TECHNOLOGY AND STRATEGY1865-1890

Sea Power & Maritime AffairsLesson 6

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Last Class

American Civil War Causes Outbreak of war Union and Confederate strategies Navies' roles in war Lessons from war

Today

Post American Civil War Revolution in Navy technology

8 Key Themes

1. Navy as an instrument of foreign policy2. Interaction between Congress and Navy3. Interservice relations4. Technology5. Leadership6. Strategy & Tactics7. Evolution of US Naval Doctrine8. Future missions of Navy and USMC

SEAPOWER & MARITIME AFFAIRSPost Civil War - WWI

How strong is the US Navy?

700 Ships 5000 Guns 58,000 Sailors

52 Ship 500 Guns 6000 Sailors

End of Civil War 5 Years Later

Reason?

Post-war Domestic Issues– “Reconstruction”– economic depression– Federal debt– Political squabbling

Result– Internal focus– External Isolationism– Naval Defense loses importance

Impact on American Sea Power?

US sea power declines no longer major naval

power #1 (or #2) in world to #12

Navy underfunded• Ships • R&D• People (Officers/Enlisted)• Training

US Naval Sea Power Naval Force

“Dark Ages

Navy Stagnates for 15 years

Technology

Era of experimentationDevelopment of “Modern Warship”

Who Leads It?

British French Germans

What is different?

What is different?

Changes to Ships

Hull material (40 years) Wood-Iron Iron Iron-steel (1872) Steel (1886) Nickel-Steel

Other features Gun concentration in center Compartmentization Engine efficiency increases Oil replaces coal Rams

24” to 6” (20 years)

Turn of 20th Century: Armor ineffective

Ship Design Armor

New ShipsHMS Dreadnought

– All-Big-Gun Battleship– 1905– Turbine Engines / 21 KIAS– “Dreadnought” v. “Pre-Dreadnought”

** All battleships obsolete

Battle Cruisers As big as battleships Less armor Many guns and fast

Destroyers Attack torpedo boats Torpedo carrier Screen for capital ships Anti-submarine Scouting

HMS Dreadnought1905

“Pre-Dreadnought” or “Dreadnought”

Changes to Guns & Munitions

Breech-loading Wrought Iron Steel (1881) Recoil

Brown powder Smokeless powder Armor-piercing shells

Guns Munitions

Torpedoes

Led to need for submarine destroyers

Fish Torpedo (1871) First effective destroyer

Torpedoes Torpedo Boats (Destroyers)

Submarine John Phillip Holland

– Irish-American

1900 – USS Holland– Mechanically-powered– Attacking armored vessels and harbor protection– No counter-weapons

Emerging Technology Aircraft

1903 – Wright Brothers

Purpose – Torpedo plane– Scout

1910-1912– Eugene Ely– Glenn Curtis– LT T. G. Ellyson– Naval Flight School

Emerging Technology Aircraft

Eugene Ely Nov. 14, 1910 Hampton Roads USS Birmingham

Emerging Technology Aircraft

Glen Curtis Curtis Seaplane

Emerging Technology Aircraft

1910-1912– LT T. G. Ellyson– Naval Flight School

Radio

**Invention of greatest immediate consequence– Instantly implemented– Enormous consequence in succeeding

wars

The “Big Picture”

Accelerating technological advancements– Fast obsolescence

Short life for cutting-edge ships– Competition to stay ahead of others– US Navy was a laggard

Was this good or bad?

ABCD Ships 1883 Reason: Diplomatic impotence USS Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dolphin First “All-Steel” ships Boon for steel industry

Congress begins authorizing consistent ship construction.

Why do we care?

How did tactics change?

Tactics more complex but not institutionalized– Battle of Lissa– Spanish-American War– Russo-Japanese War

Overall– Less formality (no line)– Distant engagements– Battle Group tactics

• Ships• Attacks• Munitions

History

Wars, conflicts, and interventionsDiplomacy

Major Events?

US Conflicts– Small international conflicts• Pacific & Caribbean

– Spanish-American War (1898)

Uninvolved International Conflict– Russo-Japanese War (1905)

American foreign Policy? “Open Door Policy” (1899) Roosevelt Corollary (1904)– Venezuela, Dominican Republic & Cuba– “Speak softly and carry a big stick”

Overall foreign policy Spirit of Imperialism Awareness of Navy’s role– Economy– National Strength– Foreign Policy

Colonialism Pre-1900

Virginius Affair Cuban Civil War Virginius was American ship hired by

insurrectionists to supply revolution– American & British crew– Spanish capture it– (53) executed for piracy

Enormous international tension– US poised to declare war– Settlement: Reparations for affected families

Sparks Naval Renaissance: we realize there is no weight to our threats

1873-1875

Samoan Crisis Samoan Civil War– Germany interfering (colonial ambition)

US and Great Britain opposed Germany– Tense standoff – (3) American v. (3) German warships

Before hostilities, a cyclone wrecked all (6) ships.

Standoff ends Agreed to partition– American Samoa– German Samoa

1887-1889

True Blue Saloon Incident

Chilean Revolution USS Baltimore sent to protect American interests 2 killed, 18 wounded at bar in

Valparaiso US demands restitution Chile pays, but US realizes its Navy is

weaker than Chile’s Navy.

1891

What do these incidents teach US?

Reinforce “Social Darwinism” Navy is key to– International diplomacy– National prosperity

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