Naval Strategy - The Impact of The World Wars

The Impact of The World Wars

The submarine, introduced in World War I, led to the development of new weapons and tactics. In both world wars the submarine was employed mainly as a commerce destroyer and, as such, could not by itself gain command of the sea. But the guerre de course in the form of the submarine campaign almost defeated the British in 1917, until the belated reintroduction of convoy. The same strategy, deployed by the Americans, overwhelmed Japan in the Pacific from 1943 onwards. Similar German efforts to interrupt Allied trade with surface warships and auxiliaries operating as commerce destroyers on the trade routes caused great disruption and delay, but never truly threatened Allied communications in either war. The development of air power led to further tactical changes, including the emergence of aircraft carriers and naval air fleets. Rather than invade every Japanese-held island in the Pacific, the Americans developed the island-hopping strategy of neutralizing and then bypassing the major Japanese bases, only taking the islands needed to provide bases for the fleet or air forces. By the end of the Second World War, it was clear that command of the sea rested not just on control of the surface of the sea, but also the air above it and the waters beneath it.