Annual Manoeuvres of 1914: Difference between revisions
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The [[Royal Navy]]'s '''Annual Manoeuvres of 1914''' were cancelled on 20th February 1914 and replaced by a '''Test | The [[Royal Navy]]'s '''Annual Manoeuvres of 1914''' were cancelled on 20th February 1914 and replaced by a '''Test Mobilisation''' of the Reserve Fleet.<ref>M11959/14 From Admiralty to C-in-C, Home Fleets, dated 20th February 1914. Backhouse Papers, Naval Historical Branch.</ref> This decision was to prove fortuitous as the international tensions of the summer made war with Germany seem increasingly possible, and finally inevitable. | ||
Though some preparations began on 13 July, the schedule for this exercise was planned to be as follows:{{ToL|Naval Mobilization|14 July 1914, p. 16}} | Though some preparations began on 13 July, the schedule for this exercise was planned to be as follows:{{ToL|Naval Mobilization|14 July 1914, p. 16}} | ||
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On July 23, Austria presented its ultimatum to Serbia following the assassination of the Archduke at Sarajevo. As a result the British government, at the last minute, cancelled the dispersal of the reserve fleet. The First Fleet was ordered to remain at Portland, and those reserve ships which had begun to disperse were ordered to retain their full crews and take on coal, stores and ammunition. These changes were achieved as quietly as possible, to avoid enflaming an already very tense political situation<ref>Sir Julian Corbett, ''Naval Operations: History of the Great War based on Official Documents, Volume 1'', (Uckfield: Imperial War Museum and Naval & Military Press, 2009 [1938]), 23-24.</ref>. As a result, the Royal Navy was more ready for the start of the Great War than it might otherwise have been. | On July 23, Austria presented its ultimatum to Serbia following the assassination of the Archduke at Sarajevo. As a result the British government, at the last minute, cancelled the dispersal of the reserve fleet. The First Fleet was ordered to remain at Portland, and those reserve ships which had begun to disperse were ordered to retain their full crews and take on coal, stores and ammunition. These changes were achieved as quietly as possible, to avoid enflaming an already very tense political situation<ref>Sir Julian Corbett, ''Naval Operations: History of the Great War based on Official Documents, Volume 1'', (Uckfield: Imperial War Museum and Naval & Military Press, 2009 [1938]), 23-24.</ref>. As a result, the Royal Navy was more ready for the start of the Great War than it might otherwise have been. | ||
An indication of the care taken to ensure that the maintenance of the Fleet remained secret is given in these orders quoted by [[Winston Churchill]]: | |||
"To-morrow, Wednesday (July 29), the First Fleet is to leave Portland for Scapa Flow. Destination is to be kept secret except to flag and commanding officers. As you are required at the Admiralty, Vice-Admiral [[Second Battle Squadron (Royal Navy)|2nd Battle Squadron]] ([[George John Scott Warrender, Seventh Baronet|Warrender]]) is to take command. Course from Portland is to be shaped to southward, then a middle Channel course to the Straits of Dover. The Squadrons are to pass through the Straits without lights during the night and to pass outside the shoals on their way north. {{UK-Agamemnon}} is to remain at Portland, where the Second fleet will assemble."<ref>Churchill. ''The World Crisis''. p. 225.</ref> | |||
==Order of Battle== | ==Order of Battle== | ||
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{{refbegin}} | {{refbegin}} | ||
* M11959/14 From Admiralty to C-in-C, Home Fleets, dated 20th February 1914. Backhouse Papers, Naval Historical Branch, Portsmouth, UK. | * M11959/14 From Admiralty to C-in-C, Home Fleets, dated 20th February 1914. Backhouse Papers, Naval Historical Branch, Portsmouth, UK. | ||
* Vice-Admiral Cecil Burney | * Vice-Admiral Cecil Burney. ''Second and Third Fleets Serial Orders'', 11 June 1914, Backhouse Papers, Naval Historical Branch, Portsmouth, UK | ||
* Churchill, Winston."The World Crisis.", London: Macmillan, 1923 | |||
* Corbett, J S. ''Naval Operations: History of the Great War based on Official Documents'', Uckfield: Imperial War Museum and Naval & Military Press, 2009 [1938], | * Corbett, J S. ''Naval Operations: History of the Great War based on Official Documents'', Uckfield: Imperial War Museum and Naval & Military Press, 2009 [1938], | ||
{{refend}} | {{refend}} | ||
Latest revision as of 12:04, 19 December 2021
The Royal Navy's Annual Manoeuvres of 1914 were cancelled on 20th February 1914 and replaced by a Test Mobilisation of the Reserve Fleet.[1] This decision was to prove fortuitous as the international tensions of the summer made war with Germany seem increasingly possible, and finally inevitable.
Though some preparations began on 13 July, the schedule for this exercise was planned to be as follows:[2]
| Wednesday 15th July | Reserve called up |
| 16th and 17th July | Mobilise |
| Saturday 18th July | Proceed to rendezvous |
| 19th to 23rd July | At rendezvous and tactical exercises at sea |
| Friday 24th July | Arrive Home Ports |
| Saturday 25th July, 9am | Discharge reserves |
On July 23, Austria presented its ultimatum to Serbia following the assassination of the Archduke at Sarajevo. As a result the British government, at the last minute, cancelled the dispersal of the reserve fleet. The First Fleet was ordered to remain at Portland, and those reserve ships which had begun to disperse were ordered to retain their full crews and take on coal, stores and ammunition. These changes were achieved as quietly as possible, to avoid enflaming an already very tense political situation[3]. As a result, the Royal Navy was more ready for the start of the Great War than it might otherwise have been.
An indication of the care taken to ensure that the maintenance of the Fleet remained secret is given in these orders quoted by Winston Churchill:
"To-morrow, Wednesday (July 29), the First Fleet is to leave Portland for Scapa Flow. Destination is to be kept secret except to flag and commanding officers. As you are required at the Admiralty, Vice-Admiral 2nd Battle Squadron (Warrender) is to take command. Course from Portland is to be shaped to southward, then a middle Channel course to the Straits of Dover. The Squadrons are to pass through the Straits without lights during the night and to pass outside the shoals on their way north. Agamemnon is to remain at Portland, where the Second fleet will assemble."[4]
Order of Battle
The ships of the reserve formed the Second and Third Fleets as follows under fleet flagship Lord Nelson:[5]
| Battle Squadrons (+ denotes attached vessels) | |||||||||||
| Fifth | Sixth | Seventh | Eighth | ||||||||
Prince of Wales  |
Russell  |
Prince George |
Albion
| ||||||||
| Bulwark | Albemarle | Hannibal |
Ocean
| ||||||||
| Formidable | Exmouth | Illustrious | Goliath | ||||||||
| Implacable | Vengeance | Magnificent | Jupiter | ||||||||
| Irresistible | Topaze+ | Majestic | Canopus | ||||||||
| London | Mars | Glory | |||||||||
| Queen | Victorious | Sapphire+ | |||||||||
| Diamond+ | Doris+ | ||||||||||
| Other Forces | |||||||||||
| Training Squadron | 1st Light Cruiser Squadron | Minelayer Squadron | Unappropriated | ||||||||
| Crescent (flag) | Falmouth+ | Andromache | Vindictive | ||||||||
| Edgar | Liverpool+ | Apollo | |||||||||
| Endymion | Intrepid | ||||||||||
| Gibraltar | Iphigenia | ||||||||||
| Grafton | Latona | ||||||||||
| Royal Arthur | Naiad | ||||||||||
| Theseus | Thetis | ||||||||||
Footnotes
- ↑ M11959/14 From Admiralty to C-in-C, Home Fleets, dated 20th February 1914. Backhouse Papers, Naval Historical Branch.
- ↑ "Naval Mobilization." The Times (London, England), 14 July 1914, p. 16.
- ↑ Sir Julian Corbett, Naval Operations: History of the Great War based on Official Documents, Volume 1, (Uckfield: Imperial War Museum and Naval & Military Press, 2009 [1938]), 23-24.
- ↑ Churchill. The World Crisis. p. 225.
- ↑ Vice-Admiral Cecil Burney, Second and Third Fleets Serial Orders, 11 June 1914, Backhouse Papers, Naval Historical Branch
Bibliography
- M11959/14 From Admiralty to C-in-C, Home Fleets, dated 20th February 1914. Backhouse Papers, Naval Historical Branch, Portsmouth, UK.
- Vice-Admiral Cecil Burney. Second and Third Fleets Serial Orders, 11 June 1914, Backhouse Papers, Naval Historical Branch, Portsmouth, UK
- Churchill, Winston."The World Crisis.", London: Macmillan, 1923
- Corbett, J S. Naval Operations: History of the Great War based on Official Documents, Uckfield: Imperial War Museum and Naval & Military Press, 2009 [1938],
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