The Last Century of Sea Power, Volume 1: From Port Arthur to Chanak, 1894–1922

582 Pages·2009·9.59 MB·English

by  H. P. Willmott

WAR & MILITARY $34.95
the

WILLMOTT
Last Century
H. P. WILLMOTT has written extensively on the
Last Century
H.P. Willmott
is the fi nest naval historian
warfare in general and the Second World War Sea Power
of
in particular. Among his books are Th e Battle of and among the fi nest historians of any discipline
Volume 1
Leyte Gulf: Th e Last Fleet Action (Indiana Uni- writing today. His latest work, Th e Last Century Sea Power
o t of From Port Arthur to Chanak,
versity Press, 2005), a Society of Military His-
of Sea Power: From Port Arthur to Chanak, 1894–
h 1894–1922
tory prize winner; Empires in the Balance; Th e f
1922, further strengthens that richly deserved
H. P. WILLMOTT
Barrier and the Javelin; Th e Great Crusade; e
S
accolade. Th is book, fi rst of three volumes, Volume 1
Grave of a Dozen Schemes: British Naval Plan-
e L
Th e transition to modern war at sea begins dur-
contains a wealth of facts and opinions, the latter
ning and the War against Japan, 1943–1945; and
a a ing the period of the Sino-Japanese War (1895)
When Men Lost Faith in Reason: Refl ections on provided with Willmott’s unerring analytical eye
and the Spanish-American War (1898) and is
s From Port Arthur to Chanak, 1894–1922
Warfare in the Twentieth Century. He is a native and mordant wit. Th e book is further enriched P
t propelled forward rapidly by the advent of the
of Engelfi eld Green, Egham, Surrey.
by extensive appendices and maps. Th e period o
dreadnought and the nearly continuous state of

under discussion is little more than a quarter- w C war that culminates in World War I. By 1922,
century, but it was a period of immense maritime most of the elements that will defi ne sea power
e
e in the twentieth century are in place. Written by
developments, marking the advent of the machine n
r one of our foremost military historians, this
age in maritime warfare. Willmott states that his
t volume acknowledges the complex nature of

purpose as a historian is not just to describe events,
u this transformation, considering imperialism,
but to explain them. Th is he does superbly in Th e
the growth of fl eets, changes in shipbuilding
r
Last Century of Sea Power. and armament technology, and doctrines about
y
the deployment and use of force at sea, among
—Bernard D. Cole, National War College

Jacket: Irwin Bevan (1852–1940), HMS Marlboro Going into other factors. Careful attention is paid to the
Action at Jutland. Watercolor, n.d. Maritime Prints.
many battles fought at sea during this period
and their impact on the future of sea power. Th e
narrative is supplemented by a series of appen-
1
dices, including a detailed census of capital
ships built during this period and a remarkable
chronology of actions at sea during WWI.
INDIANA
University Press
Bloomington & Indianapolis
H. P. WILLMOTT
INDIANA
www.iupress.indiana.edu
1-800-842-6796
The Last Century of Sea Power

The Last
Century
of Sea
Power
Volume One: From Port Arthur
to Chanak, 1894–1922
H. P. Willmott
Indiana University Press
Bloomington and Indianapolis
This book is a publication of
Indiana University Press
601 North Morton Street
Bloomington, IN 47404-3797 USA
http://iupress.indiana.edu
Telephone orders 800-842-6796
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© 2009 by H. P. Willmott
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on
Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition.
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed
Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.
Manufactured in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Willmott, H. P.
The last century of sea power : from Port Arthur to Chanak, 1894–1922 /
H.P. Willmott.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-253-35214-9 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Naval history, Modern—19th
century. 2. Naval history, Modern—20th century. I. Title.
D362.W68 2008
359'.0309041—dc22
2008015018
1 2 3 4 5 14 13 12 11 10 09
Dedicated to FY1645
and
in Praise of
Toleration, Uncertainty, and Dissent

contents
List of Maps xi
Preface and Acknowledgments xiii
Part 1. Definitions and Terms of Reference
Introduction 3
one The Sino-Japanese War, 1894–1895 19
Appendix 1.1. The Pacific and the East Indies in the
Nineteenth Century 28
two The Greco-Turkish War of 1897 31
three The Spanish-American War of 1898 37
Appendix 3.1. The Actions in the Philippines and the
American Order of Battle 50
Appendix 3.2. The Campaign on Puerto Rico 52
four The Shifting Balance of Power 53
Appendix 4.1. The German 1898 Building Program 62
Appendix 4.2. The Boxer Rebellion and South Africa 64
Part 2. From Port Arthur to Bucharest, 1898 to 1913
Introduction 69
five The Russo-Japanese War: The First Phases 74
Appendix 5.1. Submarines and the Russo-Japanese War 101
Appendix 5.2. The Japanese Attack at Port Arthur, 8 February
1904 103
viii contents
Appendix 5.3. The Second and Third Blocking
Operations 105
Appendix 5.4. The Order of Battle in the Action of 10 August
1904 107
Appendix 5.5. The Fate of Russian Ships with the 1st Pacific
Squadron at Port Arthur 108
six The Russo-Japanese War: The Battle of Tsushima
and Its Aftermath 111
Appendix 6.1. The Fate of Russian Ships with the 2nd and 3rd
Pacific Squadrons 128
Appendix 6.2. Japanese Warships Sunk and Damaged at the
Battle off Tsushima 130
Appendix 6.3. The Campaign on Sakhalin 132
Appendix 6.4. The Opening of the Portsmouth
Conference 134
seven The Dreadnought Naval Race 135
Appendix 7.1. British and German Battleship and
Battlecruiser Programs and Construction, 1905–1914:
Summary by Year 149
Appendix 7.2. British and German Capital Ship Programs and
Construction, 1905–1913 151
Appendix 7.3. The Battleships and Battlecruisers of the Major
Powers, 1905–1913 160
eight Prelude to the First World War 165
Part 3. From Sarajevo to Constantinople, 1914 to 1922
Introduction 189
Appendix Part 3.Intro.1 British Trade in the First World
War 205
a. The Volume of Imports Entering British ports in 1913,
1917, and 1918 by Commodities 206
b. Cargoes and British Ports, 1913–1919 208
contents ix
Appendix Part 3.Intro.2 Shipping and the Major Allied and
Neutral Powers in the First World War: Gains and
Losses 211
nine The War in Northern Waters 215
Appendix 9.1. The Battle off Heligoland, 28 August 1914 235
Appendix 9.2. The Battles off Coronel, 1 November, and the
Falklands, 8 December 1914 237
Appendix 9.3. The Battle off the Dogger Bank, 24 January
1915 240
Appendix 9.4. The Battle of Jutland, 31 May–1 June 1916 242
Appendix 9.5. The Scale of Convoy Escorts Assigned to
Various Ports, 1917–1918 and the Expansion of the British
Navy between 1914 and 1918 249
a. The Scale of Convoy Escorts assigned to Various Ports,
1917–1918 250
b. The Wartime Expansion of the British Navy 251
Appendix 9.6. Convoys and Losses: May 1917–November
1918 255
Appendix 9.7. U-boat and Shipping Losses in the First World
War 258
a. Total German U-boat, Aggregate Allied and Neutral,
and British Shipping Losses to Enemy Action and Sinkings
by German Regional Formations in the First World
War 259
b. German Figures Relating to the Sinkings of Allied and
Neutral Merchantmen by Submarines and by Regional
Commands 263
Appendix 9.8 The Campaign against Shipping: High Seas
and Coastal Convoy Sailings and Losses 266
a. Convoys to and from British Waters 267
b. Coastal and Short-Haul Convoys 269
ten Tsingtao and the Dardanelles 270