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British Grand Fleet
The Grand Fleet was the main battlefleet of the Royal Navy during the First World War. It was established in August 1914 and disbanded in April 1919. Its main base was Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands. History Formed in August 1914 from the First Fleet and part of the Second Fleet of the Home Fleets, the Grand Fleet included 25–35 modern capital ships. It was commanded initially by Admiral Sir John Jellicoe.Heathcote, p. 130 The 10th Cruiser Squadron carried out the Northern Patrol between Shetland and Norway and cruisers from Cromarty and Rosyth operated a second line (and screened the fleet) in enforcing the blockade of Germany. The administrative complications of the distant blockade across the northern exits of the North Sea overwhelmed the capacity of Vice Admiral Francis Miller, the Base Admiral in Chief from 7 August 1914, devolving on the commander in chief, Admiral John Jellicoe. To relieve the administrative burdens on Miller and Jellicoe, the post of the Admi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Firth Of Forth
The Firth of Forth () is a firth in Scotland, an inlet of the North Sea that separates Fife to its north and Lothian to its south. Further inland, it becomes the estuary of the River Forth and several other rivers. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate of ''fjord'', a Norse word meaning a narrow inlet. ''Forth'' stems from the name of the river; this is ('slow running') in Proto-Celtic, yielding in Old Gaelic and in Welsh. It was known as ' in Roman Empire, Roman times and was referred to as ' in Ptolemy's ''Geography_(Ptolemy), Geography''. In the Norse mythology, Norse sagas it was known as the . An early Welsh language, Welsh name is , or the 'sea of '. Geography and geology Geologically, the Firth of Forth is a fjord, formed by the Forth Glacier in the last glacial period. The drainage basin for the Firth of Forth covers a wide geographic area including places as far from the shore as Ben Lomond, Cumbernauld, Harthill, Scotland, Harthill, Penicuik and the edges of Gleneagles H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Admiral Commanding, Orkneys And Shetlands
The Admiral Commanding, Orkneys and Shetlands was an operational commander of the Royal Navy. He was charged with the administration of the Orkney and Shetland Islands and operating and defending the fleet base at Scapa Flow that was the main anchorage for both the Home Fleet and Grand Fleet at various times. History An Admiral Commanding for the Orkneys and Shetlands was appointed twice, on the outbreak of war, to provide for the defence and administration of the main base for the Home Fleet. The Admiral Commanding was responsible, under the orders of the Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet, for administration of naval defences, naval establishments, and shore duties generally in Orkney and Shetland. During the First World War and the Second World War the Rear-Admiral, Scapa Flow served under him, with a position similar to that of an Admiral Superintendent of a dockyard port. Directly under his orders were the Northern Patrol, Shetlands Patrols, the Officer Commanding Troops Orkn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scuttling Of The German Fleet At Scapa Flow
On 21 June 1919, shortly after the end of the First World War, the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet was scuttled by its sailors while held off the harbour of the British Royal Navy base at Scapa Flow, in the Orkney Islands of Scotland. The fleet was interned there under the terms of the Armistice of 11 November 1918 while negotiations took place over its fate. Fearing that either the British would seize the ships unilaterally or the German government at the time might reject the Treaty of Versailles and resume the war effort (in which case the ships could be used against Germany), Admiral Ludwig von Reuter decided to scuttle the fleet. Intervening British guard ships were able to beach some of the ships, but 52 of the 74 interned vessels sank. Many of the wrecks were salvaged over the next two decades and were towed away for scrapping. Those that remain are popular diving sites and a source of low-background steel. Background The signing of the Armistice of 11 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atlantic Fleet (United Kingdom)
The Atlantic Fleet was a naval fleet of the Royal Navy. It existed for two periods; 1909 until 1914, and then 1919 until 1932. History On 14 December 1904 the Channel Fleet was re-styled the 'Atlantic Fleet'.National Archives records The Atlantic Fleet lasted until 1912 when rising tensions with Germany forced the Royal Navy to relook at fleet formations and the Atlantic Fleet became the 3rd Battle Squadron. The Atlantic Fleet was based at Gibraltar to reinforce either the Channel Fleet or the Mediterranean Fleet, from January 1905 to February 1907. It remained at Gibraltar until April 1912. The Atlantic Fleet was again formed after the end of World War I, when British naval forces were reorganised to reflect the changed economic and political situation in Europe. The fleet was created upon the disbandment of the Grand Fleet in April 1919, absorbing many, but not all of its elements. It was placed under a Commander-in-Chief, who for part of that year held the title of Command ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Treaty Of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace of Versailles, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which led to the war. The other Central Powers on the German side signed separate treaties. Although the Armistice with Germany (Compiègne), armistice of 11 November 1918 ended the actual fighting, and agreed certain principles and conditions including the payment of reparations, it took six months of Allied negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference to conclude the peace treaty. Germany was not allowed to participate in the negotiations before signing the treaty. The treaty German disarmament, required Germany to disarm, make territorial concessions, extradite alleged war criminals, agree to Kaiser Wilhelm being p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gutter Sound
Gutter Sound is a sound in the Orkney archipelago, Scotland, part of Scapa Flow. It lies to the west of the main harbour between the internal islands of Cava and Fara, and the large outer island of Hoy. Gutter Sound was one of the sites of the scuttling of the interned Imperial German High Seas Fleet in 1919, and the scene of a major salvage operation in the 1920s. The remaining wrecks are frequently visited by recreational divers. Location Gutter Sound is four miles long and a mile wide at its widest point, and has a depth of around 30 meters in places. It separates Hoy and Cava in the north, and Hoy and Fara in the south, opening onto Scapa Flow between Cava and Fara. In the north it opens out into the Bring Deeps, while the south it joins Weddell Sound, between Fara and Flotta, and to Switha Sound, between Flotta and Hoy. History At the end of the First World War, Scapa Flow was the anchorage for the surrendered German High Seas Fleet; these vessels were anchored ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Imperial German Navy
The Imperial German Navy or the ''Kaiserliche Marine'' (Imperial Navy) was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhelm II, Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded the navy. The key leader was Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, who greatly expanded the size and quality of the navy, while adopting the Command of the sea, sea power theories of American strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan. The result was a Anglo-German naval arms race, naval arms race with Britain, as the German navy grew to become one of the greatest maritime forces in the world, second only to the Royal Navy. The German surface navy proved ineffective during the First World War; its only major engagement, the Battle of Jutland, was a draw, but it kept the surface fleet largely in port for the rest of the war. The submarine fleet was greatly expanded and threatened the British supply s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
High Seas Fleet
The High Seas Fleet () was the battle fleet of the German Empire, German Imperial German Navy, Imperial Navy and saw action during the First World War. In February 1907, the Home Fleet () was renamed the High Seas Fleet. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz was the architect of the fleet; he envisioned a force powerful enough to challenge the Royal Navy. Kaiser Wilhelm II, the German Emperor, championed the fleet as the instrument by which he would seize overseas possessions and make Germany a global power. By concentrating a powerful battle fleet in the North Sea while the Royal Navy was required to disperse its forces around the British Empire, Tirpitz believed Germany could achieve a balance of force that could seriously damage British naval hegemony. This was the heart of Tirpitz's "Risk Theory", which held that Britain would not challenge Germany if the latter's fleet posed such a significant threat to its own. The primary component of the Fleet was its battleships, typically org ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kiel
Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Bay of Kiel and lies in the southeast of the Jutland Peninsula, on the mouth of the Schwentine River, approximately northeast of Hamburg. The world's busiest artificial waterway, the Kiel Canal, has a terminus in Kiel's Holtenau district. This canal connects the Baltic to the North Sea, with its other end in Brunsbüttel. Most of Kiel is part of Holstein. The boroughs north of the Schwentine also belong to Wagria, while those north of the Kiel Canal are historically part of Southern Schleswig. Kiel is one of Germany's major maritime centres, known for a variety of international sailing events, including the annual Kiel Week, which is the biggest sailing event in the world. Kiel is also known for the Kiel mutiny, Kiel Mutiny, when sailors re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmshaven is the centre of the "Jade Bay" business region (which has around 330,000 inhabitants) and is Germany's main military port. The adjacent Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park (part of the Wattenmeer UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site) provides the basis for the major tourism industry in the region. History The , built before 1383, operated as a pirate stronghold; the Hanseatic League destroyed it in 1433. Four centuries later, the Kingdom of Prussia planned a fleet and a harbour on the North Sea. In 1853, Prince Adalbert of Prussia, a cousin of the Prussian King Frederick William IV of Prussia, Frederick William IV, arranged the Jade Treaty (''Jade-Vertrag'') with the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, in which Prussia and the Grand Duchy ente ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rosyth
Rosyth () is a town and Garden City in Fife, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth. Scotland's first Garden city movement, Garden City, Rosyth is part of the Greater Dunfermline Area and is located 3 miles south of Dunfermline city centre and 10 miles northwest of Edinburgh city centre. To the west of Rosyth lies Limekilns and to the east lies Inverkeithing. Rosyth was founded along with the finished construction of Rosyth Dockyard in March 1916, built as a naval base for World War I battleships to protect the North Sea. Rosyth played a key role in World War II defending the North Sea especially during the German occupation of Norway. It was then redeveloped to maintain Nuclear submarine, submarines and serve as a port and business park. Rosyth is near the narrowest crossing point of the Firth of Forth, so has long been strategically important, evidenced by the 15th century Rosyth Castle. Rosyth is home to 12 Historic Scotland listed buildings as well as sections of lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Castles Of Steel
''Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany, and the Winning of the Great War at Sea'' is a work of non-fiction by Pulitzer Prize-winner Robert K. Massie. It narrates the major naval actions of the First World War with an emphasis on those of the United Kingdom and Imperial Germany. The term "castles of steel" was coined by the British First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill in reference to the large number of the Royal Navy's battleships he saw at Spithead in 1914. Summary The book begins in the lead-up to the declaration of hostilities between Germany and Britain, whereas Massie's previous work '' Dreadnought: Britain, Germany, and the coming of the Great War'' ended with the beginning of the war. All the significant naval strategies and battles of World War I are covered, including the Battle of Coronel, where a German squadron led by Admiral Maximilian von Spee destroyed a weaker British cruiser squadron under the command of Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock; the ensuing Ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
