The Bloody 1860s

Some musings on a historical period that fascinates me, the latter half of the 19^th Century, "the day before yesterday" in historical terms

In the popular mind in Britain the Victorian era, indeed the entire period from Waterloo in 1815 to the opening of the Great War in 1914, is often seen as something of a golden age of peace. So too it was for Britain, interrupted only by small wars in distant places, and two medium ones in the Crimea and South Africa. From a British perspective this perception was largely correct, mainly because whatever fighting was involved was done by the top and bottom layers of society – the sons of the landed gentry and aristocracy on the one hand, and those of the underclass on the other. There was little impact on the middle classes and on what was recognised as “the respectable working class”.  

Retaking of Suzhou city from the Taiping Rebels by Imperial Manchu troops

If a global perspective is however adopted the picture changes significantly and the 1860s in particular may well have represented the bloodiest single decade in human history up to that time. Conflicts that raged at this time either during the decade or overlapping it, included:

• The Tai-Ping Rebellion in Southern China, 1850 to 1864, in which upwards of 20 million people are estimated to have died.
• The American Civil War 1861-65, which killed more Americans (roughly 625,000) than all that nation’s other wars combined and which saw the largest armies seen up to that time operating on a vast geographic scale.
• The “Tripartite War” of 1864-1870 in which Paraguay fought the three allied nations of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay and in the process lost 390,000 of its combatants and approximately 1.2 million of its entire population, civilian and military. This equated to approximately 90% of the pre-war population and the conflict is regarded in relative terms as the most bloody in recorded history.
• Prussia’s wars against Denmark in 1864 and Austria in 1866 were relatively bloodless, though the victory at Königgrätz in 1866 cost the Prussians 2000 casualties and the Austro-Hungarians 31,000. These two “medium wars” were the prelude to the murderous Franco-Prussian War which would break out in 1870.
• As the decade opened the Second Italian War of Independence was still in progress, winding up a vicious campaign that had seen the French, Piedmontese and Austrians slaughtering each other at the Battles of Magenta and Solferino in 1859, the casualties at the latter being so terrible as to inspire Henri Dunant to establish the Red Cross.
• The French intervention in Mexico lasted from 1862 to 1866 and escalated what would have been a sufficiently nasty civil war into something greater in scope through France’s efforts to establish the Hapsburg “Emperor” Maximilian as its puppet ruler.
• Almost continuous Russian campaigns in Central Asia resulted in the conquest of Turkmenistan in the late 1860s, with further expansion in the decade that followed.
• The Polish Rising against Russian rule was mercilessly put down between 1863 and 1865.
• Civil Wars in Japan from 1864 onwards were a vital element in modernisers confronting traditionalists as the nation faced the challenge of opening up to the world outside.
• In 1868 the vicious “Ten Years War” commenced in Cuba as insurgents sought independence from Spain. This conflict was indeed the precursor to three decades of almost continuous guerrilla campaigns that culminated in the Spanish-American War of 1898.
• In Spain itself the revolution that toppled Queen Isabella II in 1868 was the precursor to several years of civil war, including the Third Carlist War that would rage from 1872-76.

The list above takes no account of lesser colonial conflicts, or now-forgotten wars which included the Colombian Civil War of 1860-62, the Colombian-Ecuadoran War of 1863, revolt against Ottoman rule in Crete and the Dominican Republic’s liberation from Spain between 1863 and 1865.

Forgotten many of these conflicts may now be, but each represented loss, tragedy and misery for all those they touched.

Tripartite War: Brazilian forces (in blue) engage the Paraguayan army (in red or shirtless) 

Russian troops advancing into the breach of a Central Asian fortress

 Farewell to Europe: defeated Poles being transported to Siberia in 1863

(The artist, Aleksander Sochaczewski is himself the figure to the right of the column)

Prussian Victory at Königgrätz in 1866

Creasy’s 15 Decisive Battles of the World – and 10 suggested additions

In 1851 the English historian and jurist Sir Edward Shepherd Creasy published his “Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World”. A different outcome of each of these battles would have resulted in a significantly different course of world history, and as such they still influence the world we live in today. As such they represent major “points of departure” for alternative histories.

Tours (Poitiers) 732: Charles Martel repels the Muslim invaders of Northern Europe

Each chapter of Creasy’s book describes a different battle. The fifteen battles chosen are:

1. The Battle of Marathon, 490 BC: Persian expansion into Europe halted
2. Defeat of the Athenians at Syracuse, 413 BC: The end of Athenian power
3. The Battle of Gaugamela, 331 BC: Opened Asia to Alexander’s armies
4. The Battle of the Metaurus, 207 BC: Guaranteed Rome’s survival and triumph over Carthage
5. Victory of Arminius over the Roman Legions under Varus, AD 9: Ends Roman expansion into Germany
6. The Battle of Châlons, AD 451: Roman victory over the Huns saved Western Europe’s Future
7. The Battle of Tours (Poitiers), AD 732: Stopped Muslim expansion into Northern Europe
8. The Battle of Hastings, AD 1066: Essential First step towards Britain as a World Power
9. Joan of Arc's Victory over the English at Orléans, AD 1429; The end of English power in France
10. Defeat of the Spanish Armada, AD 1588: The beginning of the end for Spain as a World Power
11. The Battle of Blenheim, AD 1704: Britain’s emergence as a Superpower
12. The Battle of Pultowa, AD 1709: Russia’s first step to Superpower status
13. The Battle of Saratoga, AD 1777: Secured the survival of the United States
14. The Battle of Valmy, AD 1792: Ensures survival of French Revolutionary power and thinking
15. The Battle of Waterloo, AD 1815: France never again achieved Superpower status
16. 
    

Poltawa 1709: Russia's first step to superpower status

It is notable that due to Creasy’s focus on European (and North American) power, and because little was then known in the West about Far Eastern history, no battles were listed which refer to China’s consolidation and survival as an imperial power, the failed Mongol invasions of Japan or to Japan’s failed bid for conquest of Korea in the 15th and 16th centuries and the implications that had for subsequent Japanese history.  The Mameluk victory in 1260, over the Mongols at Ain Jalut, in Galilee, which was critical in stemming Mongol power, was also omitted. Taking these and other Asian battles into account Creasy’s list might rightly have been extended to 20 or even 25 at the time he wrote. There is also good reason that he should have included the 1836 Battle of San Jacinto, which led in due course to United States acquisition of a vast areal percentage, and an economically vital one, of the modern nation.

 Since that time various writers have added to the list of post-1851 battles. Given the increasing pace and scale of conflicts since then it is not inappropriate to add at least 10. As a starting point for discussion and speculation, and with all due lack of modesty I’m suggesting the 10 post-1851 decisive battles as below:

1)       Gettysburg (and Vicksburg) 1863: though fought in separate theatres, but at almost exactly the same time, these battles made the defeat of the Southern Confederacy inevitable, not least by ending hopes of international recognition. A long attritional grind lay ahead but Union victory was now inevitable.

2)       Sedan1870: Not only did Bismarck’s Germany crush France decisively, and usher in the new German Empire, but it was absolute enough to ensure that the French would ultimately settle for a peace that ceded Alsace and Lorraine, thereby planting the seeds for WW1.

3)       Manila (and Santiago) 1898: Two naval victories half a world apart that announced the arrival of the United States as a global power and established its position in Asia that would be critical in WW2.

4)       Tsu Shima 1905: Japan’s victory over the huge Russian fleet was perhaps the most absolute in naval history. It marked the arrival of Japan as a major power and encouraged ambitions that would ultimately lead to WW2 in the Far East and the Pacific.

5)       The Marne 1914: Decisive in the sense that Germany could not achieve the quick victory in the west that it had built its strategy on. From this moment on Germany was on the back foot in the West. The Western Allies bought time that would ultimately lead to their defeat of Germany.

6)       Warsaw 1920: Bolshevik victory in the Russian Civil War was almost absolute when the Red Army was launched westwards to carry revolution into Central Europe. The new Polish state worked a miracle in defeating it. It saved Europe but at the cost of stoking Russian resentment that would exact a terrible revenge in later decades.

7)       The Atlantic 1939-45: Though the struggle to secure Britain’s supply lines climaxed in 1943, the fight went on from the first to the last day of WW2. Churchill described the U-Boat menace as the thing that frightened him most – and with good reason. Without victory in the Atlantic, no Allied victory in Western Europe.

8)       Stalingrad 1942-43. The name says it all. No need to say more.

9)       Saipan 1944: I’ve identified the conquest of Saipan rather than the Battle of Midway as being the decisive battle in the Pacific in WW2. My reasoning is that though Midway was critical in weakening the Japanese Navy, the United States would still have prevailed, though over a much longer time scale, if it had lost the battle.  Saipan was critical in identifying the type of war that had to be fought to beat Japan, leading in due course to the decision to drop nuclear weapons, At Saipan not only did the Japanese military fight to the death, but huge numbers of civilians, including women who killed their own children, were prepared not only to resist but to commit suicide rather than surrender. This was the first US encounter with a Japanese civilian population and it highlighted just how costly an invasion of the Japanese Home Islands would be. From this point on I believe that use of nuclear weapons was unavoidable.

10)   The Battle That Never Was 1983-90: The US commitment to the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI – “Star Wars”), whether it was ever technically feasible or not at the time, was believed to be feasible by the Soviets.  Their military budgets were already an unsustainable percentage of their total economy and the pressure to compete with Star Wars was possibly the greatest single factor in bringing about the ultimate collapse of the Soviet Union. Not a shot was fired and the tyranny hundreds of millions had lived under for seven decades died not with a bang but a whimper.

The list above is obviously subjective and I’d be welcome to hear comments.     

Warsaw 1920: The Miracle of the Vistula
Poles advance past Marshal Pilsudski to achieve the impossible

           

An Aid to Plotting: Maps and Thumbnails

Both the world I write about - that of the Late Victorian Era -  I tend to take maps as a starting point not just for imagining the scene of action but for recognising the challenges and constraints it may have for the plot. Realism demands reflection of the realities of space and time, not to mention nature of terrain, seasonal weather and the ease or difficulty of travel in the period in question. These challenges are of particular importance when one is linking the plot of a historical novel to actual events, as in the case of my own novel, Britannia's Wolf, which plays out in the last months of the murderous Russo-Turkish War of 1877/78 when a British officer, Nicholas Dawlish, is seconded to the Ottoman Turkish Navy. The action shifts from the Turkish and Russian Black Sea coasts to the province of Thrace on the approaches to Istanbul from Bulgaria. Given this wide geographical canvas then the process of getting from A to B, even though every step may not be described in detail, is in itself a major factor that may sometimes constrain, sometimes enhance, the possibilities of the plot.

A map is for me therefore an essential tool in the plotting and writing process. That for Britannia's Wolf is shown above. The larger scale map proved essential for plotting the actions taking place at sea, while the smaller inset map, to a larger scale, was critical for describing land action which is critical to the plot. An added bonus in these times is that Google Earth is an invaluable tool for provision of detail on locations one may have visited in the past and for jogging memory. Caution must however be exercised. Given the speed and extent of urban growth in much of the world over the last century extreme care needs to be taken in assessing what may - or may not - have been on the ground in the period of the novel. Major buildings such as mosques, churches and palaces present no problem but envisaging the likely extent of urban sprawl almost a century and a half ago is a greater challenge. What today may be substantial two-lane highways may still follow the same routes as previously, but were in most cases no more than tracks which became all but impassible in rain or snow.

I also adorned (if that is the word!) the map with two thumbnail sketches of ships which play a key role in Britannia's Wolf. I've had good feedback from readers about these, even it they lack the artistic merit of the embellishments such as dolphins and Neptunes with which 16th and 17th Century cartographers adorned their maps. I am at present finalising the text of my next Dawlish Chronicles novel - Britannia's XXX - with the Xs still be be revealed to the reading public. I've also been sprucing up the working map I initially created as a plotting aid and then referred to constantly during the writing process. In this case I'm providing four thumbnails of vessels which appear in the story. I'm reproducing two of them below and I wonder if anybody will be able to deduce from them where and in what circumstances Britannia's XXX is set?

Sir Edmund Gosse - stuck in the basement!

I first read "Father and Son" by Edmund Gosse (1849-1928) well over 40 years ago and I've re-read it several times since, as well as delighting in a talking-book version. It's Gosse's memoir of a bizarre Victorian childhood and it's simultaneously humorous, tragic, generous and honest. The narrative centres on Gosse's relationship with his marine-biologist father, whose fundamentalist Christian beliefs were thrown into turmoil by the publication of Darwin's "Origin of Species". To describe this man as "difficult" would be an understatement and yet the mutual love between him and his son shines through every page, including those that involve the most farcical events (the incident of the Christmas Pudding takes beating!). Gosse's account of his mother's illness and death is heartrending but it is pleasing to read of his relationship with his father's second wife, a thoroughly good woman.

As an adult, and after a painful break with this father on spiritual matters, Gosse went on to be a poet, author and critic. He was responsible for bringing Ibsen to the attention of the British public - indeed he translated Ibsen's Hedda Gabler and The Master Builder. He knew just about every notable literary figure between 1870 and 1928 and the list of his own achievements is daunting.

I've always liked Gosse - he seems to have been the sort of man one would have enjoyed knowing. He was also involved with the London Library, in St.James's Square, which is from were I draw much of my research material. Founded in 1841,this is the largest (and possibly best) subscription library in the world and has been a vital resource for thousands of writers and scholars. The bound copies of the Illustrated London News - another great Victorian institution - are located in the basement and I consult them regularly. On the way I pass a bronze bust of Gosse that has, shamefully, been placed there rather than in the entrance hall.  On occasion some irreverent soul has lent him a baseball cap which, strangely, rather suits him. I always doff my own cap metaphorically to him as I hurry past but a few days ago I paused to snap a photograph of him on my Smartphone. Here it is - my own small tribute.

Thank you Sir Edmund. You were a good man.

Could decisive action by Britain and France in 1936 have prevented WW2?

This isn't directly relevant to the Dawlish Chronicles period but to that which followed and it's worth noting nonetheless.

Inspired by the excellent The Alternative History Discussion Group on Facebook I was thinking yesterday while driving about what was the single moment in the 20^th Century when a single action which was not taken had the power to change the course of history to the greatest extent.

My conclusion was that this was if Britain and France has reacted differently to Hitler’s re-occupation if the Rhineland in March 1936, contrary to the terms of the Treaties of Versailles and Locarno. This represented Hitler’s first flexing of muscles on the international stage but it occurred when German re-armament, and expansion of the armed forces, was still at a very preliminary stage. Hitler was almost alone in Germany in believing that the trick could be pulled off.

The German high command, including the Chief of the General Staff, Ludwig Beck, was opposed to any such move, regarding it as a reckless blunder which would precipitate a war which Germany was not prepared for. In the event the “remilitarisation” was only token, with just three battalions crossing the Rhine into the demilitarised territory. Had Hitler’s bluff been called by Britain and France then Germany would have had no option but to retreat. The historian Alan Bullock quoted Hitler as saying “The forty-eight hours after the march into the Rhineland were the most nerve-racking in my life. If the French had then marched into the Rhineland we would have had to withdraw with our tails between our legs, for the military resources at our disposal would have been wholly inadequate for even a moderate resistance.”

There also appears that had Germany been pushed into a humiliating retreat senior officers in the Army high command would have been prepared to stage a coup to remove Hitler – and to do so in circumstances much more likely to offer success than at the time of the 20^th July plot in 1944.

In the event the British and French governments lost their nerve and accepted the remilitarisation. The Nazi Party’s popularity soared to unprecedented levels as wild celebrations spread across the country. When German troops marched into Cologne, a vast cheering crowd formed spontaneously threw flowers before them and Cardinal Karl Joseph Schulte of Cologne held a Mass at Cologne Cathedral to celebrate and thank Hitler for "sending back our army.

Hitler’s bluff had succeeded and he was encouraged to embark on new adventures, on the outright repudiation of treaty terms, on the Anchluss with Austria, on the intimidation of Czechoslovakia and its subsequent seizure of the Sudetenland, on the inexorable march to war. A failure of nerve by Britain and France in 1936 made all that followed inevitable.

Wooden Derelicts – a Menace of the Age of Sail

When thinking oneself back into the Age of Mercantile Sail – which lasted up to WW2 – it is hard to imagine just what a menace was represented by derelicts – ships abandoned by their crews but still afloat. The most serious class of derelict consisted of wooden-hulled ships carrying cargos of wood. Large numbers of such ships were employed on the North Atlantic, carrying timber from Canada to Europe, and another big lumber trade involved carrying hardwoods from South America to the Eastern USA through the hurricane-prone West Indies.

Steel hulls, with their associated heavy machinery are likely to sink if badly damaged but a wooden hull packed with timber might border on the unsinkable. In the case of crews abandoning such ships they were expected to set fire to them. This was however not necessarily done, and if it was, it might not be effective. An example is the barque Lysglint, abandoned and set on fire in May 1921, but which only sank two months later. The photograph shows her as a charred hulk, but still capable of floating and a massive danger to any ship that might encounter her in darkness or fog – this being before the days of radar.

Lysglint barque as a derelict in 1921

Such derelicts could drift for very long distances. In 1888 the schooner W.L.White was abandoned off Delaware Bay. She drifted for eleven months and her movements were carefully plotted by the U.S. Hydrographic Department which was studying derelict movements. She travelled over 5000 miles, driven hither and thither by wind and current.  Reported no less than 45 times by passing ships, she was finally driven ashore at the island of Lewis, in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides.

Another long-lived derelict was the Alma Cummings which drifted for 587 days in the North Atlantic after she had been dismasted and her crew taken off by a passing steamer.  Other vessels sent boarding parties no less than five times but efforts to burn her reduced her upper hull almost to the water’s edge, making her all but invisible and an even greater hazard. After covering at least 5000 miles she finally grounded off Panama, her cargo of wood and her metal fittings being highly prized by those who found her.

The derelict barque Edward L. Maybury, photographed in the North Atlantic in 1905

The most spectacular derelict voyage was probably that of the Fannie E. Wolsten, an American schooner that was estimated to have covered over 10,000 miles in four years, following her abandonment on the edge of the Gulf Stream in 1891. She was reported scores of times in the North Atlantic but finally sank off the coast of New Jersey, not far from where she was originally abandoned.

The scale of the derelict menace was immense. C.D. Sigsbee (1845-1923) of the US Navy, who was later a Rear Admiral and is perhaps best remembered as captain of the USS Maine when she blew up in the harbour of Havana, spent much of his career as a hydrographer. In 1894 he published a report on "Wrecks and Derelicts of the North Atlantic 1887 through 1893" which indicated that in this period there were 1,628 derelict vessels adrift (or lost) in the Atlantic alone.

On both sides of the Atlantic it was agreed that “Something must be done” and naval vessels were enlisted to tackle the problem. The solution was not however easy. A timber-filled wooden hull, especially if almost awash, was not easily sunk by gunfire and torpedoes were considered too expensive. The only really effective way was to place gun-cotton charges in such a position as to break the vessel’s back, but gaining access to do so was always dangerous and often all but impossible. Ships employed by the U.S. Navy for this purpose included the aged USS Kearsage, which had sunk the Confederate raider Alabama during the Civil War but which was now relegated to more humble duties.

Ramming was considered as an option, but this required sturdily built ships. Though this had fallen out of favour as a battle-tactic by the 1890s, most naval vessels were constructed with ram-shaped bows. In practice however derelicts proved tough opponents, capable of giving perhaps more than they got. The American cruiser USS Atlanta was damaged during such a manoeuvre in 1895, as was Royal Navy’s protected cruiser HMS Melampus in 1899, both needing to limp home for dockyard repairs.

HMS Melampus, 2^nd-class cruiser, in happier circumstances, 

at Kingstown (now Dun Laoighre) in Ireland

An 1896 bureaucratic measure by Britain was to impose a fine of £5 for failure to report a derelict at the first opportunity. Even allowing for inflation since then, the sum involved was derisory and the means of enforcing were limited.

The most effective measure was finally taken by the Americans who, in 1908, launched the 1445 tons Coast Guard cutter USCGC Seneca, specifically intended for of locating and destroying abandoned vessels. Heavily armed for her size and with excellent sea-keeping and towing capabilities she embarked on a varied 40-year career that also included wartime, ice-patrol, and rum-runner seizure duties.  The photograph below shows her in action.

 USCGC Seneca with a derelict in tow

The solution to the derelict menace was not however recovery or sinking – it was time itself. The disappearance of the wooden-hulled merchant ship, especially those involved in the timber trade, made such hazards rare, though isolated cases still occur, usually involving much smaller vessels. 

Coast Defence Ships - Big Bang in a Small Parcel

In “Britannia’s Wolf”, first book in my “Dawlish Chronicles” series, a key role is played by the heavily-armed Ottoman Turkish coast defence ship Mesrutiyet, which had been constructed in Britain and whose two sisters were taken into Royal Navy service in 1878 as HMS Belleisle and HMS Orion.  These were some of the last coast defence ships equipped with masts and yards, though in practice they do not appear to have operated under sail.

Mesrutiyet – designed for defence of the Turkish Straits and Black Sea coast

Coast defence ships represented major components – in some cases the backbone – of minor navies in the period 1870 to 1920, and in some cases beyond. Some few such ships could also be found in larger navies.  They were specifically designed for operations close to the home nation’s coast and were intended to act in cooperation with light forces and to make maximum use of the shelter of fortified harbours and coastal batteries. They carried a heavy armament for their size and were slow and usually – with the exception of Netherlands ships – with limited range capability. They were frequently designed with specific local conditions in mind – e.g. shallow draughts to permit inshore manoeuvring. Shipboard accommodation and storage requirements were limited as they could fall back on the resources of shore bases. They varied in size from around 1,500 tons to 8,000 tons.

Navies with coastal defence ships serving as their main capital ships tended to be those which by size or location were focussed on defence of its own territory rather than projection of force elsewhere. These included the Scandinavian countries, the Netherlands (including its East Indian Empire) and Thailand. Germany also built such ships in the years prior to Kaiser Wilhelm II and Admiral Tirpitz embarking on construction of a navy to match that of Great Britain.

Larger navies did however also employ some such ships to meet satisfy specific local requirements.  Russia, for example, built several such ships for inshore operations in the Baltic. France did so to provide additional and flexible support to fortified naval bases such as Brest and Toulon.  British colonies in India and Australia built several such ships for defence of key harbours.

Some examples of coast defence ships from their birth in the1870s to their final demise in the WW2 period are provided below.

Great Britain

HMS Glatton (1871)

HMS Glatton in her Victorian glory - black hull, white superstructure 

The Glatton was designed for "the defence of our own harbours and roadsteads, and for attacking those of the enemy". In reality, her lack of freeboard would appear to have precluded any operations whatsoever except those in calm weather and smooth water. She carried her main armament of two 12” muzzle-loaders in a single turret and there was in theory be no point on the horizon to which at least one gun could not point, whatever the ship’s orientation. To achieve this the superstructure was very narrow, so that at least one of the guns in the turret could fire on targets to the after aspect of the ship. Blast effects on the superstructure from firing abaft the beam were not taken into account – or probably even understood at the time. The Glatton was the best protected ship of her day, with some 35% of her 4900 tons displacement devoted to armour.

Generally similar low freeboard ships, though with two turrets, were built for harbour protection in India (HMS Abyssinia and HMS Magdala) and for Australia (HMS Cerebus). Thereafter the coast-defence ship fell out of favour in the Royal Navy, as its raison d’etre was not just local protection of British possessions but its ability to operate on a global scale. Cost defence vessels were not to figure again in the Royal Navy until World War 1. The jump in capability since the 1870s was a large one.

HMS Glatton and HMS Gorgon (1918)

HMS Glatton in 1918

Britain’s need to deliver heavy naval fire on German positions on the Belgian Coast during World War 1 led not only to development of the modern monitor but to a search for vessels from elsewhere which were suited to shallow-water operations. Two apparently ideal coast defence ships had been under construction in Britain for the Norwegian Navy and they were acquired in 1914, although they did not enter service until 1918 due to the need for modifications in the light of war experience. Now called Glatton and Gorgon, and of 5746 tons, these ships carried two 9.4” and four 6” guns, plus smaller weapons. They were slow (12 knots maximum) but heavily armoured and “bulged”, as shown below, to provide protection against torpedo attack.

HMS Glatton in drydock, 1918. Note the anti-torpedo bulges.

In practice neither ship lived up to its promise, Glatton being destroyed by an accidental internal explosion in Dover Harbour in 1918 and Gorgon saw only limited action before the war ended, She was later expended as a target ship.

France

Tonnerre (1877)

Tonnerre at sea – her turning circle was smaller than that of any other in the French Navy

With the success of British blockades of French naval bases in previous wars in mind, France in the 1870s and 1880s made significant investment in slow, heavily armoured and well-armed coast defence ships which  capable of deterring or breaking future blockades. The Tonnerre, laid down in 1873 but not completed until 1879, represented a model for a number of such vessels. With her displacement of 5765 tons and armament of two 10.8” turret-mounted guns the similarity to the HMS Glatton of the same period is striking.

Jemappes Class(1890)

Even larger coast-defence ships were built by France in the 1890s, typical of these being the Jemappes and Valmy of 1890.

The Jemmapes: Note the 13.4” weapons fore and aft and the curiously curves bow and stern profiles so typical of French cost-defence ships of the period

These were large ships – 6476 tons and their main armament of two 13.4” guns would have made them very dangerous opponents in the waters close to the well-defended French bases.

Russia

Admiral Ushakov Class (1893) 

Admiral Seniavin of the Ushakov class

Though it became fashionable in the Soviet period to ridicule the voyage of the Russian Baltic Fleet to the Far East in 1904-05, and its subsequent massacre at the Battle of Tsu-Shima, the achievement of getting such a large fleet half-way across the world, without possessing naval bases on the way, was a very impressive one. This was especially so in the case of the three Ushakov coast defence ships – Admirals Ushakov, Seniavin and Apraksin – which had been designed for short-range Baltic operations, primarily for operations against the Swedes should the circumstances demand. These three vessels were essentially “pocket battleships” long before the term was invented. On 4971 tons these vessels carried four (Aprakzin carried three) 10” and four 4.7” guns. Seniavin and Apraksin surrendered to the Japanese after Tsu-Shima, though they were returned to Russia when both countries became uneasy allies in WW1 but Ushakov was sunk in the action.

The Netherlands

The Royal Netherlands Navy employed their "armoured ships" to defend their overseas empire, especially the country's vast  colonial possessions in the East Indies (modern Indonesia). Though essentially cost-defence vessels they had to be capable of long-range cruising in view of the enormous distances involved when operating offshore of what is now Indonesia, of provision of artillery support during amphibious operations, and with capacity for carrying the troops and equipment needed in such operations. They also had to be armed and armoured well enough to face contemporary armoured cruisers of the Japanese Navy (the Netherlands' most likely enemy in the Pacific). As such they were expected to act as mini-battleships rather than strictly as coastal defence vessels. Meeting this combination of requirements was an almost impossible one.

Jacob van Heemskerck(1906)

Some nine such ships were built in the 1890s and early 1900s and the last of these, the Jacob van Heemskerck reflected the lessons learned from earlier ships.

Jacob van Heemskerk with what may be the coast defence ship Piet Hein (1894) moored astern

Though constructed at the same time as HMS Dreadnought, and with the Japanese navy about to build its own dreadnoughts, the Heemskerk, with her main armament of two 9.2” weapons on 4920 tons displacement, and her maximum speed of 16.5 knots, looked like a throwback to an earlier age.  It is difficult to envisage  circumstances in which she could have offered any meaningful opposition to the Japanese and she seems at this remove to be a sad example of money badly spent. She ended her days as a German floating anti-aircraft battery in WW2.

Sweden

Äran Class (1902)

Coast defence ships represented the core of the Swedish Navy up to 1947. Between 1890 and 1905 some 11 vessels of considerable sophistication, and of careful reflection of local needs, joined the fleet. It was such vessels that Russia’s Admiral Ushakov class were designed to combat in Swedish coastal waters. The Swedish ships were relatively small, with limited speed, shallow draft, and very heavy guns relative to the displacement. They were designed for close in-shore work along the shores of Sweden and, if necessary, Finland. The aim was to outgun any ocean-going warship of the same draft by a significant margin, making it a very dangerous opponent for a cruiser, and deadly to anything smaller. The limitations in speed and seaworthiness were a trade-off for the heavy armament carried. Vessels similar to the Swedish ships were also built and operated by Denmark and Norway, which had comparable requirements.

Äran (1902) – photographer unknown, source http://www.merbil.se/marint.htm 

A typical Swedish coast defence vessel of 1902 was the Äran, one of a class of four vessels. As initially constructed these 3592-ton vessels carried two 8.3” and six 6” weapons as well as two 18” torpedo tubes. Three of this class, including Äran, were extensively upgraded and saw service until 1947.

Sverige Class (1912 – 1922)

Sverige during WW2 - Source photograph No. Fo200277 from Swedish National Maritime Museum

The three ships of this class can be argued to be the most effective coast defence vessels ever built. Though designed before WW1, their completion was delayed, even though Sweden was neutral, and at 7775 tons they were the largest ships taken into Swedish service. Capable of some 23 knots and turbine powered, these vessels packed a very potent punch of four 11.1” and eight 6” guns, plus, later, numerous anti-aircraft armament. All three vessels were extensively modernised in the 1930s and helped preserve Sweden’s neutrality in WW2. Though well-armed they would have been too small, too cramped, too slow and without enough range to engage enemy heavy ships in open water but if handled properly in defence in their home shores  they would probably have presented a major challenge for any aggressor.

Norway

Eidsvold Class (1900)

Launched in 1900 the two vessels of Norway’s Eidsvold-class were very similar to Sweden’s Äran class. The most remarkable aspect of the Eidsvold’s and Norge’s careers was that they met their ends together when the Germans invaded Norway in April 1940. German destroyers trapped both ships in the fjord at Narvik on April 9^th and demanded surrender from the senior officer present, Captain Odd Isaachsen Willoch of the Eidsvold. A German officer boarded and tried to talk Willoch into surrender, but was turned down. As he left the deck of Eidsvold, the German fired a red flare, indicating that the Norwegians wished to fight. The battle-ready German destroyers torpedoed Eidsvold before she could fire her guns. Eidsvold was blown in two and sunk in seconds, propellers still turning. Only six of the crew were rescued, while 175 died in the freezing water. It was hardly a victory that the German Navy could be proud of.

Norge in happier times

Meanwhile, deeper inside the fjord, Norge’s crew heard explosions but nothing could be seen until two German destroyers suddenly appeared out of the darkness. Norge’s captain, Per Askim, gave orders to open fire at a range of about 800 yards. Due to the difficult weather condition, it was hard to use the optical sights for the guns, which resulted in the first salvo falling short of the target and the others going over. The German destroyers returned fire and launched three salvoes of two torpedoes each. The first two salvoes missed, but the last struck Norge amidships, and she sank in less than one minute, her propellers still turning. 90 of the crew were rescued from the freezing water, but 101 perished in the battle which had lasted less than 20 minutes.

Finland

Väinämöinen Class (1931)

Other than Thailand, Finland was the last country to build new coast defence ships. The design of the Väinämöinen and the Ilmarinen was optimised for operations in the Baltic archipelagos and their open sea performance was de-emphasized in order to give the vessels shallow draft and super-compact design. On 3900 tons these 300 ft. long, diesel-electric powered ships carried an armament of four 10” and eight 42 guns, plus lighter anti-aircraft weapons. Draught was just under 15ft. 

Väinämöinen in 1938

During the “Winter War” of 1939-40 against the Soviet Union the ships’ freedom of action was hampered by ice. Moored at the port of Turku, their anti-aircraft artillery aided defence. During the “Continuation War” when Finland allied itself with Germany after the latter’s invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, both ships shelled Soviet land targets and cooperated with German surface forces to lure out Soviet ships to battle. Ilmarinen was sunk by a mine on September 13^th and went down in just seven minutes. From the crew of 403 on board only 132 survived. Thereafter the Väinämöinen saw little action and was handed over to the Soviet Baltic Fleet in 1947 as a war reparation. The Soviets named her Vyborg and kept her in service for a further 6 years.

Thailand

Sri Ayudhya Class (1938)

The last coast defence ships to be built, the Sri Ayudhya and her sister Thonburi were considerably smaller, at 2350 tons, than the Finnish ships. On this displacement the 250 ft. long vessels managed to carry four 8” and four 3” guns, plus anti-aircraft armament.

Thonburi and other Thai ships were engaged by Vichy French naval forces in the Battle of Ko Chang on January 17^th 1941 and suffered damage. She was beached to avoid sinking. Her sister did not arrive in time to participate.

Drawing of Thonburi by Dr. Dan Saranga

Downloaded with thanks from http://www.the-blueprints.com/

Sri Ayudhya met her end during a military coup in 1951 when a group of junior naval officers took the Thai Prime Minister aboard at gunpoint. Though the ship attempted to escape from Bangkok a critical opening-bridge was kept closed against her. Shelling from land disabled her and she lay dead in the water in front of the Wichaiprasit Fort, from where she was bombarded by artillery. AT-6 (Texan) training aircraft also bombed her. Now burning, “Abandon Ship” was ordered and the Prime Minister had to swim ashore along with the crew, but was uninjured. The fires continued throughout the night and into the next day, leading to the heavily damaged Sri Ayudhya finally sinking on the night of July 1^st 1951.

Sri Ayudhya’s loss brought the 80-year era of the coast defence ship to an end.