But the end came for Athens in 405 BC at [[Battle of Aegospotami|Aegospotami]] in the [[Hellespont]], where the Athenians had drawn up their fleet on the beach, and were surprised by the Spartan fleet, who landed and burned all the ships. Athens surrendered to Sparta in the following year.|date=February 2024}}

[[File:D473-birème romaine-Liv2-ch10.png|thumb|A [[Roman navy|Roman naval]] [[bireme]] depicted in a [[relief]] from the Temple of [[Fortuna (mythology)|Fortuna Primigenia]] in [[Praeneste]] ([[Palestrina|Palastrina]]),<ref>D.B. Saddington (2011) [2007]. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=1D612o_X2VYC&pgq=PR10biremeClasses%3A&lpgpg=PR10&dq=Temple+of+Fortuna+Primigenia+bireme+relief&source=bl&ots=TJQVNzqJrw&sig=6eyFFiIQaOBWxCwaGchH943N8zM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj836Xl8cHPAhXKqB4KHawwA4sQ6AEIRTAK#v=onepage&q=bireme&f=falseClasses: the Evolution of the Roman Imperial Fleets]," in Paul Erdkamp (ed), ''A Companion to the Roman Army'', 201–217. Malden, Oxford, Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. {{ISBN|978-1-4051-2153-8}}. Plate 12.2 on p. 204.</ref> which was built c. 120 BC;<ref>Coarelli, Filippo (1987), ''I Santuari del Lazio in età repubblicana''. NIS, Rome, pp. 35–84.</ref> exhibited in the Pius-Clementine Museum ([[Museo Pio-Clementino]]) in the [[Vatican Museums]].]]

{{cns|Navies next played a major role in the complicated wars of the successors of [[Alexander the Great]].|date=February 2024}}

{{cns|The [[Roman Republic]] had never been much of a seafaring nation, but it had to learn. In the [[Punic Wars]] with [[Carthage]], Romans developed the technique of grappling and [[boarding (attack)|boarding]] enemy ships with soldiers. The [[Roman Navy]] grew gradually as Rome became more involved in Mediterranean politics; by the time of the [[Roman Civil War]] and the [[Battle of Actium]] (31 BC), hundreds of ships were involved, many of them [[quinquereme]]s mounting [[catapult]]s and fighting towers. Following the Emperor [[Augustus]] transforming the Republic into the [[Roman Empire]], Rome gained control of most of the Mediterranean. Without any significant maritime enemies, the Roman navy was reduced mostly to patrolling for [[pirate]]s and transportation duties. It was only on the fringes of the Empire, in newly gained provinces or defensive missions against barbarian invasion, that the navy still engaged in actual warfare.|date=February 2024}}

=== Europe, Western Asia, and Northern Africa ===

During the [[Early Muslim conquests|Muslim conquests]] of the 7th century, [[Muslim]] fleets first appeared, raiding [[Sicily]] in 652 (see [[History of Islam in southern Italy]] and [[Emirate of Sicily]]), and defeating the [[Byzantine Navy]] in 655. [[Constantinople]] was saved from a [[Siege of Constantinople (674–678)|prolonged Arab siege]] in 678 by the invention of [[Greek fire]], an early form of [[flamethrower]] that was devastating to the ships in the besieging fleet. These were the first of many encounters during the [[Byzantine-Arab Wars]].

The [[Caliphate]], or , became the dominant naval power in the [[Mediterranean Sea]] from the 7th to 13th centuries, during what is known as the [[Islamic Golden Age]]. One of the most significant inventions in medieval naval warfare was the [[torpedo]], invented in [[Syria]] by the [[Inventions in medieval Islam|Arab inventor]] Hasan al-Rammah in 1275. His torpedo ran on water with a [[rocket]] system filled with [[explosive]] [[gunpowder]] materials and had three firing points. It was an effective weapon against [[ship]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Ancient Discoveries, Episode 12: Machines of the East|publisher=[[History (U.S. TV channel)|History Channel]]|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0R3ZbzhRp_k| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101225222958/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0R3ZbzhRp_k| archive-date=2010-12-25 | url-status=dead|access-date=8 September 2008}}</ref>

In the 8th century the [[Vikings]] appeared, although their usual style was to appear quickly, plunder, and disappear, preferably attacking undefended locations. The Vikings raided places along the coastline of England and France, with the greatest threats being in England. They would raid monasteries for their wealth and lack of formidable defenders. They also utilized rivers and other auxiliary waterways to work their way inland in the eventual invasion of Britain. They wreaked havoc in Northumbria and Mercia and the rest of Anglia before being halted by Wessex. King [[Alfred the Great]] of England was able to stay the Viking invasions with a pivotal victory at the Battle of Edington. Alfred defeated Guthrum, establishing the boundaries of [[Danelaw]] in an 884 treaty. The effectiveness of Alfred's 'fleet' has been debated; Dr. Kenneth Harl has pointed out that as few as eleven ships were sent to combat the Vikings, only two of which were not beaten back or captured.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}

=== Eastern, Southern, and Southeast Asia ===

The Tang dynasty aided the Korean kingdom of [[Silla]] (see also [[Unified Silla]]) and expelled the Korean kingdom of [[Baekje]] withwhich thewere aidsupported ofby Japanese naval forces from the Korean peninsula (see [[Battle of Baekgang]]) and conqueredhelped Silla's overcome its rival Korean rivalskingdoms, [[Baekje]] and [[Goguryeo]], by 668. In addition, the Tang had maritime trading, tributary, and diplomatic ties as far as modern [[Sri Lanka]], India, [[Islamic]] [[Iran]] and [[Arabia]], as well as [[Somalia]] in [[East Africa]].

In the [[Nusantara (archipelago)|Nusantara]] archipelago, large ocean going ships of more than 50 m in length and 5.2–7.8 meters [[Freeboard (nautical)|freeboard]] are already used at least since the 2nd century AD, contacting India to China.<ref name=":112">{{Cite journal|last=Christie|first=Anthony|date=1957|title=An Obscure Passage from the "Periplus: ΚΟΛΑΝΔΙΟϕΩΝΤΑ ΤΑ ΜΕΓΙΣΤΑ"|journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London|volume=19|pages=345–353|doi=10.1017/S0041977X00133105|s2cid=162840685|via=JSTOR}}</ref>{{rp|347}}<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Phantom Voyagers: Evidence of Indonesian Settlement in Africa in Ancient Times|last=Dick-Read|first=Robert|publisher=Thurlton|year=2005}}</ref>{{rp|41}} [[Srivijaya empire]] since the 7th century AD controlled the sea of the western part of the archipelago. The [[Kedukan Bukit inscription]] is the oldest record of Indonesian military history, and noted a 7th-century Srivijayan sacred ''siddhayatra'' journey led by [[Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa]]. He was said to have brought 20,000 troops, including 312 people in boats and 1,312 foot soldiers.<ref name="UNESCO Silk Roads Programme">{{Cite journal|author=Nik Hassan Shuhaimi Nik Abd Rahman|title=Port and polity of the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra (5th – 14th Centuries A.D.)|url=https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/sites/default/files/knowledge-bank-article/port_and_polity_of_the_malay_peninsula_and_sumatra.pdf|journal=International Seminar Harbour Cities Along the Silk Roads}}</ref>{{rp|4}} The 10th century Arab text ''Ajayeb al-Hind'' (Marvels of India) gives an account of an invasion in Africa by people called Wakwak or [[Waqwaq]],<ref name=":122">Kumar, Ann (2012). 'Dominion Over Palm and Pine: Early Indonesia’sIndonesia's Maritime Reach', in Geoff Wade (ed.), ''Anthony Reid and the Study of the Southeast Asian Past'' (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies), 101–122.</ref>{{rp|110}} probably the Malay people of Srivijaya or Javanese people of [[Mataram Kingdom|Mataram kingdom]],<ref name=":32">Lombard, Denys (2005)''. [https://archive.org/details/NJ2JA/mode/2up?q= Nusa Jawa: Silang Budaya, Bagian 2: Jaringan Asia]''. Jakarta: Gramedia Pustaka Utama. An Indonesian translation of Lombard, Denys (1990). ''Le carrefour javanais. Essai d'histoire globale (The Javanese Crossroads: Towards a Global History) vol. 2''. Paris: Éditions de l'École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales.</ref>{{Rp|27}}<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|39}} in 945–946 CE. They arrived at the coast of [[Tanzania Mainland|Tanganyika]] and [[Mozambique]] with 1000 boats and attempted to take the citadel of Qanbaloh, though eventually failed. The reason of the attack is because that place had goods suitable for their country and for China, such as ivory, tortoise shells, panther skins, and [[ambergris]], and also because they wanted black slaves from [[Bantu peoples|Bantu]] people (called ''Zeng'' or ''[[Zanj|Zenj]]'' by Arabs, ''Jenggi'' by Javanese) who were strong and make good slaves.<ref name=":122" />{{rp|110}} Before the 12th century, Srivijaya is primarily land-based polity rather than maritime power, fleets are available but acted as logistical support to facilitate the projection of land power. Later, the naval strategy degenerated to raiding fleet. Their naval strategy was to coerce merchant ships to dock in their ports, which if ignored, they will send ships to destroy the ship and kill the occupants.<ref name="Naval Melaka Straits">{{Cite journal|last=Heng|first=Derek|date=October 2013|title=State formation and the evolution of naval strategies in the Melaka Straits, c. 500-1500 CE|journal=Journal of Southeast Asian Studies|volume=44|issue=3|pages=380–399|doi=10.1017/S0022463413000362|s2cid=161550066}}</ref><ref name="end">{{cite book|title=Early Kingdoms of the Indonesian Archipelago and the Malay Peninsula|last=Munoz|first=Paul Michel|publisher=Editions Didier Millet|year=2006|isbn=981-4155-67-5|location=Singapore|pages=171}}</ref>

In 1293, the Mongol [[Yuan dynasty|Yuan Dynasty]] launched an invasion to [[Java]]. The Yuan sent 500–1000 ships and 20,000–30,000 soldiers, but was ultimately defeated on land by [[surprise attack]], forcing the army to fall back to the beach. In the coastal waters, Javanese [[Junk (ship)|junk]]s had already attacked the Mongol ships. After all of the troops had [[Boarding (transport)|boarded]] the ships on the coast, the Yuan army battled the Javanese fleet. After repelling it, they sailed back to [[Quanzhou]]. Javanese naval commander [[Mongol invasion of Java#Aftermath|Aria Adikara intercepted a further Mongol invasion]].<ref name=":12">{{Cite book|title=Meluruskan Sejarah Majapahit|last=Nugroho|first=Irawan Djoko|publisher=Ragam Media|year=2009|isbn=978-9793840161}}</ref>{{rp|145}}<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Nugroho|first=Irawan Djoko|title=Majapahit Peradaban Maritim|publisher=Suluh Nuswantara Bakti|year=2011|isbn=9786029346008}}</ref>{{rp|107–110}} Although with only scarce information, travellers passing the region, such as [[Ibn Battuta]] and [[Odoric of Pordenone]] noted that Java had been attacked by the Mongols several times, always ending in failure.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Travels of Friar Odoric|last=da Pordenone|first=Odoric|publisher=W. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company|year=2002|isbn=9780802849632 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vhQXAQAAIAAJ}}{{rp|106-107}}</ref><ref name="Berkeley">{{cite web|url=http://ibnbattuta.berkeley.edu/9china.html|title=Ibn Battuta's Trip: Chapter 9 Through the Straits of Malacca to China 1345–1346|work=The Travels of Ibn Battuta A Virtual Tour with the 14th Century Traveler|publisher=Berkeley.edu|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130317035650/http://ibnbattuta.berkeley.edu/9china.html|archive-date=17 March 2013|url-status=dead|access-date=14 June 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref> After those failed invasions, [[Majapahit Empire|Majapahit empire]] quickly grew and became the dominant naval power in the 14–15th century. The usage of cannons in the [[Mongol invasion of Java]],<ref name=":72">{{Cite journal|last=Manguin|first=Pierre-Yves|date=1976|title=L'Artillerie legere nousantarienne: A propos de six canons conserves dans des collections portugaises|url=https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-02509117/file/arasi_0004-3958_1976_num_32_1_1103.pdf|journal=Arts Asiatiques|volume=32|pages=233–268|doi=10.3406/arasi.1976.1103|s2cid=191565174 }}</ref>{{Rp|245}} led to deployment of [[cetbang]] cannons by [[Majapahit]] fleet in 1300s.<ref name=":102">Averoes, Muhammad (2020). Antara Cerita dan Sejarah: Meriam Cetbang Majapahit. ''Jurnal Sejarah'', 3(2), 89 - 100.</ref> The main warship of Majapahit navy was the [[Djong (ship)|jong]]. The jongs were large transport ships which could carry 100–2000 tons of cargo and 50–1000 people, 28.99–88.56 meter in length.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Averoes|first=Muhammad|date=2022|title=Re-Estimating the Size of Javanese Jong Ship|journal=HISTORIA: Jurnal Pendidik Dan Peneliti Sejarah|volume=5|issue=1|pages=57–64|doi=10.17509/historia.v5i1.39181|s2cid=247335671|url=https://archive.org/details/size-of-javanese-jong|doi-access=free}}</ref>{{Rp|60–62}} The exact number of jong fielded by Majapahit is unknown, but the largest number of jong deployed in an expedition is about 400 jongs, when Majapahit attacked Pasai, in 1350.<ref name=":23">Hill (June 1960). "[[iarchive:hikayat-raja-raja-pasai/page/2/mode/2up|Hikayat Raja-Raja Pasai]]". ''Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society''. '''33''': p. 98 and 157: "Then he directed them to make ready all the equipment and munitions of war needed for an attack on the land of Pasai – about four hundred of the largest junks, and also many barges (malangbang) and galleys." See also Nugroho (2011). p. 270 and 286, quoting ''Hikayat Raja-Raja Pasai'', 3: 98: "''Sa-telah itu, maka di-suroh baginda musta'idkan segala kelengkapan dan segala alat senjata peperangan akan mendatangi negeri Pasai itu, sa-kira-kira empat ratus jong yang besar-besar dan lain daripada itu banyak lagi daripada malangbang dan kelulus''." (After that, he is tasked by His Majesty to ready all the equipment and all weapons of war to come to that country of Pasai, about four hundred large jongs and other than that much more of malangbang and kelulus.)</ref> In this era, even to the 17th century, the Nusantaran naval soldiers fought on a platform on their ships called ''balai'' and performed boarding actions. Scattershots fired from cetbang are used to counter this type of fighting, fired at personnel.<ref name=":72" />{{Rp|241}}<ref name=":02">{{Cite book|last=Wade|first=Geoff|title=Anthony Reid and the Study of the Southeast Asian Past|publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies|year=2012|location=Singapore|isbn=978-981-4311-96-0}}</ref>{{Rp|162}}

In the [[Sengoku period]] of Japan, [[Oda Nobunaga]] unified the country by military power. However, he was defeated by the [[Mōri clan]]'s navy. Nobunaga invented the [[Pre-industrial armoured ships|Tekkosen]] (large [[Atakebune]] equipped with iron plates) and defeated 600 ships of the Mōri navy with six armored warships ([[Battle of Kizugawaguchi]]). The navy of Nobunaga and his successor [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]] employed clever close-range tactics on land with [[arquebus]] rifles, but also relied upon close-range firing of muskets in grapple-and-board style naval engagements. When Nobunaga died in the [[Honnō-ji incident]], Hideyoshi succeeded him and completed the unification of the whole country. In 1592, Hideyoshi ordered the ''[[daimyō]]s'' to dispatch troops to Joseon Korea to conquer Ming China. The Japanese army which landed at Pusan on 12 April 1502 occupied Seoul within a month.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Perez|first=Louis|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/827944888|title=Japan at war: an encyclopedia|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2013|isbn=978-1-59884-742-0|location=Santa Barbara, Calif.|pages=140|oclc=827944888}}</ref> The Korean king escaped to the northern region of the Korean peninsula and Japan completed occupation of [[Pyongyang]] in June. The Korean navy then led by Admiral Yi Sun-sin defeated the Japanese navy in consecutive naval battles, namely Okpo, Sacheon, Tangpo and Tanghangpo.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Swope|first=Kenneth|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/843883049|title=A dragon's head and a serpent's tail: Ming China and the first great East Asian war, 1592-1598|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|year=2013|isbn=978-0-8061-8502-6|location=Norman|pages=115–119|oclc=843883049}}</ref> The [[Battle of Hansando]] on 14 August 1592 resulted in a decisive victory for Korea over the Japanese navy.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Turnbull|first=Stephen|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/437089282|title=The Samurai Invasion of Korea 1592-98.|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|others=Dennis, Peter.|year=2012|isbn=978-1-84603-758-0|location=Oxford|pages=36–43|oclc=437089282}}</ref> In this battle, 47 Japanese warships were sunk and 12 other ships were captured whilst no Korean warship was lost.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Strauss|first=Barry|date=Summer 2005|title=Korea's Legendary Admiral|journal=The Quarterly Journal of Military History|volume=17|issue=4|pages=52–61}}</ref> The defeats in the sea prevented the Japanese navy from providing their army with appropriate supply.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Swope|first=Kenneth|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/843883049|title=A dragon's head and a serpent's tail: Ming China and the first great East Asian war, 1592-1598|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|year=2013|isbn=978-0-8061-8502-6|location=Norman|pages=121|oclc=843883049}}</ref>

The [[Wanli Emperor]] of Ming China sent military forces to the Korean peninsula. Yi Sun-sin and Chen Lin continued to successfully engage the Japanese navy with 500 Chinese warships and the strengthened Korean fleet.<ref>[[History of Ming]] Vol. 247 [http://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%98%8E%E5%8F%B2/%E5%8D%B7247]</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&printsec] Japan encyclopedia, By Louis Frédéric (p. 92)</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Swope|first=Kenneth|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/843883049|title=A dragon's head and a serpent's tail: Ming China and the first great East Asian war, 1592-1598|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|year=2013|isbn=978-0-8061-8502-6|location=Norman|pages=271–276|oclc=843883049}}</ref> In 1598, the planned conquest in China was canceled by the death of [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]], and the Japanese military retreated from the Korean Peninsula. On their way back to Japan, Yi Sun-sin and Chen Lin attacked the Japanese navy at the [[Battle of Noryang]] inflicting heavy damages, but the Chinese top official [[Deng Zilong]] and the Korean commander [[Yi Sun-sin]] were killed in a Japanese army counterattack. The rest of the Japanese army returned to Japan by the end of December.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Perez|first=Louis G|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/827944888|title=Japan at war: an encyclopedia|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2013|isbn=978-1-59884-742-0|location=Santa Barbara, Calif.|pages=109–110|oclc=827944888}}</ref> In 1609, the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] ordered the abandonment of warships to the [[Daimyō|feudal lord]]. <!--{{ill|Law of vessel construction prohibition by the Tokugawa shogunate|ja|大船建造の禁}}.--template problem?--> The Japanese navy stagnated until the [[Meiji period]].

During the [[Han Dynastydynasty]] (202 BC–220 AD), the Chinese began using the [[stern]]-mounted steering [[rudder]], and they also designed a new ship type, the [[junk (ship)|junk]]. From the late Han dynasty to the [[Three Kingdoms]] period (220–280 AD), large naval battles such as the [[Battle of Red Cliffs]] marked the advancement of naval warfare in the East. In the latter engagement, the allied forces of [[Sun Quan]] and [[Liu Bei]] destroyed a large fleet commanded by [[Cao Cao]] in a fire-based naval attack.

=== Early modern ===

{{main|Age of sailSail}}

=== Late modern ===

==== 18th century ====

==== 19th century ====

[[File:BombardmentEscadre offranco-anglaise devant Bomarsund.jpg|thumb|The [[Battle of Bomarsund]] during the [[Åland War]] (1854–1856), the part of the [[Crimean War]]. ''A sketch of the quarter deck of HMS Bulldog in Bomarsund'', Edwin T. Dolby, 1854]]

==== 20th century ====

The [[Indo-Pakistani Naval War of 1971]] was the first major naval war post World War II. It saw the dispatch of an Indian aircraft carrier group, heavy utilisation of [[missile boat]]s in naval operations, total naval blockade of Pakistan by the [[Indian Navy]] and the annihilation of almost half of [[Pakistan Navy|Pakistan's Navy]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Can Pakistan Survive? The Death of a State|last=Tariq Ali|publisher=Penguin Books|year=1983|isbn=978-0-14-02-2401-6|location=United Kingdom|pages=95|quote=In a two-week war, Pakistan lost half its navy.}}</ref> By the end of the war, the damage inflicted by the Indian Navy and [[Indian Air Force|Air Forces]] on Pakistan's Navy stood at two destroyers, one submarine, one minesweeper, three [[patrol craft|patrol vessels]], seven [[gunboat]]s, eighteen [[Cargo ship|cargo, supply and communication vessels]], as well as large-scale damage inflicted on the naval base and docks located in the major port city of Karachi.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.defencejournal.com/nov98/angrysea.htm|title=The Angry Sea|last=Tiwana|first=M.A. Hussain|date=November 1998|website=www.defencejournal.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090313073901/http://www.defencejournal.com/nov98/angrysea.htm|archive-date=13 March 2009|url-status=live|access-date=15 November 2016}}</ref> Three merchant navy ships, ''Anwar Baksh'', ''Pasni'', and ''Madhumathi'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.irfc-nausena.nic.in/irfc/ezine/Trans2Trimph/chapters/39_transfer%20of%20ships1.htm|title=Chapter-39|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301204938/http://www.irfc-nausena.nic.in/irfc/ezine/Trans2Trimph/chapters/39_transfer%20of%20ships1.htm|archive-date=1 March 2012|url-status=dead|access-date=24 December 2014}}</ref> and ten smaller vessels were captured.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.orbat.com/site/cimh/navy/kills(1971)-2.pdf|title=Damage Assessment – 1971 INDO-PAK Naval War|website=B. Harry|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051030235952/http://www.orbat.com/site/cimh/navy/kills(1971)-2.pdf|archive-date=30 October 2005|url-status=dead|access-date=16 May 2005}}</ref> Around 1,900 personnel were lost, while 1,413 servicemen (mostly officers) were captured by [[Indian Armed Forces|Indian forces]] in [[Dhaka]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.aeronautics.ru/archive/vif2_project/indo_pak_war_1971.htm|title=Military Losses in the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War|website=Venik|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020225045411/http://www.aeronautics.ru/archive/vif2_project/indo_pak_war_1971.htm|archive-date=25 February 2002|url-status=dead|access-date=30 May 2005}}</ref> The Indian Navy lost 18 officers and 194 sailors<ref>{{Cite webcn|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/pakistan/hangor.htm|title=Hangor Class (Fr Daphn|last=John Pike|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150427213837/http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/pakistan/hangor.htm|archive-date=27 April 2015|url-status=live|access-date=24 DecemberJuly 20142024}}</ref> and a frigate, while another frigate was badly damaged and a [[Breguet Alizé]] naval aircraft was shot down by the [[Pakistan Air Force]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.defencejournal.com/nov98/angrysea.htm|title=The Angry Sea|last=Tiwana|first=M.A. Hussain|date=November 1998|website=www.defencejournal.com|publisher=M.A. Hussain Tiwana Defence Journal|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090313073901/http://www.defencejournal.com/nov98/angrysea.htm|archive-date=13 March 2009|url-status=live|access-date=15 November 2016}}</ref>

In the 1982 [[Falklands War]] between Argentina and the United Kingdom, a Royal Navy task force of approximately 100 ships was dispatched over {{convert|7000|mi}} from the British mainland to the [[South Atlantic]]. The British were outnumbered in theatre airpower with only 36 [[Sea Harrier|Harriers]] from their two aircraft carriers and a few helicopters, compared with at least 200 aircraft of the [[Argentine Air Force|Fuerza Aérea Argentina]], although London dispatched Vulcan bombers in [[Operation Black Buck|a display of long-distance strategic capacity]]. Most of the land-based aircraft of the [[Royal Air Force]] were not available due to the distance from air bases. This reliance on aircraft at sea showed the importance of the aircraft carrier. The Falklands War showed the vulnerability of modern ships to [[sea-skimming]] [[Anti-ship missile|missiles]] like the [[Exocet]]. One hit from an Exocet sank {{HMS|Sheffield|D80|6}}, a modern anti-air warfare destroyer. Over half of Argentine deaths in the war occurred when the nuclear submarine {{HMS|Conqueror|S48|2}} torpedoed and sank the light cruiser {{ship|ARA|General Belgrano}} with the loss of 323 lives. Important lessons about ship design, [[Damage control (maritime)|damage control]] and ship construction materials were learnt from the conflict. The battle for the Falklands is often considered the last major naval action in terms of tonnage.

====21st century====

The lack of large fleet-on-fleet actions does not, however, mean that naval warfare has ceased to feature in modern conflicts. The [[bombing of the USS Cole|bombing of the USS ''Cole'']] on October 12, 2000, claimed the lives of seventeen sailors, wounded an additional thirty-seven, and cost the ''Cole'' fourteen months of repairs.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/browse-by-topic/ships/modern-ships/uss-cole-updated.html |title=USS Cole (DDG-67), Determined Warrior |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190531150203/https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/browse-by-topic/ships/modern-ships/uss-cole-updated.html |archive-date=31 May 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://newsroom.hii.com/releases/uss-cole-returns-to-u-s-navy-fleet-following-restoration-by-northrop-grumman |title = USS Cole Returns to U.S. Navy Fleet Following Restoration by Northrop Grumman}}</ref> Though the attack did not eliminate the United States' control of the local seas, in the short-term, it did prompt the US Navy to reduce its visits to far-flung ports, as military planners struggled to ensure their security.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-107shrg81231/html/CHRG-107shrg81231.htm |title = LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE ATTACK ON THE U.S.S. COLE}}</ref> This reduced US Naval presence was ultimately reversed in the wake of the [[September 11 attacks]], as part of the [[War on terror|Global War on Terrorism]].<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/world/2021/02/25/us-military-budget-what-can-global-bases-do-vs-covid-cyber-attacks/6419013002/ | title = "A reckoning is near."| website = [[USA Today]]| date = 25 February 2021}}</ref>

Even in the absence of major wars, warships from opposing navies clash periodically at sea, sometimes with fatal results. For example, 46 sailors drowned in the [[ROKS Cheonan sinking|2010 sinking of the ROKS ''Cheonan'']], which South Korea and the United States blamed on a North Korean torpedo attack.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna36763498 | title = South Korea: Torpedo probably sank warship| website = [[NBC News]]| date = 25 April 2010}}</ref> North Korea, in turn, denied all responsibility, accused South Korea of violating North Korean territorial waters, and offered to send its own team of investigators to "examine the evidence."<ref>{{Cite journal | url=https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2010/0520/North-Korea-rebuffs-South-Korea-s-evidence-on-Cheonan-attack/(page)/2 | title = North Korea rebuffs South Korea's evidence on Cheonan attack| journal = Christian Science Monitor| date = 20 May 2010}}</ref>

{{portal|Oceans|War}}

* Smith, Simon Mark. "‘We'We Sail the Ocean Blue’Blue': British sailors, imperialism, identity, pride and patriotism c. 1890 to 1939" (PhD dissertatation U of Portsmouth, 2017. [https://web.archive.org/web/20190418104255/https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/160743484.pdf online]

* Higham, John, ed. ''A Guide to the Sources of British Military History'' (2015) 654 pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZOGoCgAAQBAJ&dqq=George+Clark++Later+Stuarts+1660-1714&source=gbs_navlinks_s excerpt]