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Operation Rheinübung
Operation Rheinübung () was the last sortie into the Atlantic by the new German battleship and heavy cruiser on 18–27 May 1941, during World War II. This operation aimed to disrupt Allied shipping to the United Kingdom as the previously successful Operation Berlin had done. After ''Bismarck'' had sunk HMS ''Hood'' during the Battle of the Denmark Strait (24 May), it culminated with the sinking of the ''Bismarck'' (27 May), while ''Prinz Eugen'' escaped to port in occupied France. From that point on, Germans would rely only on U-boats to wage the Battle of the Atlantic. Background During both World Wars, Britain relied heavily on merchant ships to import food, fuel, and raw materials, such things were crucial both for civilian survival and the military effort. Protecting this lifeline was a high priority for British forces, as its disruption would significantly weaken the British economy and its military capabilities, and Britain might be forced to negotiate peace, se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of The Atlantic
The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allies of World War II, Allied naval Blockade of Germany (1939–1945), blockade of Germany, announced the day after the declaration of war, and Germany's subsequent counter-blockade. The campaign peaked from mid-1940 to the end of 1943. The Battle of the Atlantic pitted U-boats and other warships of the German (navy) and aircraft of the (air force) against the Royal Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, United States Navy, and Merchant Navy (United Kingdom), Allied merchant shipping. Convoys, coming mainly from North America and predominantly going to the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union, were protected for the most part by the British and Canadian navies and air forces. These forces were aided by ships and aircraft of the United States beginning on 13 September 1941. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kriegsmarine
The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branches, along with the and the , of the , the German armed forces from 1935 to 1945. In violation of the Treaty of Versailles, the grew rapidly during German rearmament, German naval rearmament in the 1930s. The 1919 treaty had limited the size of the German navy and prohibited the building of submarines. ships were deployed to the waters around Spain during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) under the guise of enforcing non-intervention in the Spanish Civil War, non-intervention, but in reality supporting the Francoist Spain, Nationalists against the Second Spanish Republic, Spanish Republicans. In January 1939, Plan Z, a massive shipbuilding programme, was ordered, calling for surface naval parity with the United Kingdom, British Royal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scapa Flow
Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay and Hoy. Its sheltered waters have played an important role in travel, trade and conflict throughout the centuries. Vikings anchored their longships in Scapa Flow more than a thousand years ago. It was the United Kingdom's chief naval base during the First and Second World wars, but the facility was closed in 1956. Since the scuttling of the German fleet after World War I, its wrecks and their marine habitats form an internationally acclaimed diving location. Scapa Flow hosts an oil port, the Flotta oil terminal. In good weather, its roadstead (water of moderate conditions) allows ship-to-ship transfers of crude oil product. The world's first ship-to-ship transfer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) took place in Scapa Flow in 2007 transferring 132,000m³ of LNG. This occurred in 2007 by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along a front, with the main goal of capturing territory up to a line between Arkhangelsk and Astrakhan, known as the A-A line. The attack became the largest and costliest military offensive in history, with around 10 million combatants taking part in the opening phase and over 8 million casualties by the end of the operation on 5 December 1941. It marked a major escalation of World War II, opened the Eastern Front—the largest and deadliest land war in history—and brought the Soviet Union into the Allied powers. The operation, code-named after the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa ("red beard"), put into action Nazi Germany's ideological goals of eradicating communism and conquering the western Soviet Union to repopulate it w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sister Ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a common naming theme, either being named after the same type of thing or person (places, constellations, heads of state) or with some kind of alliteration. Typically the ship class is named for the first ship of that class. Often, sisters become more differentiated during their service as their equipment (in the case of naval vessels, their armament) are separately altered. For instance, the U.S. warships , , , and are all sister ships, each being an . Perhaps the most famous sister ships were the White Star Line's s trio, consisting of , and . As with some other liners, the sisters worked as running mates. Of the three sister ships, ''Titanic'' and ''Britannic'' would both sink within a year of being launched, while RMS ''O ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cape Verde Islands
Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands lie between west of Cap-Vert, the westernmost point of continental Africa. The Cape Verde islands form part of the Macaronesia ecoregion, along with the Azores, the Canary Islands, Madeira and the Savage Isles. The Cape Verde archipelago was uninhabited until the 15th century, when Portuguese explorers colonized the islands, establishing one of the first European settlements in the tropics. Due to its strategic position, Cape Verde became a significant location in the transatlantic slave trade during the 16th and 17th centuries. The islands experienced economic growth during this period, driven by their role by the rapid emergence of merchants, privateers, and pirates. It declined economically in the 19th century, and many of its inh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Labrador
Labrador () is a geographic and cultural region within the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the primarily continental portion of the province and constitutes 71% of the province's area but is home to only 6% of its population. It is separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle. It is the largest and northernmost geographical region in the four Atlantic provinces. Labrador occupies most of the eastern part of the Labrador Peninsula. It is bordered to the west and south by the province of Quebec. Labrador also shares a small land border with the territory of Nunavut on Killiniq Island. The indigenous peoples of Labrador include the Northern Inuit of Nunatsiavut, the Southern Métis of NunatuKavut, and the Innu of Nitassinan. Etymology Labrador is named after João Fernandes Lavrador, a Portuguese explorer who sailed along the coasts of the Labrador Peninsula in 1498–99. Kevin Major, '' As Near to Heaven by Sea: A Histo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Günther Lütjens
Johann Günther Lütjens (; 25 May 1889 – 27 May 1941) was a German admiral whose military service spanned more than 30 years and two world wars. Lütjens is best known for his actions during World War II and his command of the battleship during her foray into the Atlantic Ocean in 1941. He was killed in action during the last battle of Bismarck, last battle of the battleship Bismarck. Born in 1889, Lütjens entered into the Imperial German Navy in 1907 and saw service during World War I against the British Royal Navy, achieving the rank of ''Kapitänleutnant'' (Lieutenant). After the war he remained in the navy, now renamed the ''Reichsmarine''. In the Weimar Republic era, Lütjens built a reputation as an excellent staff officer. In 1935, after the Nazi Party came to power in 1933, the navy was remodelled again and renamed the ''Kriegsmarine''. Lütjens soon became acquainted with Erich Raeder and Karl Dönitz, the two commanders-in-chief of the ''Kriegsmarine'' in World Wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erich Raeder
Erich Johann Albert Raeder (24 April 1876 – 6 November 1960) was a German admiral who played a major role in the naval history of World War II and was convicted of war crimes after the war. He attained the highest possible naval rank, that of grand admiral, in 1939. Raeder led the Kriegsmarine for the first half of the war; he resigned in January 1943 and was replaced by Karl Dönitz. At the Nuremberg trials he was sentenced to life imprisonment but was released early owing to failing health in 1955. Early years Raeder was born into a middle-class Protestant family in Wandsbek (quarter), Wandsbek in the Kingdom of Prussia, Prussian province of Province of Schleswig-Holstein, Schleswig-Holstein in the German Empire. His father was a headmaster. Raeder idolised his father Hans Raeder, who as a teacher and a father was noted for his marked authoritarian views, and who impressed upon his son the values of hard work, thrift, religion and discipline – all of which Raeder was to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Admiral
Grand admiral is a historic naval rank, the highest rank in the several European navies that used it. It is best known for its use in Germany as . A comparable rank in modern navies is that of admiral of the fleet. Grand admirals in individual navies Austria-Hungary The Austrian grand admirals were all members of the Imperial family, except for , the commander of the Austro-Hungarian Navy for part of World War I: France In Bourbon Restoration France, the rank was an honorific one equivalent to that of marshal in the French Army. Germany In the Imperial German Navy, and later in the , the rank ''Großadmiral'' was the equivalent of a British admiral of the fleet or a United States fleet admiral; as a five-star rank (OF-10). Its holders were authorised to carry a baton. The rank was created in 1901 and discontinued in 1945, by which time a total of eight men had been promoted to it. The next most junior rank was (admiral-general). Imperial Germany Before and during ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the world's largest brackish water basin. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 10°E to 30°E longitude. It is a Continental shelf#Shelf seas, shelf sea and marginal sea of the Atlantic with limited water exchange between the two, making it an inland sea. The Baltic Sea drains through the Danish straits into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, Great Belt and Little Belt. It includes the Gulf of Bothnia (divided into the Bothnian Bay and the Bothnian Sea), the Gulf of Finland, the Gulf of Riga and the Bay of Gdańsk. The "Baltic Proper" is bordered on its northern edge, at latitude 60°N, by Åland and the Gulf of Bothnia, on its northeastern edge by the Gulf of Finland, on its eastern edge by the Gulf of Riga, and in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Light Cruisers
A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to this smaller cruisers had been of the protected cruiser model, possessing armored decks only. While lighter and smaller than other contemporary ships they were still true cruisers, retaining the extended radius of action and self-sufficiency to act independently around the world. Cruisers mounting larger guns and heavier armor relative to most light cruisers would come to be known as heavy cruisers, though the designation of 'light' versus 'heavy' cruisers would vary somewhat between navies. Through their history light cruisers served in a variety of roles, primarily on long-range detached patrol work, covering other military operations or global shipping lanes, as scouts and fleet support vessels for battle fleets, as destroyer command ship ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
