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The war at sea and Gallipoli

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Britain relied on its navy to protect its trade and blockade Germany. At Gallipoli, an attempt to break the deadlock elsewhere ended in failure.

Surface battles

Heligoland Bight (1914) and Dogger Bank (1915): British successes in the North Sea.
Jutland (1916): the only major clash of the battle fleets. Britain lost more ships and men, but the German High Seas Fleet returned to port and rarely came out again, so Britain kept control of the sea.

U-boats

German U-boats (submarines) attacked ships bringing supplies to Britain.
The sinking of the liner Lusitania (1915) killed over a thousand people, including Americans, turning US opinion against Germany.
Unrestricted submarine warfare (1917) nearly starved Britain, until the convoy system cut losses.

Gallipoli, 1915 to 16

The plan, backed by Winston Churchill, was to knock Turkey (the Ottoman Empire) out of the war and open a supply route to Russia.
Naval attacks failed, then troops, including ANZACs (Australians and New Zealanders), landed in April 1915.
They were trapped on narrow beaches; disease and heat added to heavy losses. The troops were evacuated by January 1916.
Worked example

Who won the Battle of Jutland?

  1. Germany sank more British ships and killed more men.
  2. But the German fleet returned to port and rarely came out again.
  3. So Britain kept control of the North Sea and the blockade of Germany.

Answer: Germany won tactically, but Britain won strategically by keeping control of the sea.

Key idea

North Sea: Heligoland Bight (1914), Dogger Bank (1915), Jutland (1916), after which the German fleet stayed in port. U-boats: the Lusitania (1915), unrestricted submarine warfare (1917), defeated by convoys. Gallipoli (1915 to 16) failed, with heavy ANZAC losses.

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