In terms of numbers of capital ships (battleships and battle cruisers) the Allied Powers of Britain, France, Russia, and Japan had a clear advantage over Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire. This does not take into account qualitative differences. Nor does it calculate the reluctance of some powers to hazard capital ships in combat for fear of possible loss of national prestige or upsetting the balance of power in a given theater of war.
The Allies, thanks particularly to the Royal Navy, had a global reach, enhanced by numerous naval bases around the world. The German navy was concentrated in the North Sea. But the well-trained German navy was superior to other navies in such technologically advanced areas as fire control, internal subdivision, quality of gun propellant, and gunnery. Moreover, all navies, with the exception of the Russian and Japanese, had little experience in modern naval combat, and for the most part the admirals were conservative, especially regarding the commitment of resources to combat.
On some seas the Allies did not have the advantage. Thus the German navy dominated the Baltic, and the Central Powers contested control of the Black Sea. In the Adriatic the …show more content…
In number of capital ships, the British dominated with twenty-five battleships and battle cruisers to oppose sixteen in German service. The British were also able to add to that total by requisitioning ships under construction for other navies (two for the Ottoman Empire and one for Chile) and completing several others of their own. In capital ships, however, the Germans had only the battle cruiser Goeben stationed overseas at the start of the war, while Britain had capital ships in the Mediterranean and the Far East. And, as the war progressed, Britain found it necessary to send dreadnought battleships and battle cruisers elsewhere in the world, while Germany only detached them for duty in the nearby Baltic
The Allies, thanks particularly to the Royal Navy, had a global reach, enhanced by numerous naval bases around the world. The German navy was concentrated in the North Sea. But the well-trained German navy was superior to other navies in such technologically advanced areas as fire control, internal subdivision, quality of gun propellant, and gunnery. Moreover, all navies, with the exception of the Russian and Japanese, had little experience in modern naval combat, and for the most part the admirals were conservative, especially regarding the commitment of resources to combat.
On some seas the Allies did not have the advantage. Thus the German navy dominated the Baltic, and the Central Powers contested control of the Black Sea. In the Adriatic the …show more content…
In number of capital ships, the British dominated with twenty-five battleships and battle cruisers to oppose sixteen in German service. The British were also able to add to that total by requisitioning ships under construction for other navies (two for the Ottoman Empire and one for Chile) and completing several others of their own. In capital ships, however, the Germans had only the battle cruiser Goeben stationed overseas at the start of the war, while Britain had capital ships in the Mediterranean and the Far East. And, as the war progressed, Britain found it necessary to send dreadnought battleships and battle cruisers elsewhere in the world, while Germany only detached them for duty in the nearby Baltic