Moreover, Britain's maintenance of the blockade of Germany during World War I played a significant role in Germany's defeat in 1918.

Major fleet actions in the North Sea, however, proved indecisive.įor example, while the Royal Navy lost more ships at Jutland, it still maintained its blockade of Germany and as such 'won' the battle. Between 19, Churchill had served as Britain's First Lord of the Admiralty, the political head of the Royal Navy.

After World War I, Winston Churchill famously said Sir John Jellicoe, the commander of Britain's Grand Fleet, was 'the only man on either side who could lose the war in an afternoon'. The expectation was that these ships would meet in a major decisive fleet engagement that would decide the war.Īs the world's greatest maritime power, Britain was so dependent on her navy. These were the largest, most heavily armed ships in a fleet, like dreadnoughts, battleships and heavy cruisers. single-ship engagements, such as the Battle of Cocos between HMAS Sydney and SMS Emden in 1914īefore the war, Europe's major nations, especially the United Kingdom (UK) and Germany, had built up massive fleets of capital ships.large-scale engagements, such as the Battle of Jutland between the Royal Navy’s Grand Fleet and Imperial Germany's High Seas Fleet in 1916.Naval warfare during World War I depended on the types of vessels engaged.

Which battle were the tanks first used