Maritime War Essay

The Battle of the Atlantic During WWII, the Germans attempted to force Britain into surrender by preventing vital supplies from reaching her across the Atlantic Ocean. Explain why by mid 1943, the British had gained the upper hand in the Atlantic. The Battle of the Atlantic was a key event in deciding the outcome of WWII. The Atlantic was Britain's lifeline, the only route to the great 'factory' that was the USA with it's vast production capabilities.

The battle of Cold Harbor was fought from May 31- June 12, 1864. Today it is known as one of the bloodiest engagements of the American civil war. This battle resulted in heavy losses of men for the Union and only a couple thousand for the Confederacy. It was part of General Grant's overland campaign for Richmond. Cold Harbor is located about ten miles from Richmond, Virginia in Hanover County.

how the confederates could attack from the water because without naval support they had to

The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest lasting battle of World War II. The Battle was to control the Atlantic Shipping Lanes and lasted from September 3rd 1939 to May 8th 1945, mainly in The Atlantic Ocean, but later spread to the United States and The Caribbean Sea. The Battle of the Atlantic was originally fought by Britain and Canada against Germany until 1940 when the Italians joined the German side. In 1941 the United States joined Britain and Canada in the battle, leading to the defeat of Germany. A significant even that lead up to The Battle of the Atlantic was when U-30 (U-boat 30) attacked Athenia, the passenger liner, a British auxiliary cruiser, within just hours of the British declaring war on Germany, killing 112 civilians that were aboard. These ships were the ones the submarines were told not to attack by The German Navy. This is what some say was the beginning of The Battle of the Atlantic. The Germans were also humiliated from World War One and felt they had not deserved to lose and have the harsh treatment put upon them, as outlined in The Treaty of Versailles.

The build up to the War of 1812 began nearly a decade prior to the start of the military action. Jefferson and the Republican vision slashed spending and government all around, leaving the military depleted and operating on Jefferson 's “Gun Boat Diplomacy,” which meant America had just enough boats to protect American coasts but not enough to partake in any offshore activities. This left America vulnerable to the tactics employed by the British when combat resumed between England and France, and the US was involuntarily pulled into the dispute.

The ironclad CSS Virginia began a naval engagement on the Union fleet. On March 8, the battle lasted throughout the day. This engagement was part of a Confederate effort to break the Union blockade of the Southern ports. Unfortunately, the USS Monitor did not arrive in Hampton Roads until later at night, too late to preserve many of the Union ships from destruction.

They were so ill equipped that they had to use small river boats before they could sail out to sea. The first ship that the South made was the Ironclad or Virginia as they named it. The ship itself started off as an old river steamer. Then the Confederates found it, fixed it, and reinforced it with heavy and solid iron plates. When the Union cut off Southern trading, they released their Ironclad on the blockade. It destroyed two ships and managed to get one of the ships to retreat. But the Union counteracted with their own Ironclad named the Monitor. The battle had no winner because neither ship could damage the other. They both gave up but the Union still had their blockade over Southern ports. The Confederacy was angered by this and lost their trading route with Europe. But later in the war they started to increase their navy by moving some army troops to the

While Burnside had been waiting for two weeks he saw how the Confederates were positioned; even though the Confederates had the advantage he still believed he could win. The night before Burnside was going to start building the pontoons, he sent a message to Lincoln saying, “We hope to succeed.” So, on the night of Wednesday, December 10, 1862, the engineers started to build the pontoons. However, another general from the South, General Will Barkslade, was right above the area where the engineers were and whenever a soldier went to check on the progress of the pontoons, the Confederates would shoot at them.

The American Civil War was a turning point in American history. Not only for the United States government and shifts into more progressive values, but also the advancement of military weaponry used in the armed forces. Perhaps the most progressed branch during this time was the field artillery. The field artillery of the well-funded Union army was not accomplishing the extensive damage that was expected of it but under the faith of Union Captain Quincy A. Gillmore (Lane, 2001), the 30 pound Parrot Rifled Cannon was deployed specifically for use against the impenetrable walls of Fort Pulaski. For the Union army, the capture of Fort Pulaski was an important battle that utilized the technological advancements of rifling of field artillery cannons in order to render the stone walls of the fort indefensible.

The Naval Blockade planned to cut the Confederacy off from the rest of the world. First, the Naval Blockade was a forceful block of all supplies to the South through America’s Navy. Next, on April 19, 1861, Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation of a blockade of southern ports. This was in effect until May 9, 1865. Additionally, the blockade was in effect around the entire Confederate States. It covered the entire Gulf of Mexico, the whole Atlantic coast

Fortunately, one of men a Mallory had hired told him about a naval yard burned at the beginning of the war, with a ship or two fitted with the engine. One of those ships was the recently re-surfaced, the CSS. Merrimack, which had sunk when the Confederacy burned a naval yard. William Williamson, one of the men Mallory had hired to help with the construction of a armored ship, pointed out that instead of building new engines they could use the hull of the already ready Merrimack. When construction of the Virginia had completed, she boasted an arsenal of 14 different types of guns, along with twenty-six inches of armor composed of pine wood and iron.

At the onset of the war, both sides struggled with combat capable ships. The Union though, was able to establish a much stronger production capability than the Confederates, who lacked materials and secure locations to build. The Union quickly set into production a new class of fighting ships, which would be called the City Classers. These first of its kind ships, designed by Samuel Pook, consisted of three gun ports off the bow, four on either side and two at the rear. The sides and top of the

Naval warfare saw a major change as well during the civil war with the introduction of the Iron Clad Ships. A great example of the impact that Iron Clad ships played in naval warfare is the Confederate Iron Clad Ship named CSS Virginia. In an engagement where the Iron Clad ship was greatly outnumbered by the Union naval fleet comprised of older wooden frigates, the CSS Virginia was able to achieve total inhalation of the Union fleet while only receiving minimal damage. This brought an end to the era of wooden sailing fleets and be followed up by the building of future battleships.

The concept of a naval battle has been around since approximately 1210 B.C.E. However, it would be several thousands of years before its most important and revolutionary changes would be brought about. The idea of a submersible ship has been around since the Revolution, although its success was minimal at best. The first modern submarine would be developed in the late 19th century and would be first used successfully in warfare by the Germans in World War 1. It arguably led to the American’s victory over Japan in World War II. Since their development submarines have paved the way for the evolution of strategy, revolutionary new tactics, as well as playing a vital role in the nuclear triad, redefining war.

Even though the battle of Gaines Mill took place at the same battleground as the battle of Cold Harbor, the battle of Cold Harbor and the battle of Gaines mill were not nearly the same. The battle of Gaines Mill was a battle fought in the Civil War. It took place on June 27, 1862 in a small town located about 10 miles from Richmond. It lasted one to two hours. This battle resulted in a Confederate victory. General Robert Lee commanded the Confederate army and General George McClellan commanded the Union army. This town was so important to the Union army that they tried capturing the same town two years later! It was important because they needed to capture Cold Harbor in order to capture the Confederate capitol of Richmond, Virginia. The battle of Cold Harbor was located in the same place as Gaines Mill. It took place on May 31 and ended on June 12. General Grant and his Union army went up against General Lee and his Confederate army. Lee had won again. Grant and his army would have won the battle of Cold Harbor but his plan was ruined. Grant had to postpone the battle to June third instead of June second because he needed to wait for more troops to arrive. This gave Lee more time to get ready for the attack and the next day, the Union army got slaughtered.