Submarine war 1915 1916 thin film. How the German submarine fleet tried to crush the “mistress of the seas. German submariners went hunting

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The year 1915 began with the intensification of hostilities by the belligerents. Symbolizing the emergence of sinister new means of warfare, on January 19, German Zeppelins began raiding the east coast of England. Several people died in the ports of Norfolk, several bombs fell near the royal house in Sendringham. On January 24, a short but fierce battle took place off Dogger Bank in the North Sea, during which the German cruiser Blucher was sunk and two battlecruisers were damaged. The British battlecruiser Lion was also seriously damaged.

Second Masurian battle

In February 1915, Germany launched a major offensive in East Prussia(Augustow and Prasnysh), which was called the second Masurian battle. On February 7, 1915, the 8th (General von Below) and 10th (General Eichhorn) German armies went on the offensive from East Prussia. Their main blow fell on the area of the Polish city of Augustow, where the 10th Russian Army (General Sievers) was located. Having created a numerical superiority in this direction, the Germans attacked the flanks of the Sievers army and tried to surround it.

At the second stage, a breakthrough of the entire North-Western Front is envisaged. But due to the resilience of the soldiers of the 10th Army, the Germans did not succeed in completely pinching it. Only the 20th Corps of General Bulgakov was surrounded. For 10 days, he valiantly repulsed the attacks of the German units in the snowy forests near Augustus, preventing them from conducting a further offensive. Having used up all the ammunition, the remnants of the corps attacked the German positions in the hope of breaking through to their own. Having overturned the German infantry in hand-to-hand combat, the Russian soldiers died heroically under the fire of German guns. “Trying to break through was sheer madness.

But this holy madness is heroism, which showed the Russian warrior in his full light, which we know from the time of Skobelev, the time of the storming of Plevna, the battle in the Caucasus and the storming of Warsaw! The Russian soldier knows how to fight very well, he endures all sorts of hardships and is able to be steadfast, even if certain death is inevitable! ”Wrote the German war correspondent R. Brandt in those days. Thanks to this courageous resistance, the 10th Army was able to withdraw most of its forces from under attack by mid-February and took up defensive positions on the Kovno-Osovets line. The Northwestern Front withstood, and then managed to partially restore the lost

positions. Great help in stabilizing the front was provided heroic defense Fortress Osovets. Almost simultaneously, fighting broke out in another section of the East Prussian border, where the 12th Russian Army (General Plehve) stood. On February 20, in the Prasnysh region (Poland), units of the 8th German Army (General von Belov) attacked her. The city was defended by a detachment under the command of Colonel Barybin, who for several days heroically repulsed the attacks of superior German forces. On February 24, 1915, Prasnysh fell. But its staunch defense gave the Russians time to bring up the necessary reserves, which were being prepared in accordance with the Russian plan for the winter offensive in East Prussia. On February 25, the 1st Siberian Corps of General Pleshkov approached Prasnysh, attacking the Germans on the move. In a two-day winter battle, the Siberians completely defeated the German formations and drove them out of the city. Soon, the entire 12th Army, replenished with reserves, went on the general offensive, which, after stubborn battles, threw the Germans back to the borders of East Prussia; In the meantime, the 10th Army also went on the offensive, clearing the Augustow forests from the Germans. The front was restored, but the Russian troops could not achieve more. The Germans lost about 40 thousand people in this battle, the Russians - about 100 thousand. On February 12, the French launched a new offensive in Champagne. Losses were huge, the French lost about 50,000 men, advancing almost 500 yards. This was followed by a British attack on Neustal in March 1915 and a new French offensive in April in eastbound. However, these actions did not bring tangible results to the Allies.

In the east, on March 22, after the siege, Russian troops captured the fortress of Przemysl, which dominated the bridgehead on the San River in Galicia. Over 100,000 Austrians were taken prisoner, not counting the heavy losses suffered by Austria during unsuccessful attempts to lift the siege. Russia's strategy in early 1915 was to advance towards Silesia and Hungary while securing reliable flanks. During this campaign, the capture of Przemysl was the main success of the Russian army (although it managed to hold this fortress for only two months). At the beginning of May 1915, a major offensive began by the troops of the Central Powers in the East. Gorlitsky breakthrough. The beginning of the Great Retreat Having failed to push the Russian troops near the borders of East Prussia and in the Carpathians, the German command decided to implement the third option of a breakthrough. It was supposed to be carried out between the Vistula and the Carpathians, in the region of Gorlitsa. By that time, more than half of the armed forces of the Austro-German bloc were concentrated against Russia. But, before launching an offensive in the Gorlitsa area, the German command undertook a number of offensive operations V

East Prussia and Poland against the troops of the North-Western Front. Moreover, in the offensive against Russian troops near Warsaw on May 31, 1915, the Germans successfully used gases for the first time. More than nine thousand Russian soldiers were poisoned, of which 1183 people died. Russian troops did not use gas masks then. On the 35-kilometer breakthrough section near Gorlitsa, an attack group was created under the command of General Mackensen. It included the newly formed 11; the German army, consisting of three selected German corps and the 6th Austrian corps, in which there were Hungarians (Hungarians were considered the best soldiers of the multi-tribal Austrian army). In addition, Mackenzin was subordinated to the 10th German Corps and the 4th Austrian Army. The Mackenzin group outnumbered the 3rd Russian Army (General Radko-Dmitriev) standing in this area in manpower - two times, in light artillery - three times, in heavy artillery - 40 times, in machine guns - two and a half times . On May 2, 1915, the Mackensen group (357 thousand people) went on the offensive. The Russian command, knowing about the buildup of forces in this area, did not provide a timely counterattack. Large reinforcements were sent here belatedly, introduced into battle in parts and quickly perished in battles with superior enemy forces. The Gorlitsky breakthrough clearly revealed the problem of lack of ammunition, especially shells.

The overwhelming superiority in heavy artillery was one of the main reasons for this greatest success of the Germans on the Russian front. “Eleven days of the terrible rumble of German heavy artillery, literally tearing down entire rows of trenches along with their defenders,” recalled General A. I. Denikin, a participant in those events. - We almost did not answer - nothing. The regiments, exhausted to the last degree, fought off one attack after another - with bayonets or point-blank shooting, blood flowed, the ranks thinned, grave mounds grew ... Two regiments were almost destroyed by one fire. Gorlitsky breakthrough created a threat of encirclement of Russian troops in the Carpathians. Other Austro-Hungarian armies, reinforced by German corps, also went on the offensive. The troops of the Southwestern Front began a widespread withdrawal. At the same time, the 48th division of General L. G. Kornilov fell into a difficult situation, which fought out of the encirclement, but Kornilov himself and his headquarters were captured. I had to leave the cities conquered by the Russians with such great bloodshed: Przemysl, Lvov, and others. By June 22, 1915, having lost 500 thousand people, Russian troops left the whole of Galicia. But the enemy lost a lot, only Mackensen's group lost two-thirds of its personnel. Through courageous resistance

Russian soldiers and the Mackensen group could not quickly enter the operational space. In general, its offensive was reduced to "pushing through" the Russian front. He was seriously pushed back to the east, but not defeated. The shock forces of the 11th German Army of Field Marshal Mackensen, supported by the 40th Austro-Hungarian Army, went on the offensive on a 20-mile front in Western Galicia. Russian troops were forced to leave Lvov and

Warsaw. In the summer, the German command carried out a breakthrough of the Russian front near Gorlitsa. Soon the Germans launched an offensive in the Baltic states, and Russian troops lost Galicia, Poland, part of Latvia and Belarus. The enemy was preoccupied with the need to repel the impending attack on Serbia, as well as to return troops to the Western Front before the start of a new French offensive. During the four-month campaign, Russia lost only 800,000 soldiers captured. However, the Russian command, having switched to strategic defense, managed to withdraw its armies from enemy attacks and stop its advance. Worried and exhausted, the Austro-German armies went on the defensive along the entire front in October. Germany was faced with the need to continue a long war on two fronts. Russia bore the brunt of the struggle, which provided France and England with a respite to mobilize the economy for the needs of the war. On February 16, 1915, British and French warships began shelling Turkish defenses in the Dardanelles. With interruptions due in part to bad weather, this naval operation continued for two months.

The Dardanelles operation was undertaken at the request of Russia to deliver a diversionary strike against Turkey, which would relieve pressure on the Russians who were fighting the Turks in the Caucasus. In January, the Dardanelles, a strait about 40 miles long and 1 to 4 miles wide, connecting the Aegean Sea with the Marmara Sea, was chosen as the target. The operation to capture the Dardanelles, opening the way to an attack on Constantinople, figured in the military plans of the Allies before the start of the war, but was rejected as too complicated. With Turkey's entry into the war, this plan was revised as possible, although risky. Initially, a purely naval operation was planned, but it immediately became clear that a combined sea and land operation had to be undertaken. This plan has received strong support from English first Lord Admiralty Winston Churchill. The outcome of the operation, and if it was successful, the "back door" would be opened for Russia was called into question by the unwillingness of the allies to immediately send sufficiently large forces and the choice mainly

obsolete warships. In the beginning, Türkiye had only two divisions to defend the strait. At the time of the landing of the Allied troops, she had six divisions and outnumbered the five Allied divisions, apart from the presence of excellent natural fortifications. Early on the morning of April 25, 1915, Allied troops landed at two points on the Gallipoli Peninsula. The British landed at Cape Ilyas, at the southern end of the peninsula, while the Australians and New Zealand units advanced about 15 miles north along the Aegean coast. At the same time, the French brigade launched a diversionary attack on Kumkale on the Anatolian coast. Despite barbed wire and heavy machine-gun fire, both groups managed to secure a foothold. However, the Turks held the heights, with the result that the British, Australian and New Zealand troops were unable to move forward.

In the end, as in Western front, it's quiet here. In August, British troops landed in Suvla Bay, trying to capture the central part of the peninsula opposite the passage. Although the landing in the bay was sudden, the command of the troops was unsatisfactory, and the opportunity for a breakthrough was lost. The offensive in the south was also unsuccessful. The British government decided to withdraw troops. W. Churchill was forced to resign as First Lord of the Admiralty. On May 23, 1915, Italy declared war on Austria, signing a secret treaty with the Allies in London in April. The Tripartite Alliance, linking Italy to the Central Powers, was denounced, although at this time she refused to declare war on Germany.

At the start of the war, Italy declared its neutrality on the grounds that the Triple Alliance did not oblige it to take part in a war of aggression. However, the main reason for Italy's actions was the desire to obtain territorial acquisitions at the expense of Austria. Austria was unwilling to make the concessions that Italy sought, such as giving up Trieste. In addition, by 1915 public opinion began to lean in favor of the Allies, and the former pacifists and the radical socialists led by Mussolini saw an opportunity to make a revolution in the absence of social stability during the war. In March, the Austrian government took steps to meet the demands of Italy, however, it was too late. Under the London Treaty, the Italians got what they wanted, or most of what they wanted. In accordance with this treaty, Italy was promised Trentino, South Tyrol, Trieste, Istria and other predominantly Italian-speaking regions. On May 30, the Italians began military operations against Austria with the 2nd and 3rd armies going on the offensive under the general command of General Cadorna in a northeasterly direction.

Italy had very limited capabilities for warfare, its army had a low combat capability, especially after the Libyan campaign. The Italian offensive bogged down, and the fighting in 1915 took on a positional character.

Change supreme commander During the Great Retreat, the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander in mid-August 1915 moved from Baradovichi to Mogilev. Soon after the change in Headquarters, there was also a change in commander-in-chief. On September 5, 1915, this mission was taken over by the sovereign himself - Nicholas II. He took command of the army at the most critical period of the struggle against an external enemy, thereby demonstrating close ties of unity with his people and the Russian Imperial army. Many tried to dissuade him, but the sovereign insisted on his own. Nikolai Alexandrovich was then 47 years old: By nature, he was a modest person, extremely delicate, easy to communicate with people. He loved his wife and children very much, was an impeccable family man.

He shunned pomposity, flattery, luxury, almost never drank alcohol. He was distinguished by deep faith. People around often did not understand the actions of the king, but only because they themselves had lost the sincerity and purity of faith. The sovereign managed to save her. He directly and immediately perceived his calling as the anointed of God and was guided by this in the way he understood. All contemporaries noted his colossal restraint and self-control, and Nikolai Alexandrovich explained: “If you see that I am so calm, it is because I have a firm and resolute faith that the fate of Russia, my fate and the fate of my family is in the will of God. who gave me this power. Whatever happens, I surrender to His will, knowing that I can think of nothing else but to serve the country that He has entrusted to me.

The fact that the monarch becomes the supreme commander was common in many states. But this was always done in anticipation of victorious laurels. Nicholas II took upon himself a colossal burden at the most difficult moment of the war. Nikolai Nikolayevich was appointed commander of the Caucasian Front, but, having concentrated the affairs of the rear in his hands, he left the leadership of military operations to General Yudenich. In the army, the change of the supreme commander was taken calmly. The soldiers already considered the tsar their supreme boss. And the officers understood that under the sovereign important role will play the chief of staff, heatedly discussed who will take this position. When they found out that this was General Alekseev, everyone was happy. General Evert became commander-in-chief of the Northwestern Front. The year 1916 began with the offensive of Russian troops in the Caucasus. On February 16, they took the Turkish fortress of Erzerum. In the meantime, in England, the parliament approved the law on universal conscription, which was strongly opposed by the trade unions and the Laborites. Conservatives voted in favor of the law

some liberals led by D. Lloyd George. And in the capital of Germany, a food riot broke out in Berlin, there was a catastrophic lack of food. In the same year, the battles near Verdun and on the Somme ended.

These battles were the bloodiest during the war years on the Western Front. They were distinguished by the massive use of artillery, aviation, infantry, cavalry and did not bring success to either side. The main reason for this balance was the absolute superiority of defensive methods of warfare over offensive methods. The Verdun offensive meant the desire of the chief of the German General Staff, Falkenhain, to deliver a decisive blow on the Western Front, which was postponed in 1915 after the successes achieved in the East. Falkenhayn believed that England was the main enemy of Germany, but at the same time he recognized that England could not be conquered partly because an offensive in the English sector offered little chance of success, and also because a military defeat in Europe would not bring England out of the war. Submarine warfare was the main hope for realizing this possibility, and Falkenhayn saw his task in defeating the British allies in Europe.

Russia was presented already defeated, and the Austrians showed that they could cope with the Italians. France remained. Given the proven strength of the defense in trench warfare, Falkenhayn abandoned the idea of trying to break through the French lines. At Verdun, he chose a strategy of war of attrition. He planned a series of strikes to draw out the French reserves and destroy them with artillery. Verdun was chosen partly because it was on a ledge and disrupted German communications, and also because of the important historical significance this great fortress. As soon as the battle began, the Germans were determined to capture Verdun and the French to defend it. Falkenhayn was correct in his assumption that the French would not give up Verdun easily. However, the task was complicated by the fact that Verdun was no longer a solid fortress and was practically devoid of artillery. And yet, forced to retreat, the French kept the forts while reinforcements filtered through a very narrow corridor that was not subjected to German artillery fire. By the time General Petain, in command of the 2nd Army, was sent to Verdun at the end of the month to take charge of its defense, the immediate threat had passed. The German crown prince, who commanded the army corps, scheduled the main offensive for March 4. After two days of shelling, the offensive began, but by March 9 it was stopped. However, Falkengine's strategy remained the same.

On June 7, the Germans captured Fort Vaud, which controlled the right flank of the French positions at Verdun. The next day they captured Fort Tiomon, which had already changed hands twice since the attack began on June 1. It seemed that Verdun was under immediate threat. In March, the Germans failed to achieve a quick victory at Verdun, but they continued their attacks with great tenacity, which were carried out at short intervals. The French repulsed them and launched a series of counterattacks.

German troops continued to advance. On October 24, having taken over the 2nd Army after Petain became commander-in-chief, General Nivelle launched a counteroffensive near Verdun. With the start of the offensive on the Somme in July, German reserves were no longer sent to Verdun. Covering the French counterattack was the "creeping artillery attack," a new invention in which the infantry advanced behind a gradually moving wave of artillery fire in accordance with a precisely set time schedule. As a result, the troops captured the originally set goals and captured 6,000 prisoners. The next offensive at the end of November was hampered by bad weather, but it was resumed in December and became known as the Battle of Louvain.

Nearly 10,000 prisoners were taken and more than 100 guns were captured. In December, the battle of Verdun ended. About 120 divisions were ground in the Verdun meat grinder, including 69 French and 50 German divisions. the main part of the offensive forces, and England the leading power of the Allies on the Western Front.The Battle of the Somme was the place where tanks first appeared on September 15. A new type of weaponry. the number of tanks participating in the battle was small.In the autumn, the British advance was blocked by swamps.

The battle on the Somme, which lasted from July to the end of November 1916, did not bring success to either side. Their losses were huge - 1 million 300 thousand people. The situation was more successful for the Entente on Eastern Front. In the midst of the fighting near Verdun, the French command again turned to Russia for help. On June 4, the 8th Russian Army under the command of General Kaledin advanced into the Lutsk region, which was considered as a reconnaissance operation. To the surprise of the Russians, the Austrian line of defense fell apart. And General Alexei Brusilov, who exercised overall command of the southern sector of the front, immediately stepped up his offensive, bringing 3 armies into battle. The Austrians were soon put into a stampede. In three days, the Russians captured 200,000 prisoners. The army of General Brusilov broke through the Austrian front on the Lutsk-Chernivtsi line. Russian troops again occupied most of

Galicia and Bukovina, putting Austria-Hungary on the brink of military defeat. And, although the offensive dried up by August 1916, the "Brusilovsky breakthrough" suspended the activity of the Austrians on the Italian front and greatly facilitated the position of the Anglo-French troops near Verdun and on the Somme.

War at sea was reduced to the question of whether Germany would be able to successfully counter England's traditional naval superiority. As on land, the presence of new types of weapons of aircraft, submarines, mines, torpedoes, radio weapons made defense easier than attack. The Germans, having a smaller fleet, believed that the British would seek to destroy it in a battle, which they tried to avoid. However, the British strategy was aimed at achieving other goals. Having relocated the fleet to Skala Flow in the Orkney Islands at the beginning of the war and thereby establishing control over the North Sea, the British, beingware of mines and torpedoes and the inaccessible coast of Germany, chose a long blockade, being all the time ready in case of an attempt to break through the German fleet. At the same time, being dependent on supplies by sea, they had to ensure security on ocean routes.

In August 1914, the Germans had relatively few battleships based abroad, although the cruisers Goeben and Breslau successfully reached Constantinople at the start of the war, and their presence contributed to Turkey's entry into the war on the side of the Central Powers. The most significant forces, including the battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, were destroyed during the fighting near the Falkland Islands, and by the end of 1914 the oceans were at least on the surface cleared of German raiders. The main danger to ocean trade routes was not combat squadrons, but submarines. As the war progressed, Germany's backwardness in capital ships forced her to increasingly concentrate her efforts on submarines, which the British, suffering heavy losses in the Atlantic, regarded as an illegal means of warfare. Ultimately, the policy of unrestricted warfare using submarines boat, which turned out to be almost disastrous for England, indirectly brought death to Germany, since it was the direct cause of the entry into the war of the United States of America in 1917.

On May 7, 1915, the huge American liner Lusitania, which made a voyage from New York to Liverpool, was sunk as a result of a torpedo attack by a German submarine off the Irish coast. The ship quickly sank, and with it about 1,200 people, almost three-quarters of all on board, went forever into the cold waters of the ocean. The sinking of the Lusitania, whose speed, it was believed, made her invulnerable to torpedoes, necessitated appropriate response measures. The fact that the Germans had issued a careful warning to the Americans not to sail on this steamer only confirmed that the attack on it was rather pre-planned. It caused sharp anti-German protests in many countries, primarily in the United States. Nearly 200 American citizens were among the dead, including such notables as millionaire Alfred Vanderbilt.

This sinking had a major impact on President Woodrow Wilson's declared policy of strict neutrality, and from that time on, US entry into the war became a potential possibility. On July 18, 1915, the Italian cruiser Giuseppe Garibaldi sank after being torpedoed by an Austrian submarine. A few days earlier, the English cruiser Dublin had been similarly attacked, but managed to get away despite being badly damaged. The task of carrying out the blockade in the Adriatic Sea fell to the share of the French fleet, based in Malta. Austrian submarines were active, and after the loss of the battleship Jean Bar in December 1914, the French were wary of launching their heavy ships, relying on cruisers and destroyers. German U-boats also entered the Mediterranean in the summer of 1915, and the Allied position was made more difficult by the task of protecting the numerous transports and supply ships that made raids to and from the Gallipoli peninsula, and later to Thessaloniki. In September, an attempt was made to block the Strait of Otranto with nets, however, German submarines managed to pass under them. Military operations in the Baltic intensified.

Russian sailors disabled a German minelayer, and a British submarine torpedoed the Prince Adalbert cruiser. Military naval forces The Russians, supplemented by a few British submarines, as a rule, successfully thwarted the plans of the Germans, which included the landing of troops in Courland, and prevented the laying of mines. British submarines also attempted to disrupt iron and steel deliveries to Germany from Sweden, sinking later in 1915 14 ships engaged in these shipments. But the losses of the British also grew. By the end of 1915 total number English merchant ships sunk by German submarines exceeded 250. The battle of Jutland between the English and German fleets in the summer of 1916 led to large mutual losses, but it did not change much strategically. England retained superiority at sea, and the blockade of Germany continued. The Germans had to return to submarine warfare again. However, its effectiveness became less and less, especially after the entry of the United States into the war.

The year 1915 began with the intensification of hostilities by the belligerents.

Symbolizing the emergence of sinister new means of warfare, on January 19, German Zeppelins began raiding the east coast of England. Several people died in the ports of Norfolk, several bombs fell near the royal house in Sendringham.

On January 24, a short but fierce battle took place off Dogger Bank in the North Sea, during which the German cruiser Blucher was sunk and two battlecruisers were damaged. The British battlecruiser Lion was also seriously damaged.

On February 12, the French launched a new offensive in Champagne. Losses were huge, the French lost about 50,000 men, advancing almost 500 yards. This was followed by the British attack on Neustal in March 1915 and a new French offensive in April in an easterly direction. However, these actions did not bring tangible results to the Allies.

Russia's strategy in early 1915 was to advance towards Silesia and Hungary while securing reliable flanks. During this campaign, the capture of Przemysl was the main success of the Russian army (although it managed to hold this fortress for only two months). At the beginning of May 1915, a major offensive began by the troops of the Central Powers in the East.

The shock forces of the 11th German Army of Field Marshal Mackensen, supported by the 40th Austro-Hungarian Army, went on the offensive on a 20-mile front in Western Galicia. Russian troops were forced to leave Lvov and Warsaw. In the summer, the German command carried out a breakthrough of the Russian front near Gorlitsa. Soon the Germans launched an offensive in the Baltic states and Russian troops lost Galicia, Poland, part of Latvia and Belarus. The enemy was preoccupied with the need to repel the impending attack on Serbia, as well as to return troops to the Western Front before the start of a new French offensive. During the four-month campaign, Russia lost only 800,000 soldiers captured.

However, the Russian command, having switched to strategic defense, managed to withdraw its armies from enemy attacks and stop its advance. Worried and exhausted, the Austro-German armies went on the defensive along the entire front in October. Germany was faced with the need to continue a long war on two fronts. Russia bore the brunt of the struggle, which provided France and England with a respite to mobilize the economy for the needs of the war.

On February 16, 1915, British and French warships began shelling Turkish defenses in the Dardanelles. With interruptions due in part to bad weather, this naval operation continued for two months.

The operation to capture the Dardanelles, opening the way to an attack on Constantinople, figured in the military plans of the Allies before the start of the war, but was rejected as too complicated. With Turkey's entry into the war, this plan was revisited as possible, albeit risky. Initially, a purely naval operation was planned, but it immediately became clear that it was necessary to undertake a combined one. maritime and land operations. This plan found active support from the English First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill. The outcome of the operation - and if successful, would have opened a "back door" for Russia - was called into question by the Allies' unwillingness to immediately send large enough forces and the choice of mostly obsolete warships. In the beginning, Türkiye had only two divisions to defend the strait. At the time of the landing of the Allied troops, she had six divisions and outnumbered the five divisions of the Allies, not counting the presence of magnificent natural fortifications.

Early on the morning of April 25, 1915, Allied troops landed at two points on the Gallipoli Peninsula. The British landed at Cape Ilyas, at the southern end of the peninsula, while the Australians and New Zealand units advanced about 15 miles north along the Aegean coast. At the same time, the French brigade launched a diversionary attack on Kumkale on the Anatolian coast.

Despite barbed wire and heavy machine-gun fire, both groups managed to capture the bridgehead. However, the Turks held the heights, with the result that the British, Australian and New Zealand troops were unable to move forward. As a result, as on the Western Front, a lull settled here.

In August, British troops landed in Suvla Bay, trying to capture the central part of the peninsula opposite the passage. Although the landing in the bay was sudden, the command of the troops was unsatisfactory, and the opportunity for a breakthrough was lost. The offensive in the south was also unsuccessful. The British government decided to withdraw troops. W. Churchill was forced to resign as First Lord of the Admiralty.

On May 23, 1915, Italy declared war on Austria, signing a secret treaty with the Allies in London in April. The Tripartite Alliance, linking Italy to the Central Powers, was denounced, although at this time she refused to declare war on Germany.

In March, the Austrian government took steps to meet the demands of Italy, but it was already too late. Under the London Treaty, the Italians got what they wanted, or most of what they wanted. In accordance with this treaty, Italy was promised Trentino, South Tyrol, Trieste, Istria and other predominantly Italian-speaking regions.

On May 30, the Italians began military operations against Austria with the 2nd and 3rd armies going on the offensive under the general command of General Cadorna in a northeasterly direction.

Italy had very limited capabilities for warfare, its army had a low combat capability, especially after the Libyan campaign. The offensive of the Italians bogged down and the battles in 1915 took a positional one.

The year 1916 began with the offensive of Russian troops in the Caucasus. On February 16, they took the Turkish fortress of Erzurum. In the meantime, in England, Parliament approved a law on universal conscription, which was strongly opposed by the trade unions and the Laborites. Conservatives and some liberals, led by D. Lloyd George, voted for the introduction of the law. And in the capital of Germany, a food riot broke out - in Berlin there was a catastrophic lack of food. In the same year, the battles near Verdun and on the Somme ended.

These battles were the bloodiest during the war years on the Western Front. They were distinguished by the massive use of artillery, aviation, infantry, cavalry and did not bring success to either side. The main reason for this balance was the absolute superiority of defensive methods of warfare over offensive ones.

The Verdun offensive meant the desire of the chief of the German General Staff, Falkenhain, to deliver a decisive blow on the Western Front, which was postponed in 1915 after the successes achieved in the East. Falkenhayn believed that England was the main enemy of Germany, but at the same time he recognized that England could not be conquered partly because an offensive in the English sector offered little chance of success, and also because a military defeat in Europe would not bring England out of the war. Submarine warfare was the main hope for realizing this possibility, and Falkenhayn saw his task in defeating the British allies in Europe. Russia was presented already defeated, and the Austrians showed that they could cope with the Italians.

France remained. Given the proven strength of the defense in trench warfare, Falkenhayn abandoned the idea of trying to break through the French lines. At Verdun, he chose a strategy of war of attrition. He planned a series of strikes to draw out the French reserves and destroy them with artillery. Verdun was chosen partly because it was on a ledge and disrupted German communications, and also because of the important historical significance of this large fortress. As soon as the battle began, the Germans were determined to capture Verdun, and the French - to defend it.

Falkenhayn was correct in his assumption that the French would not give up Verdun easily. However, the task was complicated by the fact that Verdun was no longer a solid fortress and was practically devoid of artillery. And yet, forced to retreat, the French kept the forts while reinforcements filtered through a very narrow corridor that was not subjected to German artillery fire. By the time General Petain, in command of the 2nd Army, was sent to Verdun at the end of the month to take charge of its defense, the immediate threat had passed. The German Crown Prince, who commanded the army corps, scheduled the main offensive for March 4. After two days of shelling, the offensive began, but by March 9 it was stopped. However, Falkengine's strategy remained the same.

On October 24, having taken over the 2nd Army after Petain became commander in chief, General Nivelle launched a counteroffensive near Verdun. With the start of the offensive on the Somme in July, German reserves were no longer sent to Verdun. The French counterattack was covered by the "creeping artillery attack, a new invention in which the infantry advanced behind a gradually moving wave of artillery fire in accordance with a precisely established time schedule. As a result, the troops mastered the initial targets and captured 6,000 prisoners. The next offensive at the end of November was prevented by bad weather , but it was resumed in December and became known as the Battle of Louvemen, nearly 10,000 prisoners were taken and more than 100 guns were captured.

In December, the battle of Verdun ended. In the Verdun meat grinder, about 120 divisions were ground, including 69 French and 50 German.

During the battle of Verdun, the allies on July 1, 1916, after a week of artillery preparation, launched an offensive on the Somme River. As a result of the exhaustion of the French troops at Verdun, British units became the main part of the offensive forces, and England became the leading power of the allies on the Western Front.

The Battle of the Somme was the place where tanks first appeared on September 15 - a new type of weapon. The effect of the British vehicles, which at first were called "land ships", was rather uncertain, but the number of tanks taking part in the battle was small. In autumn, the British advance was blocked by swamps. The battle on the Somme, which lasted from July to the end of November 1916, did not bring success to either side. Their losses were huge - 1 million 300 thousand people.

The situation on the Eastern Front was more successful for the Entente. In the midst of the fighting near Verdun, the French command again turned to Russia for help. On June 4, the 8th Russian Army under the command of General Kaledin advanced to the Lutsk region, which was considered as a reconnaissance operation. To the surprise of the Russians, the Austrian line of defense fell apart. And General Alexei Brusilov, who exercised overall command of the southern sector of the front, immediately stepped up his offensive, bringing 3 armies into battle. The Austrians were soon put into a stampede. In three days, the Russians captured 200,000 prisoners. The army of General Brusilov broke through the Austrian front on the line Lutsk - Chernivtsi. Russian troops again occupied most of Galicia and Bukovina, putting Austria-Hungary on the brink of military defeat. And although by August 1916 the offensive had dried up, the "Brusilovsky breakthrough" suspended the activity of the Austrians on the Italian front and greatly facilitated the position of the Anglo-French troops near Verdun and on the Somme.

The Germans, having a smaller fleet, believed that the British would seek to destroy it in battle, which they therefore tried to avoid. However, the British strategy was aimed at achieving other goals. Having relocated the fleet to Skala Flow in the Orkney Islands at the beginning of the war and thereby establishing control over the North Sea, the British, beingware of mines and torpedoes and the inaccessible coast of Germany, chose a long blockade, being all the time ready in case of an attempt to break through the German fleet. At the same time, being dependent on supplies by sea, they had to ensure security on ocean routes. In August 1914, the Germans had relatively few battleships based abroad, although the cruisers Goeben and Breslau successfully reached Constantinople at the start of the war, and their presence contributed to Turkey's entry into the war on the side of the Central Powers. The most significant forces, including the battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, were destroyed during the fighting near the Falkland Islands, and by the end of 1914 the oceans were - at least on the surface - cleared of German raiders.

The main danger to ocean trade routes was not combat squadrons, but submarines. As the war progressed, Germany's backwardness in capital ships forced her to increasingly concentrate her efforts on submarines, which the British, suffering heavy losses in the Atlantic, regarded as an illegal means of warfare. Ultimately, the policy of unrestricted war using submarines, which turned out to be almost disastrous for England, indirectly brought death to Germany, since it was the direct cause of the entry into the war of the United States of America in 1917.

The sinking of the Lusitania, whose speed, it was believed, made her invulnerable to torpedoes, necessitated appropriate response measures. The fact that the Germans had issued a careful warning to the Americans not to sail on this steamer only confirmed that the attack on it was rather pre-planned. It caused sharp anti-German protests in many countries, primarily in the United States. Nearly 200 American citizens were among the dead, including notables such as millionaire Alfred Vanderbilt. This sinking had a major impact on President Woodrow Wilson's declared policy of strict neutrality, and from that time on, US entry into the war became a potential possibility.

On July 18, 1915, the Italian cruiser Giuseppe Garibaldi sank after being torpedoed by an Austrian submarine. A few days earlier, the English cruiser Dublin had been similarly attacked, but she managed to escape despite serious damage. The task of carrying out the blockade in the Adriatic Sea fell to the share of the French fleet, based in Malta. Austrian submarines were active, and after the loss of the battleship Jean Bar in December 1914, the French were wary of launching their heavy ships, relying on cruisers and destroyers. German U-boats also entered the Mediterranean in the summer of 1915, and the situation of the Allies was made more difficult by the task of protecting the numerous transports and supply ships that made raids to and from the Gallipoli peninsula, and later to Thessaloniki. In September, an attempt was made to block the Strait of Otranto with nets, but German submarines managed to pass under them.

Military operations in the Baltic intensified. Russian sailors disabled a German minelayer, and a British submarine torpedoed the Prince Adalbert cruiser.

The Russian naval forces, supplemented by several British submarines, as a rule, successfully thwarted the plans of the Germans, which provided for the landing of troops in Courland and prevented the laying of mines. British submarines also attempted to disrupt iron and steel deliveries to Germany from Sweden, sinking later in 1915 14 ships engaged in these shipments.

But the losses of the British also grew. By the end of 1915, the total number of British merchant ships sunk by German submarines exceeded 250.

The battle of Jutland between the British and German fleets in the summer of 1916 led to heavy mutual losses, but in strategic terms it changed little. England retained superiority at sea and the blockade of Germany continued. The Germans had to return to submarine warfare again. However, its effectiveness became less and less, especially after the entry into the war of the United States.

Chapter XXVII
submarine war{ }

From an essay general course World War II, it is known what an enormous role the submarine war played, being, along with the blockade, one of the most important operations of the campaign of 1914-1918.

Let us now consider this question in somewhat more detail in order to trace how the idea of submarine warfare developed, how its possibilities were used by the Germans, and finally what measures to combat it were taken by the Entente states.

The merciless submarine war continued until October 15, 1918. The termination of it was the first demand put by the Entente before the start of peace negotiations.

Anti-submarine protection by 1917-1918 was greatly improved and received a completely solid organization, only in the presence of which it was possible to avoid the catastrophic consequences of submarine warfare.

Anti-submarine defense measures were as follows:

1) The most important measure, which constituted a certain stage in the fight against losses from submarines, was the introduction of the so-called escort system.

This system consisted in the fact that commercial ships were reduced to groups (caravans), which were disciplined by the appointment of the military command and the organization of navigation (systems, variable courses, etc.) and, in addition, were escorted by military ships (destroyers and guard ships). Approaches to the coast of England were specially guarded and trawled. The approach and exit was strictly normalized by the relevant rules. The fairways were often changed to German boats could not determine the path of movement. In particular, transports with troops were carefully guarded.

The convoy system was inconvenient in that more time was lost than with free navigation, but the losses in convoys were relatively negligible.

2) The gradual arming of almost all commercial ships with artillery. Up to 13,000 guns were installed on commercial anti-submarine ships. The latter were no longer a defenseless target for the submarine - they themselves were able to damage it and even drown it with fire, as soon as it was on the surface. This forced the boats to be more careful making their actions extremely difficult.

3) Reinforced construction of destroyers, which were intended for escort service and for fighting boats. How energetically the British set about building destroyers can be seen from the following figures. Destroyers entered service: for 1914 - 31; 1915 - 37; 1916 - 96; 1917 - 69; 1918 - 72. Having entered the war, America took part in sending its destroyers - about 200 - to fight the boats.

4) Setting minefields on the way to the German bases. Barriers were placed in several rows in depth to prevent the boat from passing under them. In addition to mining approaches to the bases, in 1918 a grandiose barrier was erected that blocked the North Sea between Norway and the Shetland Islands (it consisted of 70,000 mines set in a number of depths, up to 300 meters). The significance of this barrier was especially great, since it crossed the main direction for the exit of the boats. The channel was mined.

5) Anti-submarine bombs with a hydrostatic fuse, which, when dropped from a ship, could explode at a given depth, hitting a significant amount. The boat, being discovered, was overtaken by patrol vessels, which bombarded the area of its probable location with such bombs, often hitting it.

6) Hydrophones were introduced, which made it possible, listening to the noise of the movement of the boat in the water, to establish its location, where patrol ships then rushed. Only at a stop, or at the smallest speed, could the boat hide from the hydrophone. Hydrophones were effective over relatively short distances.

7) Specially designated submarines that cruised at sea, looking for an opportunity to attack an enemy boat that surfaced for charging or orientation.

8) Numerous patrol vessels and motor boats that carried security services in the fairways were sent to guard the boats.

9) Special types of networks (signal and explosive), which were installed in areas where the boat was likely to appear (however, the last boats were equipped with devices that cut these networks).

10) B last years wars - have been widely used to combat submarines air force both for reconnaissance and for their destruction.

These funds were somewhat grandiose, it can be judged from the fact that 770,000 people were put in England to work against submarines (personnel and servants of observation, guards and guns, patrol ships, servicing workshops, etc.), which was already an impressive figure of torn off from the front of the fighters.

For the entire duration of the war, the Germans had 371 boats in service, of which 178 were sunk by the Allies during the war, 14 by their own crew and 7 were interned.

Losses of boats, due to the increase in the means of combating them, are visible from the following table.

German submarines significantly changed the strategy of warfare at sea during the First World War. The German command for the first time in naval history began to use submarines for operations in territories remote from their bases and ports. At the same time, with the development of combat submarines, anti-submarine measures began to improve, and, consequently, the defensive forces of states. The book by the English maritime historians R. Gibson and M. Prendergast, written on the basis of many sources that appeared immediately after the World War, contains rich factual material covering in detail the course of operations of German submarines during the First World War of 1914–1918.

A series: maritime chronicle

* * *

by the LitRes company.

Chapter III. Mediterranean Sea. Beginning of the underwater campaign

(1915)

Thus, in the waters of the mother country, passenger liners, cargo and fishing boats had some respite from their robbers. But now it is the turn of the Mediterranean, so far calm and safe, to experience the attacks of new pirates. Here, in this great water corridor connecting the East with Atlantic Ocean, it was possible to find richer and more plentiful booty than it seemed in the most rosy dreams of the privateers of the North Sea. From there came the submarine fighters of the maritime trade; for long days allied and neutral ships between Gibraltar and Suez were ambushed and destroyed. The ships were drowned so continuously that they began to look at it as a necessary evil that could only be endured. The sailing conditions were ideal for the attackers. Therefore, the best boats with the most capable commanders were sent to the Adriatic, in order to attack from there powerful streams of ships heading east or west. Departing from bases flanking sea routes, submarine commanders easily found the courses of merchant ships, thanks to good visibility and favorable weather. The countermeasures that were initially used by the Allies to protect maritime cargo against danger were insufficient and far from effective. Initially, it was not the enemy trade in the Mediterranean that attracted the attention of Germany and forced her naval command to send submarines there. In the spring of 1915, when the attack of the Dardanelles from the sea alarmed the Turks, Herzing was asked if he could try to reach the Mediterranean in his U-21 and threaten the Allied warships located off the Gallipoli peninsula. His enterprise was crowned with success, but only in the autumn the first merchant ship in the Mediterranean was sunk by a submarine.

In 1914, when the Triple Alliance became the Dual Alliance, a radical change in the Mediterranean policy of the Central Powers became inevitable. The Austro-Hungarian naval rafts were a compact, proportionate fleet of moderate numbers, which included six small submarines of three different types. They could not be considered boats of the high seas ("Hochseeboote") due to their limited range, and therefore they were intended for operations in domestic waters. Five large boats built at the Krupp shipyard at the beginning of the war were included in the German fleet. In addition, in August 1914, a small "demonstration" boat, which was the private property of Whitehead's firm in Fiume, was confiscated and listed under the number XII.

Austria-Hungary was content with these seven small units until the entry of Italy into the war forced her to replenish her forces. Small submarines operated only in the Adriatic Sea, in which Anglo-French forces constantly patrolled. Austro-Hungarian boats were used against trade only in 1917, and the conservative policy of the Viennese authorities caused friction with the less scrupulous Germans. Many ingenious attempts were made by Germany to involve her ally in compromising incidents; this includes, for example, the misuse of the war flag of the Dual Monarchy. Nevertheless, it is generally accepted that only German boats are responsible for all the atrocities committed in the Mediterranean.

The first attack is completely legal military operation- took place on October 17, 1914, when the French forces were at Cattaro. The cruiser "Waldeck-Rousseau" (Waldec-Rousseau), attacked by boat IV, escaped damage. The second attack was an omen of a new task ahead for the pinching French force, which was in the habit of cruising in the waters adjacent to enemy bases without the slightest defense against submarine attacks. December 21 boat XII (Lerch) met the French battleship "Jean Bar" (Jean Bart) in the Strait of Otrante; she saw this big ship, moving slowly, at a speed of 9 knots, and completely unprotected by any curtain destroyers. The French dreadnought was very lucky. A torpedo hit her bow and the resulting damage was repaired at the dock in the British port of Malta.

Simultaneously with the incident described, the French submarine Curie made a brave but unsuccessful attempt to attack the Austrian ships stationed in the harbor of Pola; she was hopelessly entangled in a net barrier and was forced to surface and surrender; despite the pierced hull, the Curie was raised. It was thoroughly rebuilt by the Austrians. Coming into service the following March as number XIV of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, she was a vastly improved boat.

The long period of rest was suddenly broken by a tremendous blow. The lesson of the Jean Bar attack was not heeded, and inevitable disaster followed. On the night of April 26, 1915, the French armored cruiser "Leon Gambetta" (Leon Gambetta) was on patrol in the Strait of Otrante at a speed of some 6.5 knots and without any curtain of destroyers. In subsequent periods of the war, such a goal could only be found in the dreams of German submarine commanders. Two torpedoes burst out of the surrounding darkness and hit the large cruiser with terrible results. The team, who found themselves in the dark due to the failure of the dynamos, retained complete calm. All officers remained on the ship, led by Admiral Zenes, and perished along with the ship when it disappeared 10 minutes later. A total of 650 men died, a heavy retribution for the lesson the British had already learned in the sinking of the cruisers the previous autumn. Boat V (Trapp) attacked. As a result of its success, the large French ships guarding the Austro-Hungarian fleet were pushed south, and the blockade was assigned to destroyers.

About a month after the disaster described, Italy joined the Allies and relieved the French of most of their hard work, but on the condition that the Italian fleet was supported by a British squadron. I had to remove 4 battleships and 4 light cruisers from the Dardanelles and send them to Taranto. These included the light cruiser Dublin, the next victim of the submarine. On June 9, while escorting a caravan of ships along the Montenegrin coast, he was hit at San Giovanni di Medua (San Giovanny di Medua) by a torpedo from boat IV (Yustel), although there was a curtain of destroyers. Despite the damage, he made it back to the port. The attack was clear evidence of the growing art of the Adriatic submarines. We have already told how Herzing left Ems for the Mediterranean on April 25, and how he decided to continue his journey, despite the unsuitability of the fuel brought on the Marzala transport to Rio Corcubion (Spain). Since mid-April, there have been rumors that enemy agents are secretly organizing a base for submarines near Budrum in the Gulf of Kos. By the end of the month, rumors had turned into certainty that actual preparations were underway for the arrival of the U-boat. The last shadow of doubt disappeared when, at dawn on May 6, the destroyer No. 92 from the Gibraltar Patrol met U-21, which was heading to the stop. The submarine fired a torpedo at him and then sank to avoid a ramming attack. The next day, south of Cartagena, Herzing was spotted by a steamer. These reports caused great concern for the safety of the large ships off the Gallipoli peninsula, and in neutral ports, mainly Greek, a large reward was promised from the Allies for information about U-21. Meanwhile, Herzing did not enter the eastern Mediterranean basin; he turned north and headed for Cattaro, where he arrived on 13 May. Before proceeding to the Gallipoli peninsula, his boat had to call at Pola for repairs.

When Italy became a belligerent, the Austro-Hungarian naval command immediately took steps to increase the weak submarine force at its disposal. Small but useful reinforcements were quickly brought in by the German shipyards. It is known that in October - November 1914 adm. Tirpitz ordered 17 coastal boats and 15 small underwater minelayers from the Krupp and Weser factories. Of these 32 German boats, 6 coastal boats (UB-1, UB-3, UB-7, UB-8, UB-14, UB-15) and 4 minelayers (UC-12, UC-13, UC-14, UC-15) were sent disassembled by rail to Pola, where they were assembled under German supervision. During 1915, only 6 new submarines entered the Austro-Hungarian fleet. One was a trophy - a rebuilt French Curie (received the number XIV). One or two combat campaigns seem to have been made by UB-1 and UB-15 under the German flag, with the latter boat making great progress; but during the summer both of these German boats were finally handed over to Austria-Hungary and became boats XI and X in its fleet. During the autumn, three more small boats were transported in parts by rail from Bremen to Pola. These were ships of the German type "UB-I". The boats were quickly assembled, and the "tin tadpoles" entered service under the numbers XV, XVI and XVII.

Before Herzing's arrival at Pola, three new small coastal boats went out to attack the allied naval forces off the Balkan Peninsula, carrying with them a cargo of much-needed supplies for the Turks. One of them, UB-3 (Schmidt), reported herself, being about 80 miles from Smyrna, and then disappeared without a trace; the other two - UB-7 and UB-8 - arrived safely in Constantinople and then operated in the Black Sea against the Russians, based in the Bulgarian port of Varna.

Herzing himself went to the Dardanelles on May 20, passing through the Zerigo Strait and avoiding minefields. At Dedeagach, he attacked the Russian cruiser Askold, and then on the 25th caused horror with his appearance among the British ships at Gallipoli. First, he unsuccessfully attacked the battleships Swiftshur and Vengence, then, having met the Triumph at Gaba-Tepe, he waited 2 hours for the opportunity to fire a torpedo. The torpedo did its job; the battleship slowly capsized and sank in half an hour, with the loss of 75 people. commands. U-21, which had surfaced to observe the results of its hit, was vigorously attacked, and Herzing says that he escaped by swerving onto the blasted ship, and even ducking under it as it slowly sank. He found it necessary to remain submerged for the next 28 hours, after which he rose to the surface to recharge the batteries. Then he made an attempt to find "Askold", but did not find him. Because battleships at Gaba-Tepe was not visible, he went south to the area of Cape Helles. Here, early on the morning of May 27, he saw the Majestic. The ship had Bullivan's nets set up and was surrounded by guard ships and transports; nevertheless, the torpedo reached its target, passing in the interval between the surrounding ships, and after 7 minutes the old ship rested at a depth of 9 soots. (16.5 m) underwater. "A better shot could not have been imagined," wrote the late Sir Corbett. But Herzing was insatiable and cruised around for another two days, until he learned that the ships of the line had gone to the island of Mudros. Then he made a stop off the Turkish coast for one day, returned to the Dardanelles and, having not found objects for attack, entered the strait on June 1. Upon entering, he fell into a terrible whirlpool, withstood a desperate struggle to get out of it, and on June 5, having half a ton of fuel in reserve, he arrived in Constantinople, where he was greeted with indescribable delight. Herzing fulfilled his difficult task with honor. He eased the situation of the Turks and encouraged them. Like a palladin clad in steel, he slew before their very eyes two great sea dragons that were spewing death upon the Turkish troops. The sight of the monsters dying could only cause despondency among British troops, clinging to the edge of the peninsula that they got with such difficulty.

We will leave U-21, which has completed its mission, and return to the Adriatic. On June 10, the day after the attack on Dablin, the newly completed assembly of UB-15 (Heimburg) went on its first campaign and immediately achieved unexpected success. Off Venice, Heimburg spotted the Italian submarine Medusa on the surface and quickly fired a torpedo at her. When the torpedo left the nose tube, the German "sewing machine" made a wild jump, her nose rose, and the team had to go to the bow to restore the trim. UB-15 then surfaced and rescued half a dozen Italians.

Another warship destroyed by UB-15 was the Italian armored cruiser Amalfi, part of a squadron of cruisers sent to defend Venice from naval raids. On July 7, during a light force support operation in the Gulf of Venice, Amalfi was hit by a torpedo and sank with 72 crew members. Soon another blow was dealt. July 18 during the shelling of the Italian squadron railway at Ragusa, Giuseppe Garibaldi was hit by a torpedo from boat IV (Justel), and thus another large allied cruiser was sunk. Another success was achieved by Austrian boats on August 5, when boat V (Schlosser) lay in wait for the Italian submarine Nereide, which was lying on the surface and unloading supplies for a small garrison on Pelagos, an island temporarily occupied by the Italians on July 11.

Then at last the happiness changed. On 1 July, a French aircraft reported that it had bombed and damaged the submarine XI (Fernland), but this report was not supported by any evidence. The first Austrian submarine was lost on 8 August when Whitehead's XII (Lerch) exploded in a minefield set up to defend Venice after the Amalfi disaster. Five days later, the French destroyer Bisson bombed and sank boat III (Strnad) off the Montenegrin coast. After these failures, the activity of submarines operating in the Adriatic weakened.

A semi-flotilla was formed in Constantinople, consisting of U-21, UB-7 and UB-8, UC-14 and UC-15. Of these 5 boats, UB-7 (Werner) operated in the Black Sea, where she sank several ships, of which the British steamer Patagonia (6011 tons), sunk off Odessa on September 15, should be mentioned. On October 27, she also attacked the Russian battleship Panteleimon near Varna. UB-8 was transferred to Bulgaria. UC-15, on the voyage from the Adriatic, spent an anxious week in the Gulf of Kos repairing a breakdown before being able to take refuge in the Dardanelles. Herzing was joined during the summer by UB-14 and UC-13; these 3 boats operated in both the Aegean and the Black Seas.

The Constantinople group suffered its first loss in the last days of November. UC-13 (Kirchner), overtaken by Russian destroyers with a discharged battery, washed ashore at Cape Kefken and was blown up by her crew. The remaining UC-12 minelayer carried military supplies, money, and German agents to the North African coast to raise a Senussi rebellion against England in Egypt and against Italy in Tripolitania and Cyrenaica, although Italy was not at war with Germany.

During his expeditions to the eastern Mediterranean, Herzing occasionally called at Beirut and Tripoli. He left the Dardanelles on July 4 and sank the empty French transport Carthage (5601 tons) off the Gallipoli Peninsula. While diving to evade patrols, his boat was nearly killed by a minefield that exploded nearby. On August 29, Herzing went on the next cruise and on September 18 made a second attack on the ship of the line Swiftshare, but again unsuccessfully. On the 26th, seeing that the return route was blocked by minefields, he went to Pola, where U-21 stood in repair until January 22, 1916. However, Heimburg continued his work on UB-14. On the way to Constantinople (August 13), this boat succeeded in sinking the first of many military transports lost by the Allies. Her victim was the "Royal Edward" (Royal Edward) (11 117 tons), marching with 31 officers and 1335 soldiers from Alexandria to Mudros. A torpedo was fired from 1600 m and hit her in the stern, causing such damage that she quickly sank after the bow rose above the water, with the loss of 866 people. The attack was made near Budrum, where the boat took refuge, waiting for passing ships. Her patience was rewarded on 2 September when she similarly lay in wait for the 11,899 t Southland off Strati Island. As a result of the torpedo attack, 40 people died; but the ship did not sink and was taken to Mudros after the troops were transferred to the hospital ship Newralia.

Sporadic attacks on allied communications soon became much more serious. On August 4, U-34 (Rücker) and U-35 (Kophamel) left their domestic ports for a long journey to Cattaro, and soon, on August 27–28, they were followed by U-33 (Ganser) and U-39 (Forstmann). The fifth boat of these famous "thirties" - U-38 (M. Valentiner) - joined her brothers in November. The first two arrived at Cattaro on 23 August and, after the necessary repairs, put to sea against merchant ships in the area around Crete.

They sank 5 ships, including the French auxiliary cruiser "Indien" (Indien) on September 8 and the Indian transport with troops "Ramazan" (Ramazan) (3477 tons), which was fired upon and sunk on the 19th, with the loss of 305 soldiers and 1 sailor. After this raid, both boats delivered military equipment to the Senussi tribe.

Following them came U-33 and U-39. Off Gibraltar they were spotted by the destroyer 95 of the Gibraltar Patrol and U-33 was fired upon. Having got rid of their pursuers, the new aliens, going east to their destination, set about destroying ships off the Algerian coast. Organized action against merchant ships did not begin until late September, and the eastern waters of the Mediterranean were chosen, probably as the most advantageous area of operations. From September 28 to October 11, at least 18 ships were sunk, including on September 2 transport with ammunition "Erebien" (Arabian) (2744 tons); many other ships were attacked, including the huge White Star line steamer "Olimpic" (Olimpic) (46,359 tons), carrying 5,500 soldiers. Since all these losses were incurred in the zone guarded by the French fleet, a flotilla of French destroyers was sent there from the Adriatic. In addition, to reinforce patrols in the Aegean, the British H-2 submarine was sent to work as a trap. Some transports passing through the dangerous area were also armed with 12-pounder (76 mm) guns.

There was a lull that lasted more than 10 days. During this period, the tasks of the allied command became even more complicated both as a result of the declaration of war by Bulgaria on October 15, and in view of the landing of large Anglo-French forces in Thessaloniki. Targets such as transports with troops and cargo, the enemy could hardly miss without hindrance. U-35 (Kophamel) was brought here. On the 23rd, he came across in the Gulf of Thessaloniki a military transport "Marquette" (Marquette) (7057 tons) with 646 officers, sisters and privates and 541 animals, coming from Egypt, and sank it with a torpedo; in total, 10 sisters, 128 soldiers and 29 team members died. Having delivered his blow, Kophamel went straight to Xeros Bay, where he received orders to go to Budrum to take the Turkish mission and equipment to transfer them to Bardia on the North African coast. He took on board 10 German and Turkish officers and on November 1 went to sea with two schooners in tow. Having safely crossed the cargo of equipment and disembarked the mission three days later, Kophamel the next morning (November 5) met the armed landing steamer Tara, entering the port of Sollum for her daily visit to the threatened garrison. He quickly torpedoed an unsuspecting British patrol ship and, capturing 70 crew members who had managed to board the boats, towed them with his boat to Bardia, which was then in the possession of hostile Senussi, and handed them over to the Turkish commandant. Kophamel returned to Sollum, where he met two Egyptian coastal defense gunboats: one - "Abbas" - he sank, the other - "Abdul Moneim" - damaged. A day later, U-35 apparently sank a transport with horses "Murina" (Moorina) (4944 tons) off Crete. Upon his return, Kophamel was ordered to take command of the German submarine base in Pohl. He handed over U-35 to one of the officers of the Adm. Fields - the one who was destined to become the "ace of the aces" of the German submarine fleet, namely Lothar Arnaud de la Perriere (Arnauld de la Perriére). After the final formation of the Adriatic flotilla, Pola and Fiume became bases for periodic repairs; the fortified and landlocked Dalmatian port of Cattaro, with its deep waters, fit the bill as a base of operations. During the period of U-35 activity, U-39 appeared again near Crete; she was soon replaced by U-34. After that, U-33 operated independently off Malta. In total, 40 ships were sunk during November, and 12 were attacked but escaped. U-33 believed that during her cruise (from November 15 to December 1) she destroyed 14 ships. Among its victims was Clan Macleod (4796 tons). Within two hours, this steamer was moving away from its pursuer. When his captain surrendered, Gansser opened fire on the crew boarding the boats, killing 12 people. and wounded many others. Since in this early period the allied naval forces and patrols could not provide ships with escorts, the only means at hand was the arming of the most valuable ships.

The first sign of U-38's arrival in the Mediterranean was an attack on a Mercian troop transport (6,305 tons) between Gibraltar and Alboran on 4 November. Panic ensued as shells began to fall around the ship and onto its deck. Following a zigzag course, the captain managed to avoid most of the hits, but since the radiotelegraph was shot down, he was unable to call for help. When at last one of the soldiers relieved him at the helm, he activated his machine gun and drove U-38 away. His brave defense lasted about an hour. 23 people on the ship were killed, 31 died while trying to lower two boats without permission. A more formidable fate befell the French transport "Calvados" (1658 tons) on November 3, a few miles from Oran (Oran). He had a whole battalion on board, but, not being equipped with a radiotelegraph, he could not call for help, and 740 people died during his sinking.

Continuing his journey along the Algerian coast, M. Valentiner sank several other ships; this submarine commander dishonored himself by being the first to commit a deliberately cruel act in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea, after which his name appeared on the list of "war criminals". On November 7, he sank the empty French transport France IV (4025 tons) off Sardinia, and then met with the Italian steamer Ancona (8210 tons). Raising the Austrian flag, he opened fire on the passengers and crew boarding the boats; 208 people died as a result of this aimlessly inhumane attack. Then M. Valentiner arrived in Cattaro, having sunk 14 ships during his campaign. Six days later, another Italian steamer, the Bosnia (2561 tons), was sunk, killing 12 people. Since Berlin had promised Washington that passenger ships that did not take hostile action would be spared, Austria, although innocent, was forced to accept the condemnation and thereby cover up the treachery of its ally.

Shortly before that, the boats of Constantinople achieved another success. On November 2, while UB-14 was under repair, her commander, Heimburg, was informed that the French submarine Türquoise, which had run aground in the Sea of Marmara, had been captured undamaged; further, that the documents found on her show that on November 5 she was to have a rendezvous with the British boat E-20 near Rodosto. At the cost of great efforts, the boat was prepared for the march in 24 hours, and instead of the French boat, UB-14 went to meet the E-20. A British boat on the surface was waiting for its ally. A torpedo was fired at her, which blew her up; only 9 people were saved from the dying ship.

There was a lull until December 10, which was broken by a series of attacks that continued until January 4. On December 9, M. Valentiner left Cattaro in a U-38, towing a small UC-12 loaded with military materials for the Senussi. Having completed this task, he made a number of visits, calling at Jaffa, Beirut and Alexandretta, in which ports he was received with enthusiasm. He then turned his attention to shipping, and from 27 December to 4 January he sank 5 British and many allied steamships, killing over 500 people. Free from any chivalrous or humane feelings, on the 30th he did not hesitate to blow up without warning the Pepinsulaer and Oriental line steamer Persia (7974 tons) 70 miles south of Crete. The steamer's boilers exploded and she sank like a stone, killing 334 people.

He then destroyed Clan Makfarlan (4823 tons) on the same day, killing 52 of the crew; January 1 - Glengyle (9395 tons) with 10 people; January 4 - Coquet (4396 tons) with 17 victims; the larger Japanese steamer Yasaka Maru (10,932 tons) and the French steamer Ville de la Ciotat (6,390 tons), which killed 29 people.

January 2 in the Gulf of Marmaris, he took for transportation to Africa new batch military materials and a new Turkish mission. However, the vigilance of the patrol off the coast of Tripoli prevented him from carrying out this undertaking, and on January 10 he arrived back at Cattaro.

After the gross violation by M. Valentiner of the German obligation to spare passenger ships, Washington, quite naturally, sent a protest drawn up in energetic terms; but Berlin, with shameless insolence, denied the responsibility for this matter of any of its commanders. However, Austria flatly refused to play the scapegoat again, as she strongly objected to such wild methods. Later, when the sinking of hospital ships began in 1917 during unrestricted submarine warfare, German submarines were strictly forbidden to fly the Austrian flag.

By sending submarines into the Mediterranean, the German command hoped to avoid any "incidents" that could arouse America's indignation. These hopes were deceived by the behavior of M. Valentiner. As a result of his illegal actions, the commanders of the German submarines were ordered to observe the rules of prize war in this theater, giving passengers and crews time to board the boats before sinking the ship. With few exceptions, these rules were observed until 1917. Thus ended 1915 in the Mediterranean. During the autumn half a dozen submarines destroyed 54 British and 38 allied and neutral ships. This was the most unequivocal warning of the coming difficulties. The problem of protecting trade in the Mediterranean presented a particular difficulty; the allies did not at all clarify this task, but made it even more difficult by dividing the entire sea into an artificial system of "zones", like a mosaic.

Although this division of command was extremely unsatisfactory from a military point of view, it was at that time the only possible solution to a complicated political problem. Britain fought in alliance with the two great Mediterranean powers; she had to show restraint and reckon with the claims of the allies to participate in the management of the naval campaign. France and Italy jointly and very vigorously objected to the idea that they, the two great Latin states of the "Latin Sea", could allow their fleets to be subject to any system of unified command, in which Britain would be the main directing force. The lines of communication essential to all three allies passed through the Mediterranean, and each, naturally, considered his own interests in every respect more important than the other two. Out of this conflict of requirements, the area-by-region method arose. For a long time, this method, with all its inherent negative properties and difficulties, was used to regulate the relations of the allies. But as long as the system of separate command prevailed, a unified, common and coordinated system of trade protection was unattainable.

Anti-submarine activities were almost non-existent. On the one hand, British opinion tended to establish "routes" and patrols; on the other hand, the French preferred a systematic search for bases. More important transports were armed with artillery to repel surface attacks by submarines, but nothing practical was devised to provide protection against torpedoes. It has been calculated that at least 40 destroyers and 280 trawlers were needed to patrol the long shipping lines with any hope of success. Everything was in favor of submarines. Numerous were the straits and channels into which maritime trade flowed, and German submarines had only to visit these nodal points in order to find the desired targets. From east to west, from west to east, transports and supply ships moved continuously between Gibraltar and Gallipoli, Thessaloniki and Egypt. No less lively was the movement across the Mediterranean: Italy urgently needed to import the necessities of life. All these factors, in connection with atmospheric conditions, made the task of the German boats very easy. There is nothing surprising in the fact that the commanders of the German boats solicited parcels in the Mediterranean. A long and bitter struggle lay ahead before the threat was overcome and repelled.

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The following excerpt from the book German submarine war 1914-1918 (Maurice Prendergast, 1931) provided by our book partner -

The battle of Dogger Bank on January 23, 1915, made the German fleet feel the superiority of the British at sea and prompted it to be even more timid. During 1915 there was no more naval battles, but this year's campaign was marked by the development of two peculiar operations in which a wide share of participation was assigned to the naval armed forces: the Dardanelles operation by the Entente and the "merciless" submarine war undertaken by Germany. The first operation has already been mentioned above. It is necessary to dwell on the second, since it undoubtedly influenced the fate of the war, especially for Germany. By merciless submarine warfare was meant the attack by submarines on commercial ships with the aim of destroying the maritime trade of England, and the ships of all nations going to the coast of England were in danger of being attacked by boats. Germany initially hesitated for a long time about the use of this means of struggle, which was supposed to arouse hostility on the part of neutral states. On February 4, a decree was published declaring the waters surrounding Great Britain a war zone: " From February 18, every commercial ship encountered in these waters will be destroyed". By this time, Germany had 35 large and 33 small submarines, and with such an insignificant number of them, the German government expected to force England to surrender in 6 weeks.

German submarines began operations on 22 February. On May 7, the Lusitania, the largest English passenger steamer, was sunk, on which 139 Americans were among the 1,196 dead passengers. The Government of the United States made a categorical protest. From that moment on, the submarine war of 1915 slowly faded away. After a series of incidents, the German fleet was ordered not to sink passenger steamers without providing an opportunity to save passengers, and the activities of the boats were transferred to the Mediterranean Sea, where the interests of the United States were much less affected.

Under pressure from outside, a disagreement arose among the German government regarding the further use of ruthless submarine warfare, and by the end of 1915 political considerations took over. Submarine warfare was limited only to operations against warships. This break in the relentless war continued until January 1, 1917, when its resumption soon caused a break with the United States. During the first period of the merciless submarine war of 1915, on average, submarines sank up to 75,000-100,000 tons of sea-going ships every month.

The Entente powers took a number of countermeasures. These included, first of all, the arming of commercial ships with artillery, then the organization of patrols (up to 300 units by the end of the year) from fishing vessels armed with light artillery, hydroaviation, the laying of underwater networks (networks were laid between Dover and the French coast for 260 km), the device was about naval bases of minefields. By the end of 1915, Germany had only 80 submarines, of which 24 were sunk. 150 boats were under construction.

In the Mediterranean, Italy's entry into the war on May 24 increased the Entente's strength by 14 battleships and 15 cruisers. The Italian fleet was assigned the Adriatic Sea, where the fleet was supposed to monitor the locked Austro-Hungarian fleet and ensure the supply of supplies to Serbia.

In the Baltic Sea in 1915, the main task of the Russian fleet, although reinforced during the past winter with 4 dreadnoughts, was still set to protect the Gulf of Finland (Porkallaud position), and then assist the land army, retreating under the blows of the Germans along the coast; however, there was no proper unification in the joint actions of the army and navy, and, in addition, the Headquarters was very unsympathetic to the attempts of the naval command to act actively. The actions of the German Baltic detachment also amounted to demonstrations.

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