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1. WORLD WAR ONE - A MARITIME WAR, MAJOR NAVAL EVENTS in the NORTH SEA Links to main World War 1 pages: - Military & Naval Chronology - Naval Operations - Merchant Navy - Royal Navy and Army Despatches - RN Honours and Gallantry Awards - Royal & Dominion Navy Casualties - Warships & Auxiliaries of the RN - Guide to British Warship Locations - Campaigns, Battles & Actions

HMS Iron Duke, dreadnought battleship 1920's (Maritime Quest; click to enlarge) on to 2. World War 1 - North Russia

A MARITIME WAR The "Great War" is usually seen in terms of the titanic battles of the Western Front in France and possibly the sideshow of Turkish Gallipoli, with the naval Battle of Jutland appearing out of the mists of the North Sea; just an interruption to the war on land ...... Note This page is part of a series leading up to the story of the World War 2 Russian convoys - return to World War 1, 1914-1918

In fact the land war was far more extensive - see map below. As for the naval struggle, had this been lost by the Allies, Germany and the Central Powers would have been victorious .......

 

The battle at sea became crucial to Allied success once the German Army had failed to inflict a crushing defeat on France and Russia in the first weeks of war .......

Most of the Allied war at sea was fought by the Royal Navy as can be gauged from the number of ships and men; also those lost and killed:

With Germany's High Seas Fleet mainly restricted to the North Sea, the Royal Navy's first vital role was to hold and confine it within the North Sea; it's second and equally vital task was to restrict the flow of U-boats into other seas and the wider oceans:

MAJOR NAVAL EVENTS IN THE NORTH SEA

1914-1918

on to 2. World War 1 - North Russia or return to Russian Convoys Contents revised  27/7/11