Naval warfare: Difference between revisions

Many sea battles through history also provide a reliable source of [[shipwreck]]s for [[underwater archaeology]]. A major example is the [[exploration]] of the [[Shipwreck|wrecks]] of various warships in the [[Pacific Ocean]].

 

[[File:Seevölker.jpg|thumb|Scene from an Egyptian temple wall shows Ramesses' combined land and sea victory in the [[Battle of the Delta]].]]

The first recorded sea battle was The [[Battle of the Delta]], the [[Ancient Egypt]]ians defeated the [[Sea Peoples]] in a sea battle {{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>

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.

 

While the barbarian invasions of the 4th century and later mostly occurred by land, some notable examples of naval conflicts are known. In the late 3rd century, in the reign of Emperor [[Gallienus]], a large raiding party composed by Goths, Gepids and Heruli, launched itself in the Black Sea, raiding the coasts of Anatolia and Thrace, and crossing into the Aegean Sea, plundering mainland Greece (including Athens and Sparta) and going as far as Crete and Rhodes. In the twilight of the Roman Empire in the late 4th century, examples include that of Emperor [[Majorian]], who, with the help of Constantinople, mustered a large fleet in a failed effort to expel the Germanic invaders from their recently conquered African territories, and a defeat of an [[Ostrogoths|Ostrogothic]] fleet at [[Sena Gallica]] in the [[Adriatic Sea]].

 

In the north of Europe, the near-continuous conflict between England and France was characterised by raids on coastal towns and ports along the coastlines and the securing of sea lanes to protect troop–carrying transports. The [[Battle of Dover (1217)|Battle of Dover]] in 1217, between a French fleet of 80 ships under [[Eustace the Monk]] and an English fleet of 40 under [[Hubert de Burgh]], is notable as the first recorded battle using sailing ship tactics. The [[battle of Arnemuiden]] (23 September 1338), which resulted in a French victory, marked the opening of the [[Hundred Years War]] and was the first battle involving artillery.<ref>Jean-Claude Castex, [https://books.google.com/books?id=U9tChhhw62AC&pg=PA18] ''Dictionnaire des batailles navales franco-anglaises'', Presses de l'Université Laval, 2004, p. 21</ref> However the [[battle of Sluys]], fought two years later, saw the destruction of the French fleet in a decisive action which allowed the English effective control of the sea lanes and the strategic initiative for much of the war.

 

[[File:Javanese junk and Nanking junk.jpg|thumb|right|A Javanese junk and a Nanking junk.]]

[[File:Radpaddelsch.jpg|thumb|A Chinese [[Paddle steamer|paddle-wheel]] driven ship, from a [[Qing dynasty]] [[encyclopedia]] published in 1726]]

In Korea, the greater range of [[Korean cannon]]s, along with the brilliant naval strategies of the Korean admiral [[Yi Sun-sin]], were the main factors in the ultimate Japanese defeat. Yi Sun-sin is credited for improving the [[turtle ship|Geobukseon]] (turtle ship), which were used mostly to spearhead attacks. They were best used in tight areas and around islands rather than on the open sea. Yi Sun-sin effectively cut off the possible Japanese supply line that would have run through the [[Yellow Sea]] to China, and severely weakened the Japanese strength and fighting morale in several heated engagements (many regard the critical Japanese defeat to be the [[Battle of Hansan Island]]). The Japanese faced diminishing hopes of further supplies due to repeated losses in naval battles in the hands of Yi Sun-sin. As the Japanese army was about to return to Japan, Yi Sun-sin decisively defeated a Japanese navy at the [[Battle of Noryang]].

 

{{main|Naval history of China}}

[[File:Eastern Han pottery boat.JPG|thumb|An [[Eastern Han]] (25–220 AD) Chinese pottery boat fit for riverine and maritime sea travel, with an [[anchor]] at the bow, a steering [[rudder]] at the stern, roofed compartments with windows and doors, and miniature [[sailor]]s.]]

In terms of seafaring abroad, arguably one of the first Chinese to sail into the [[Indian Ocean]] and to reach Sri Lanka and India by sea was the Buddhist monk [[Faxian]] in the early 5th century, although diplomatic ties and land trade to Persia and India were established during the earlier Han dynasty. However, Chinese naval maritime influence would penetrate into the Indian Ocean until the medieval period.

 

{{main|Age of Sail}}

[[File:Vasa from port1.jpg|thumb|The early-17th-century [[galleon]] ''[[Vasa (ship)|Vasa]]'' on display at the [[Vasa Museum]] in Stockholm. ''Vasa'', with its high stern castle and double battery decks, was a transitional design between the preferences for [[boarding (attack)|boarding]] tactics and the [[line of battle]].]]

From the middle of the 17th century competition between the expanding English and Dutch commercial fleets came to a head in the [[Anglo-Dutch Wars]], the first wars to be conducted entirely at sea. Most memorable of these battles was the [[raid on the Medway]], in which the Dutch [[admiral]] [[Michiel de Ruyter]] sailed up the river [[Thames]], and destroyed most of the British fleet. This remains the greatest English naval defeat, and established Dutch supremacy at sea for over half a century. Very few ships were sunk in naval combat during the Anglo-Dutch wars, as it was difficult to hit ships below [[Waterline|the water level]]; the water surface deflected cannonballs, and the few holes produced could be patched quickly. Naval cannonades damaged men and sails more than they sunk ships.

 

[[File:Trafalgar Crepin mg 0579.jpg|thumb|The 1805 [[Battle of Trafalgar]]]]

The 18th century developed into a period of seemingly continuous international wars, each larger than the last. At sea, the British and French were bitter rivals; the French aided the fledgling United States in the [[American Revolutionary War]], but their strategic purpose was to capture territory in India and the [[West Indies]] – which they did not achieve. In the Baltic Sea, the final attempt to revive the Swedish Empire led to [[Gustav III's Russian War]], with its grande finale at the [[Second Battle of Svensksund]]. The battle, unrivaled in size until the 20th century, was a decisive Swedish tactical victory, but it resulted in little strategical result, due to poor army performance and previous lack of initiative from the Swedes, and the war ended with no territorial changes.

{{clear}}

 

[[File:The Monitor and Merrimac.jpg|thumb|The first battle between ironclads: [[CSS Virginia|CSS ''Virginia''/''Merrimac'']] (left) vs. {{USS|Monitor}}, in 1862 at the [[Battle of Hampton Roads]]]]

[[File:Bombardment of 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]]

With the advent of the [[Steamboat|steamship]], it became possible to create massive gun platforms and to provide them with heavy armor resulting in the first modern battleships. The Battles of [[Battle of Santiago de Cuba|Santiago de Cuba]] and [[Battle of Tsushima|Tsushima]] demonstrated the power of these ships.

 

[[File:HMS Dreadnought 1906 H61017.jpg|thumb|alt=Ship at sea with smoke emitting from two funnels|{{HMS|Dreadnought|1906|6}}, the first [[dreadnought]] battleship]]

 

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.

 

 

At the present time, large naval wars are seldom-seen affairs, since nations with substantial navies rarely fight each other; most wars are [[civil wars]] or some form of [[asymmetrical warfare]], fought on land, sometimes with the involvement of [[military aircraft]]. The main function of the modern navy is to exploit its control of the seaways to project power ashore. [[Military power projection|Power projection]] has been the primary naval feature of most late-century conflicts including the [[Korean War]], [[Suez Crisis]], [[Vietnam War]], [[Indonesian Confrontation|Konfrontasi]], [[Gulf War]], [[Kosovo War]], the [[War on Terrorism]] in [[Afghanistan]], and the [[Iraq War]]. A major exception to that trend was the [[Sri Lankan Civil War]], which saw a large number of surface engagements between the belligerents involving fast attack craft and other [[Littoral (military)|littoral warfare]] units.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/a-guerilla-war-at-sea-the-sri-lankan-civil-war |title = A Guerilla War at Sea: The Sri Lankan Civil War &#124; Small Wars Journal}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://warontherocks.com/2015/12/21st-century-seapower-inc/ | title=21st Century Seapower, Inc| date=2015-12-31}}</ref>

 

During the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]], the armed forces of both Russia and Ukraine have openly targeted and destroyed each other's ships. Though many of these are supporting vessels, such as landing ships, tugs, and patrol boats,<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-europe-60717902/page/2 | title = Russia shows off captured navy boats}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-05-02-22/h_a73ac98f2400af01f729e23a7e01ae88 | title = Ukrainian drone destroys Russian patrol ships off Snake Island| website = [[CNN]]| date = 2 May 2022}}</ref> several larger warships have also been destroyed. Notably, the [[Ukrainian Navy]] scuttled its flagship, the frigate [[Ukrainian frigate Hetman Sahaidachny|Hetman Sahaidachny]], to prevent its capture,<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.overtdefense.com/2022/03/03/the-fate-of-ukraines-flagship-frigate/ | title = The Fate of Ukraine's Flagship Frigate| date = 3 March 2022}}</ref> while the patrol ship ''Sloviansk'' was sunken by Russian air attack.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/ukraine-reports-loss-of-u-s-built-patrol-boat-by-russian-missile | title = Ukraine Reports Loss of U.S.-Built Patrol Boat by Russian Missile }}</ref> The [[Russian Navy]] lost the flagship of its Black Sea Fleet, the [[Russian cruiser Moskva|''Moskva'']], in what the Ukrainian Navy has claimed as a successful [[R-360 Neptune|Neptune anti-ship missile]] strike.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61114843 |title = Russian warship: Moskva sinks in Black Sea |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220415092906/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61114843 |archive-date=15 April 2022 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The Russian Navy, while not admitting to the Ukrainian claims of a missile attack, has confirmed the [[sinking of the Moskva]].<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/moskva-russias-lost-black-sea-fleet-flagship-2022-04-14/ | title = Factbox: The 'Moskva', Russia's lost Black Sea Fleet flagship| newspaper = Reuters| date = 14 April 2022}}</ref> As of May 2022, the naval war between Russia and Ukraine is ongoing, as the Russian Navy attempts to dominate Black Sea trade routes, and the Ukrainian Military attempts to erode Russian naval control.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://warontherocks.com/2022/04/the-russo-ukrainian-war-at-sea-retrospect-and-prospect/ | title = The Russo-Ukrainian War At Sea: Retrospect And Prospect| date = 21 April 2022}}</ref>

 

==Naval history of nations and empires==