Misplaced Pages

#324675

122-738: On the basis of experience during World War I , the Admiralty instituted trade convoys in United Kingdom coastal waters from September 1939. Anti-submarine escorts were allocated on the basis of perceived threat. Early German Type II submarines from bases in Germany were unable to operate effectively beyond European coastal waters. Following acquisition of bases in Norway and France, German Type IX submarines and German Type VII submarines refuelled by German Type XIV submarines operated in

244-523: A Bosnian Serb named Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand , heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Austria-Hungary held Serbia responsible, and declared war on 28 July. After Russia mobilised in Serbia's defence, Germany declared war on Russia and France , who had an alliance . The United Kingdom entered after Germany invaded Belgium , whose neutrality it guaranteed, and

366-645: A blue-water navy was vital for global power projection; Tirpitz had his books translated into German, while Wilhelm made them required reading for his advisors and senior military personnel. However, it was also an emotional decision, driven by Wilhelm's simultaneous admiration for the Royal Navy and desire to surpass it. Bismarck thought that the British would not interfere in Europe, as long as its maritime supremacy remained secure, but his dismissal in 1890 led to

488-592: A grenade at the Archduke's car and injured two of his aides. The other assassins were also unsuccessful. An hour later, as Ferdinand was returning from visiting the injured officers in hospital, his car took a wrong turn into a street where Gavrilo Princip was standing. He fired two pistol shots, fatally wounding Ferdinand and his wife Sophie . According to historian Zbyněk Zeman , in Vienna "the event almost failed to make any impression whatsoever. On 28 and 29 June,

610-540: A guerrilla warfare campaign and only surrendered two weeks after the armistice took effect in Europe. Before the war, Germany had attempted to use Indian nationalism and pan-Islamism to its advantage, a policy continued post-1914 by instigating uprisings in India , while the Niedermayer–Hentig Expedition urged Afghanistan to join the war on the side of Central Powers. However, contrary to British fears of

732-412: A western local escort force (WLEF) of corvettes, minesweepers, and short-range destroyers between Halifax Harbour and Newfoundland. Corvettes had adequate endurance for MOEF assignments, but the fuel economy of destroyers was poor at the speeds that convoys operated. The escort group leaders were modern destroyers with adequate endurance but, of the older destroyers allocated to trade convoy escort, only

854-639: A bonus, the Admiralty could sell these trawlers to commercial fishing interests after the end of the war. Many were sunk during the war, such as HMT  Amethyst and HMT  Force . In 1940 Lieutenant Richard Stannard was in command of the naval trawler HMT  Arab when he won the Victoria Cross for his actions from 28 April to 2 May 1940 at Namsos in the Norwegian campaign . HMT Arab survived 31 bombing attacks in five days. During

976-408: A change in policy and an Anglo-German naval arms race began. Despite the vast sums spent by Tirpitz, the launch of HMS  Dreadnought in 1906 gave the British a technological advantage. Ultimately, the race diverted huge resources into creating a German navy large enough to antagonise Britain, but not defeat it; in 1911, Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg acknowledged defeat, leading to

1098-613: A direct threat. The 1908–1909 Bosnian Crisis began when Austria annexed the former Ottoman territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina , which it had occupied since 1878. Timed to coincide with the Bulgarian Declaration of Independence from the Ottoman Empire, this unilateral action was denounced by the European powers, but accepted as there was no consensus on how to resolve the situation. Some historians see this as

1220-692: A further 60 as auxiliary patrol vessels. During the Second World War the Kriegsmarine operated trawlers as Vorpostenboot (outpost boats) and as weather ships ; the Lauenburg was an example. It also used a large number of Kriegsfischkutter , trawlers built after the 24m long model "G" of the scientifically developed fishing cutter models (seven "Reichsfischkutter"-models A to- G), redesigned for naval uses such as anti-submarine warfare, but intended for conversion to fishing vessel after

1342-471: A gap between the German armies as they closed on Paris. The French army, reinforced by the British expeditionary corps, seized this opportunity to counter-attack and pushed the German army 40 to 80 km back. Both armies were then so exhausted that no decisive move could be implemented, so they settled in trenches, with the vain hope of breaking through as soon as they could build local superiority. In 1911,

SECTION 10

#1732779943325

1464-605: A number of Isles-class trawlers to the Portuguese Navy as anti-submarine vessels. Romania acquired three German KFK naval trawlers in 1943. During the First World War, the Royal Navy operated 627 "Admiralty Trawlers" which had been purpose-built, purchased from foreign countries, or acquired as prizes . A further 1,456 trawlers were hired and operated, together with many other kinds of small vessel, by

1586-470: A number of these naval trawlers retired from their spy ship roles have also been converted to survey vessels to meet the extremely heavy hydrographic survey requirement. Chinese naval trawlers include Type 113 , Type 801 , Type 8105 , Type 8101 , Type 8154 and Type 792 naval trawlers . The French Navy used trawlers requisitioned from civilian use in wartime. In the Second World War 480 trawler-type vessels were in service as auxiliary mine-sweepers, and

1708-548: A possibility. This was accentuated by British and Russian support for France against Germany during the 1911 Agadir Crisis . German economic and industrial strength continued to expand rapidly post-1871. Backed by Wilhelm II, Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz sought to use this growth to build an Imperial German Navy , that could compete with the British Royal Navy . This policy was based on the work of US naval author Alfred Thayer Mahan , who argued that possession of

1830-834: A revolt in India, the outbreak of the war saw a reduction in nationalist activity. Leaders from the Indian National Congress and other groups believed support for the British war effort would hasten Indian Home Rule , a promise allegedly made explicit in 1917 by Edwin Montagu , the Secretary of State for India . In 1914, the British Indian Army was larger than the British Army itself, and between 1914 and 1918 an estimated 1.3 million Indian soldiers and labourers served in Europe, Africa, and

1952-516: A significant escalation, ending any chance of Austria cooperating with Russia in the Balkans, while also damaging diplomatic relations between Serbia and Italy. Tensions increased after the 1911–1912 Italo-Turkish War demonstrated Ottoman weakness and led to the formation of the Balkan League , an alliance of Serbia, Bulgaria, Montenegro , and Greece . The League quickly overran most of

2074-478: A war on two fronts; the Schlieffen Plan envisaged using 80% of the army to defeat France, then switching to Russia. Since this required them to move quickly, mobilization orders were issued that afternoon. Once the German ultimatum to Russia expired on the morning of 1 August, the two countries were at war. At a meeting on 29 July, the British cabinet had narrowly decided its obligations to Belgium under

2196-402: A weak Ottoman government, rather than an ambitious Slav power like Bulgaria . Russia had ambitions in northeastern Anatolia while its clients had overlapping claims in the Balkans. These competing interests divided Russian policy-makers and added to regional instability. Austrian statesmen viewed the Balkans as essential for the continued existence of their Empire and saw Serbian expansion as

2318-455: A whole, the Somme offensive led to an estimated 420,000 British casualties, along with 200,000 French and 500,000 Germans. The diseases that emerged in the trenches were a major killer on both sides. The living conditions led to disease and infection, such as trench foot , lice , typhus , trench fever , and the ' Spanish flu '. At the start of the war, German cruisers were scattered across

2440-508: Is known, however, that from 1908 to 1913, military spending by the six major European powers increased by over 50% in real terms. The years before 1914 were marked by a series of crises in the Balkans, as other powers sought to benefit from the Ottoman decline. While Pan-Slavic and Orthodox Russia considered itself the protector of Serbia and other Slav states, they preferred the strategically vital Bosporus straits to be controlled by

2562-574: The Schutzkorps was established, and carried out the persecution of Serbs. The assassination initiated the July Crisis, a month of diplomatic manoeuvring between Austria-Hungary, Germany, Russia, France and Britain. Believing that Serbian intelligence helped organise Franz Ferdinand's murder, Austrian officials wanted to use the opportunity to end their interference in Bosnia and saw war as

SECTION 20

#1732779943325

2684-641: The World War . In August 1914, the magazine The Independent wrote "This is the Great War. It names itself". In October 1914, the Canadian magazine Maclean's similarly wrote, "Some wars name themselves. This is the Great War." Contemporary Europeans also referred to it as " the war to end war " and it was also described as "the war to end all wars" due to their perception of its unparalleled scale, devastation, and loss of life. The first recorded use of

2806-695: The Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force landed on the island of New Britain , then part of German New Guinea . On 28 October, the German cruiser SMS  Emden sank the Russian cruiser Zhemchug in the Battle of Penang . Japan declared war on Germany before seizing territories in the Pacific, which later became the South Seas Mandate , as well as German Treaty ports on

2928-505: The Auxiliary Patrol . Trawlers were mainly employed in minesweeping, anti-submarine patrols and as boom defence vessels . 266 of the hired trawlers were lost while on active service. Before and during the Second World War, the Royal Navy ordered many naval trawlers to Admiralty specifications. Shipyards such as Smiths Dock Company that were used to building fishing trawlers could easily switch to building naval versions. As

3050-527: The British Isles was considered as a means of eliminating meeting point delays and reducing the number of destroyers required for escort of convoys between Canada and the United Kingdom. Initial proposals by the United States on 24 January 1942 produced an agreement in early February for a mid-ocean escort force organisation of fourteen escort groups. American-led escort groups were prefixed with

3172-720: The Clemson subgroup of the Town-class destroyers proved suitable for MOEF assignments. Wickes -class destroyers were useful for the Canadian WLEF and the American Iceland shuttle; but lacked endurance to stay with a trade convoy for the full distance covered by the MOEF Escort Groups. The Admiralty converted some V and W-class destroyers to long range escorts by removing the forward boiler and using

3294-631: The Middle East , as well as in parts of Africa and the Asia-Pacific , and in Europe was characterised by trench warfare ; the widespread use of artillery , machine guns, and chemical weapons (gas); and the introductions of tanks and aircraft . World War I was one of the deadliest conflicts in history , resulting in an estimated 10 million military dead and more than 20 million wounded , plus some 10 million civilian dead from causes including genocide . The movement of large numbers of people

3416-721: The Rüstungswende or 'armaments turning point', when he switched expenditure from the navy to the army. This decision was not driven by a reduction in political tensions but by German concern over Russia's quick recovery from its defeat in the Russo-Japanese War and subsequent 1905 Russian Revolution . Economic reforms led to a significant post-1908 expansion of railways and transportation infrastructure, particularly in its western border regions. Since Germany and Austria-Hungary relied on faster mobilisation to compensate for their numerical inferiority compared to Russia,

3538-502: The SC convoys and their slower ON counterparts. Canadian escort groups were increased from a nominal strength of four ships to six – typically one Canadian River-class destroyer with five Flower-class corvettes . The Gleaves -class destroyer Kearny was torpedoed while escorting Convoy SC 48 on 17 October 1941. Clemson -class destroyer Reuben James was torpedoed and sunk on 31 October 1941 while escorting Convoy HX 156 . When

3660-828: The United States entered the war on the Allied side following Germany's resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare against Atlantic shipping. Later that year, the Bolsheviks seized power in the Russian October Revolution , and Soviet Russia signed an armistice with the Central Powers in December, followed by a separate peace in March 1918. That month, Germany launched an offensive in

3782-530: The Western Approaches . In Newfoundland on 9 August 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt agreed to provide American destroyers for the Canada to Iceland portion of HX convoys and westbound ON convoys . HX 150 sailed 16 September 1941 as the first convoy with American escort. ON 18 sailed 24 September as the first westbound convoy with American escort. The Royal Canadian Navy continued to escort

Mid-ocean escort force - Misplaced Pages Continue

3904-487: The hydrophone and depth charges were introduced, destroyers could potentially successfully attack a submerged submarine. Convoys slowed the flow of supplies since ships had to wait as convoys were assembled; the solution was an extensive program of building new freighters. Troopships were too fast for the submarines and did not travel the North Atlantic in convoys. The U-boats sunk more than 5,000 Allied ships, at

4026-821: The tank . After the First Battle of the Marne in September 1914, Allied and German forces unsuccessfully tried to outflank each other, a series of manoeuvres later known as the " Race to the Sea ". By the end of 1914, the opposing forces confronted each other along an uninterrupted line of entrenched positions from the Channel to the Swiss border. Since the Germans were normally able to choose where to stand, they generally held

4148-588: The 1839 Treaty of London did not require it to oppose a German invasion with military force; however, Prime Minister Asquith and his senior Cabinet ministers were already committed to supporting France, the Royal Navy had been mobilised, and public opinion was strongly in favour of intervention. On 31 July, Britain sent notes to Germany and France, asking them to respect Belgian neutrality; France pledged to do so, but Germany did not reply. Aware of German plans to attack through Belgium, French Commander-in-Chief Joseph Joffre asked his government for permission to cross

4270-563: The 1879 Dual Alliance , which became the Triple Alliance when Italy joined in 1882. For Bismarck, the purpose of these agreements was to isolate France by ensuring the three Empires resolve any disputes between themselves. In 1887, Bismarck set up the Reinsurance Treaty , a secret agreement between Germany and Russia to remain neutral if either were attacked by France or Austria-Hungary. For Bismarck, peace with Russia

4392-441: The 1913 Treaty of London , which had created an independent Albania while enlarging the territories of Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro and Greece. However, disputes between the victors sparked the 33-day Second Balkan War , when Bulgaria attacked Serbia and Greece on 16 June 1913; it was defeated, losing most of Macedonia to Serbia and Greece, and Southern Dobruja to Romania. The result was that even countries which benefited from

4514-929: The 1982 Falklands War the Royal Navy hired a flotilla of five trawlers from Kingston-upon-Hull , which were hastily converted to minesweepers, as the Ton-class minesweepers then in service were unsuitable for the long voyage and the heavy seas of the South Atlantic . Although employed with the Task Force on various other auxiliary duties, after the Argentine surrender the trawlers were able to sweep ten naval mines which had been successfully laid in Port Stanley harbour; eleven others had failed to deploy or had broken adrift. The US Navy generally favoured custom-built warships to civilian conversions, but in

4636-579: The American east coast. Escort Groups A-1 and A-2 were disbanded when their modern American destroyer leaders were assigned elsewhere. Escort Groups A-4 and A-5 were redesignated B6 and B7, respectively, when the Royal Navy assigned F-class destroyers Fame and Firedrake as leaders. Escort Group B5 was reassigned to Caribbean trade convoys in March 1942. Beginning in April, the following eleven groups escorted HX convoys, SC convoys and ON convoys through

4758-569: The Austrians and Serbs clashed at the battles of the Cer and Kolubara ; over the next two weeks, Austrian attacks were repulsed with heavy losses. As a result, Austria had to keep sizeable forces on the Serbian front, weakening their efforts against Russia. Serbia's victory against Austria-Hungary in the 1914 invasion has been called one of the major upset victories of the twentieth century. In 1915,

4880-646: The Austrians briefly occupied the Serbian capital, Belgrade . A Serbian counter-attack in the Battle of Kolubara succeeded in driving them from the country by the end of 1914. For the first 10 months of 1915, Austria-Hungary used most of its military reserves to fight Italy. German and Austro-Hungarian diplomats scored a coup by persuading Bulgaria to join the attack on Serbia. The Austro-Hungarian provinces of Slovenia , Croatia and Bosnia provided troops for Austria-Hungary. Montenegro allied itself with Serbia. Bulgaria declared war on Serbia on 14 October 1915 and joined in

5002-553: The Balkan Wars, such as Serbia and Greece, felt cheated of their "rightful gains", while for Austria it demonstrated the apparent indifference with which other powers viewed their concerns, including Germany. This complex mix of resentment, nationalism and insecurity helps explain why the pre-1914 Balkans became known as the " powder keg of Europe ". On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria , heir presumptive to Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria , visited Sarajevo ,

Mid-ocean escort force - Misplaced Pages Continue

5124-719: The British Flower-class corvettes Kingcup and Vervain . Convoys SC 83, ON 101, SC 88, ON 111 and HX 200 were escorted without loss. Convoy ON 122 lost four ships torpedoed by U-605 , U-176 and U-438 . Convoys HX 205 and ON 132 were escorted without loss. Convoy SC 104 lost seven ships. Convoy ON 144 lost five ships torpedoed by U-264 , U-184 and U-624 . Montbretia was torpedoed by U-262 . Convoy HX 217 lost two ships torpedoed by U-524 and U-553 . Convoys ON 155, SC 116, ON 165, HX 227, ONS 1 and SC 125 were escorted without loss. The Flower-class corvette Loosestrife from Escort Group A-5, and

5246-556: The British to crack the Enigma code , enabling them to read Germany's secret communications; the Germans discontinued the use of weather trawlers as they were too vulnerable, though they had not understood how their weather missions compromised Enigma. The Royal Indian Navy operated trawlers mostly for wartime coastal defence; more than 50 Basset -class trawlers were ordered, but only 22 were completed, with four more being destroyed before completion when their shipyards were overrun by

5368-404: The Central Powers. However, the pro-German King Constantine I dismissed the pro-Allied government of Eleftherios Venizelos before the Allied expeditionary force arrived. The Macedonian front was at first mostly static. French and Serbian forces retook limited areas of Macedonia by recapturing Bitola on 19 November 1916 following the costly Monastir offensive , which brought stabilisation of

5490-649: The Chinese Shandong peninsula at Tsingtao . After Vienna refused to withdraw its cruiser SMS  Kaiserin Elisabeth from Tsingtao, Japan declared war on Austria-Hungary, and the ship was sunk in November 1914. Within a few months, Allied forces had seized all German territories in the Pacific, leaving only isolated commerce raiders and a few holdouts in New Guinea. Some of the first clashes of

5612-648: The E-class destroyer Escapade and the Polish destroyers Burza and Garland . Flower-class corvette Orchis replaced Heartsease and the four corvettes with Free French crews ( Aconit , Lobelia , Renoncule and Roselys ) were assigned to this group. Convoys HX 188, ON 98, HX 194, ON 110, SC 93, ON 121, HX 202, ON 126, HX 207, ON 136, SC 106, ON 146, HX 218, ON 157 and SC 117 were escorted without loss. Convoy ON 167 lost two ships. Convoy HX 228 lost four ships torpedoed by U-221 , U-757 and U-444 . U-444

5734-424: The First World War, the Belgian Corps de Marine purchased several British war surplus naval trawlers. They were operational during the 1940 Battle of Belgium , and one of them, A4 , evacuated a large quantity of the National Bank's gold reserves to Britain shortly before Belgium's surrender. As with Portugal, the British Royal Navy had a number of trawler-type warships on order from Brazilian shipyards. With

5856-548: The German High Seas Fleet was confined to port. German U-boats attempted to cut the supply lines between North America and Britain. The nature of submarine warfare meant that attacks often came without warning, giving the crews of the merchant ships little hope of survival. The United States launched a protest, and Germany changed its rules of engagement. After the sinking of the passenger ship RMS Lusitania in 1915, Germany promised not to target passenger liners, while Britain armed its merchant ships, placing them beyond

5978-465: The German Army increased in size from 1908 to 1914, he changed the allocation of forces between the two wings to 70:30. He also considered Dutch neutrality essential for German trade and cancelled the incursion into the Netherlands, which meant any delays in Belgium threatened the viability of the plan. Historian Richard Holmes argues that these changes meant the right wing was not strong enough to achieve decisive success. The initial German advance in

6100-462: The German right wing would sweep through the Netherlands and Belgium , then swing south, encircling Paris and trapping the French army against the Swiss border. The plan's creator, Alfred von Schlieffen , head of the German General Staff from 1891 to 1906, estimated that this would take six weeks, after which the German army would transfer to the East and defeat the Russians. The plan was substantially modified by his successor, Helmuth von Moltke

6222-426: The Germans bled heavily as well, with anywhere from 700,000 to 975,000 casualties between the two combatants. Verdun became a symbol of French determination and self-sacrifice. The Battle of the Somme was an Anglo-French offensive from July to November 1916. The opening day on 1 July 1916 was the bloodiest single day in the history of the British Army , which suffered 57,500 casualties, including 19,200 dead. As

SECTION 50

#1732779943325

6344-400: The Japanese in Burma. The remaining 25 were cancelled. They were used for coastal anti-submarine patrols and mine-sweeping duties. As the Second World War progressed, Japan commandeered some fishing vessels for use as picket boats. To augment these, and to replace losses, the Imperial Japanese Navy also ordered a group of 280 picket boats, built on trawler lines but to Navy specifications. This

6466-565: The Middle East. In all, 140,000 soldiers served on the Western Front and nearly 700,000 in the Middle East, with 47,746 killed and 65,126 wounded. The suffering engendered by the war, as well as the failure of the British government to grant self-government to India afterward, bred disillusionment, resulting in the campaign for full independence led by Mahatma Gandhi . Pre-war military tactics that had emphasised open warfare and individual riflemen proved obsolete when confronted with conditions prevailing in 1914. Technological advances allowed

6588-435: The Norwegian resistance. Though Portugal was neutral or non-belligerent throughout the Second World War , a number of steel and wooden-hulled vessels were built there to trawler design for the Royal Navy. These Portuguese-class naval trawlers were delivered in 1942, but further construction was halted after protests from Nazi Germany. Later, as Portugal became more closely involved with the western allies, Britain transferred

6710-545: The Ottomans joined the Central Powers in November. Germany's strategy in 1914 was to quickly defeat France, then to transfer its forces to the east, but its advance was halted in September , and by the end of the year the Western Front consisted of a continuous line of trenches stretching from the English Channel to Switzerland. The Eastern Front was more dynamic, but neither side gained a decisive advantage, despite costly offensives. Italy , Bulgaria , Romania , Greece and others joined in from 1915 onward. In April 1917,

6832-449: The Ottomans' territory in the Balkans during the 1912–1913 First Balkan War , much to the surprise of outside observers. The Serbian capture of ports on the Adriatic resulted in partial Austrian mobilisation, starting on 21 November 1912, including units along the Russian border in Galicia . The Russian government decided not to mobilise in response, unprepared to precipitate a war. The Great Powers sought to re-assert control through

6954-406: The Royal Norwegian Navy used six converted whalers and 22 other fishing vessels as minesweepers, and a further ten as patrol craft. The Royal Norwegian Navy also used a German naval trawler captured in April 1940 and put into service as HNoMS  Honningsvåg . After the occupation of Norway the Free Norwegian forces used fishing vessels for their clandestine Shetland bus operations in support of

7076-549: The Russian Stavka agreed with the French to attack Germany within fifteen days of mobilisation, ten days before the Germans had anticipated, although it meant the two Russian armies that entered East Prussia on 17 August did so without many of their support elements. By the end of 1914, German troops held strong defensive positions inside France, controlled the bulk of France's domestic coalfields, and inflicted 230,000 more casualties than it lost itself. However, communications problems and questionable command decisions cost Germany

7198-429: The Serbian retreat toward the Adriatic coast in the Battle of Mojkovac on 6–7 January 1916, but ultimately the Austrians also conquered Montenegro. The surviving Serbian soldiers were evacuated to Greece. After the conquest, Serbia was divided between Austro-Hungary and Bulgaria. In late 1915, a Franco-British force landed at Salonica in Greece to offer assistance and to pressure its government to declare war against

7320-413: The Sri Lankan civil war. North Korea has notoriously used armed trawlers as spy ships . In 2001 the Japanese sank a North Korean naval trawler after a six-hour battle known as the battle of Amami-Ōshima . Somali pirates have commandeered trawlers and armed them for attacking freighters off the Horn of Africa ; the action of 18 March 2006 involved a naval trawler used by pirates. In the aftermath of

7442-446: The United States declared war, American escort groups typically contained five destroyers, although six United States Coast Guard Treasury-class cutters were included within the pool of ships rotating in and out of these escort groups. As the United States Navy struggled to find enough destroyers to meet escort needs for both the Pacific and the vulnerable Atlantic coastal shipping, the shorter great-circle route from Newfoundland to

SECTION 60

#1732779943325

7564-455: The West was very successful. By the end of August, the Allied left, which included the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), was in full retreat , and the French offensive in Alsace-Lorraine was a disastrous failure, with casualties exceeding 260,000. German planning provided broad strategic instructions while allowing army commanders considerable freedom in carrying them out at the front, but von Kluck used this freedom to disobey orders, opening

7686-430: The Younger . Under Schlieffen, 85% of German forces in the west were assigned to the right wing, with the remainder holding along the frontier. By keeping his left-wing deliberately weak, he hoped to lure the French into an offensive into the "lost provinces" of Alsace-Lorraine , which was the strategy envisaged by their Plan XVII . However, Moltke grew concerned that the French might push too hard on his left flank and as

7808-446: The aggressor, German Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg delayed the commencement of war preparations until 31 July. That afternoon, the Russian government were handed a note requiring them to "cease all war measures against Germany and Austria-Hungary" within 12 hours. A further German demand for neutrality was refused by the French who ordered general mobilization but delayed declaring war. The German General Staff had long assumed they faced

7930-407: The attack by the Austro-Hungarian army under Mackensen's army of 250,000 that was already underway. Serbia was conquered in a little more than a month, as the Central Powers, now including Bulgaria, sent in 600,000 troops in total. The Serbian army, fighting on two fronts and facing certain defeat, retreated into northern Albania . The Serbs suffered defeat in the Battle of Kosovo . Montenegro covered

8052-477: The best way of achieving this. However, the Foreign Ministry had no solid proof of Serbian involvement. On 23   July, Austria delivered an ultimatum to Serbia, listing ten demands made intentionally unacceptable to provide an excuse for starting hostilities. Serbia ordered general mobilization on 25   July, but accepted all the terms, except for those empowering Austrian representatives to suppress "subversive elements" inside Serbia, and take part in

8174-483: The border and pre-empt such a move. To avoid violating Belgian neutrality, he was told any advance could come only after a German invasion. Instead, the French cabinet ordered its Army to withdraw 10 km behind the German frontier, to avoid provoking war. On 2 August, Germany occupied Luxembourg and exchanged fire with French units when German patrols entered French territory; on 3   August, they declared war on France and demanded free passage across Belgium, which

8296-427: The campaign saw the first use of anti-aircraft warfare after an Austrian plane was shot down with ground-to-air fire, as well as the first medical evacuation by the Serbian army. Upon mobilisation, in accordance with the Schlieffen Plan , 80% of the German Army was located on the Western Front, with the remainder acting as a screening force in the East. Rather than a direct attack across their shared frontier,

8418-525: The capital of the recently annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina . Cvjetko Popović , Gavrilo Princip , Nedeljko Čabrinović , Trifko Grabež , Vaso Čubrilović ( Bosnian Serbs ) and Muhamed Mehmedbašić (from the Bosniaks community), from the movement known as Young Bosnia , took up positions along the Archduke's motorcade route, to assassinate him. Supplied with arms by extremists within the Serbian Black Hand intelligence organisation, they hoped his death would free Bosnia from Austrian rule. Čabrinović threw

8540-466: The chance of a decisive outcome, while it had failed to achieve the primary objective of avoiding a long, two-front war. As was apparent to several German leaders, this amounted to a strategic defeat; shortly after the First Battle of the Marne , Crown Prince Wilhelm told an American reporter "We have lost the war. It will go on for a long time but lost it is already." On 30 August 1914, New Zealand occupied German Samoa (now Samoa ). On 11 September,

8662-414: The cost of 199 submarines. World War I also saw the first use of aircraft carriers in combat, with HMS  Furious launching Sopwith Camels in a successful raid against the Zeppelin hangars at Tondern in July 1918, as well as blimps for antisubmarine patrol. Faced with Russia in the east, Austria-Hungary could spare only one-third of its army to attack Serbia. After suffering heavy losses,

8784-522: The creation of new independent states, including Poland , Finland , the Baltic states , Czechoslovakia , and Yugoslavia . The League of Nations was established to maintain world peace, but its failure to manage instability during the interwar period contributed to the outbreak of World War II in 1939. Before World War II , the events of 1914–1918 were generally known as the Great War or simply

8906-449: The creation of strong defensive systems largely impervious to massed infantry advances, such as barbed wire , machine guns and above all far more powerful artillery , which dominated the battlefield and made crossing open ground extremely difficult. Both sides struggled to develop tactics for breaching entrenched positions without heavy casualties. In time, technology enabled the production of new offensive weapons, such as gas warfare and

9028-965: The crowds listened to music and drank wine, as if nothing had happened." Nevertheless, the impact of the murder of the heir to the throne was significant, and has been described by historian Christopher Clark as a "9/11 effect, a terrorist event charged with historic meaning, transforming the political chemistry in Vienna". Austro-Hungarian authorities encouraged subsequent anti-Serb riots in Sarajevo . Violent actions against ethnic Serbs were also organised outside Sarajevo, in other cities in Austro-Hungarian-controlled Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia. Austro-Hungarian authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina imprisoned approximately 5,500 prominent Serbs, 700 to 2,200 of whom died in prison. A further 460 Serbs were sentenced to death. A predominantly Bosniak special militia known as

9150-574: The declaration of war by Brazil against Germany in 1942 these vessels were transferred to the Brazilian Navy for anti-submarine and escort duties. People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) uses naval trawlers as spy ships , as well as fishing when PLAN was allowed to conduct business activities to supplement the huge military expenditure. In addition, prior to Chinese economic reform , it was relatively easy for PLAN to commandeer private vessels for military use in emergency situations when everything

9272-695: The expansion of the French colonial empire . In 1873, Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors , which included Austria-Hungary , Russia and Germany. After the 1877–1878 Russo-Turkish War , the League was dissolved due to Austrian concerns over the expansion of Russian influence in the Balkans , an area they considered to be of vital strategic interest. Germany and Austria-Hungary then formed

9394-581: The first months of World War II the acute shortage of vessels for coastal defence and anti-submarine work led to the formation of a mosquito fleet . Twenty steel-hulled and more than 40 wooden-hulled trawlers were commissioned as auxiliary minesweepers (AM designation), but confined to coastal waters and not rated for offensive or convoy escort duties. A further 70 tuna clippers were called up as minesweepers (Amc designation), ten as harbour patrol craft (YP) and 50 as coastal transports (APC). The United States Coast Guard requisitioned ten Boston fishing trawlers for

9516-516: The first time on the Western Front. Several types of gas soon became widely used by both sides and though it never proved a decisive, battle-winning weapon, it became one of the most feared and best-remembered horrors of the war. In February 1916, the Germans attacked French defensive positions at the Battle of Verdun , lasting until December 1916. Casualties were greater for the French, but

9638-595: The front. Serbian and French troops finally made a breakthrough in September 1918 in the Vardar offensive , after most German and Austro-Hungarian troops had been withdrawn. The Bulgarians were defeated at the Battle of Dobro Pole , and by 25 September British and French troops had crossed the border into Bulgaria proper as the Bulgarian army collapsed. Bulgaria capitulated four days later, on 29 September 1918. The German high command responded by despatching troops to hold

9760-542: The globe, some of which were subsequently used to attack Allied merchant shipping . These were systematically hunted down by the Royal Navy, though not before causing considerable damage. One of the most successful was the SMS ; Emden , part of the German East Asia Squadron stationed at Qingdao , which seized or sank 15 merchantmen, a Russian cruiser and a French destroyer. Most of the squadron

9882-739: The group. The escort group was then redesignated C-5 under Canadian command after the USCG Treasury-class cutters were reassigned for conversion to amphibious force flagships. Flower-class corvettes Borage , Meadowsweet and Wallflower joined the group; and Venomous was replaced by the long-range W-class escort Watchman . Convoys HX 187, ON 96, HX 193, ON 108, SC 92, ON 119, HX 201, ON 124, HX 206, ON 134, SC 105, HX 215, ON 151, SC 114, ON 162, SC 119, ON 171 and HX 230 were escorted without loss. Convoy ON 178 lost three ships torpedoed by U-415 and U-191 . Flower-class corvettes Campanula , Heather and Mignonette joined

10004-400: The group. Convoy ON 154 lost thirteen ships. Convoy HX 222 lost one ship torpedoed by U-268 . Flower-class corvette Chilliwack was replaced by new River-class frigate Itchen . Convoys ONS 2 and SC 127 were escorted without loss. Convoys SC 84, ON 103 and SC 89 were escorted without loss. Destroyer Burnham replaced destroyer St. Laurent ; and Flower-class corvette Dauphin joined

10126-588: The group. Convoy ON 113 lost three ships torpedoed by U-552 , U-607 and U-132 while Town-class destroyer St. Croix sank U-90 . Convoys HX 201 and ON 119 were escorted without loss. Convoy SC 97 lost two ships torpedoed by U-609 while Morden sank U-756 . Convoys ON 129 and SC 102 were escorted without loss. Destroyer Sherwood replaced destroyer Burnham ; and Flower-class corvettes Pictou and Primrose replaced Flower-class corvettes Dauphin and Brandon . Convoy ON 139 lost two ships torpedoed by U-443 . Flower-class corvette Orillia joined

10248-622: The group. Convoys SC 108, ON 149 and SC 113 were escorted without loss. New River-class frigates Lagan and Waveney joined the group. Convoys ON 160, HX 225 and ON 179 were escorted without loss. Convoys ON 93, HX 191, ON 104 and SC 90 were escorted without loss. Flower-class corvette Camrose was replaced by corvette Agassiz . Convoy ON 115 lost two ships torpedoed by U-552 and U-553 while Skeena and Flower-class corvette Wetaskiwin sank U-588 . Convoys HX 202, ON 121, SC 98, ON 131, HX 210 and ON 141 were escorted without loss. Convoy SC 109 lost one ship torpedoed by U-43 and Saguenay

10370-464: The group; and the low-endurance destroyers Leamington and Veteran were replaced by long-range V and W-class escorts Vanessa and Whitehall . Convoys SC 81, ON 97, SC 86, ON 107, HX 198, ON 118, HX 203, ON 128, HX 208, ON 138, HX 213, ON 148, HX 219 and ON 159 were escorted without loss. Convoy SC 118 lost eight ships. Convoys ON 170, SC 123 and ONS 4 were escorted without loss. Low-endurance destroyers Georgetown and Bulldog were replaced by

10492-549: The high ground, while their trenches tended to be better built; those constructed by the French and English were initially considered "temporary", only needed until an offensive would destroy the German defences. Both sides tried to break the stalemate using scientific and technological advances. On 22 April 1915, at the Second Battle of Ypres , the Germans (violating the Hague Convention ) used chlorine gas for

10614-470: The investigation and trial of Serbians linked to the assassination. Claiming this amounted to rejection, Austria broke off diplomatic relations and ordered partial mobilisation the next day; on 28 July, they declared war on Serbia and began shelling Belgrade . Russia ordered general mobilization in support of Serbia on 30 July. Anxious to ensure backing from the SPD political opposition by presenting Russia as

10736-464: The letter "A"; while "B" indicated British-led escort groups and "C" designated Canadian-led escort groups. Fifteen United States destroyers, fifteen Royal Navy destroyers and twelve Canadian destroyers were to provide the striking power of these escort groups while 52 British and 49 Canadian Flower-class corvettes were to perform the patrolling role. Approximately one-third of the theoretical MOEF escort group strength of three destroyers and seven corvettes

10858-700: The line, but these forces were too weak to re-establish a front. Naval trawler Naval trawlers are vessels built along the lines of a fishing trawler but fitted out for naval purposes; they were widely used during the First and Second World Wars. Some, known in the Royal Navy as "Admiralty trawlers", were purpose-built to naval specifications; others were adapted from civilian use. Fishing trawlers were particularly suited for many naval requirements because they were robust vessels designed to work heavy trawls in all types of weather, and had large clear working decks. A minesweeper could be created by replacing

10980-409: The low-endurance destroyer Roxborough was replaced by the Town-class destroyer Beverley . Convoys SC 82, ON 99, SC 87, ON 109, HX 199, ON 120, HX 204 and ON 130 were escorted without loss. Convoy HX 209 lost one ship torpedoed by U-254 . Convoys ON 140, HX 214, ON 150, HX 220, ON 161 and ON 169 were escorted without loss. Convoy HX 229 lost twelve ships. Convoy ON 176 lost one ship and Beverley

11102-629: The mid-Atlantic beyond the range of patrolling aircraft. Many anti-submarine escorts lacked the endurance to accompany convoys through the mid-Atlantic. HX 129 left Halifax on 27 May 1941 as the first convoy to receive escort for the entire trip. Escorts based in Halifax Harbour handed HX 129 off to escorts based in Newfoundland who subsequently transferred HX 129 to escorts based in Iceland who in turn delivered HX 129 to escorts based in

11224-562: The need for most escorts to attempt maintenance in Iceland's poorly equipped Hvalfjörður anchorage; but the United States was required to maintain an additional force of five destroyers in Iceland to escort ships between trans-Atlantic convoys and United States military occupation bases. The Royal Navy continued to provide an eastern local escort force of naval trawlers in the Western Approaches while Canada continued to provide

11346-664: The new River-class frigate Swale replacing the old destroyers. Convoy ON 168 was escorted without loss. Convoy SC 122 lost eight ships. Convoy SC 126 was escorted without loss. River-class frigates brought two significant advantages to MOEF. Their numbers allowed the older escorts time to refit with modern sensors like 10-centimetre radar and modern anti-submarine weapons like the Hedgehog projector. Destroyers replaced by new frigates were formed into mobile support groups able to move rapidly to convoys coming under attack. Through 1943, new escort carriers became available to increase

11468-503: The new leader F-class destroyer Firedrake were joined by the Town-class destroyers Chesterfield and Ripley and by the Flower-class corvettes Alisma , Coreopsis , Jonquil , Pink and Sunflower . Convoys HX 186, ON 94, HX 192, ON 106, SC 91, ON 117, SC 103, ON 142 and HX 216 were escorted without loss. Convoy ON 153 lost three ships torpedoed by U-610 , U-356 and U-621 . On 17 December 1942 HMS Firedrake

11590-465: The ocean, even to neutral ships. Since there was limited response to this tactic, Germany expected a similar response to its unrestricted submarine warfare. The Battle of Jutland in May/June 1916 was the only full-scale clash of battleships during the war, and one of the largest in history. The clash was indecisive, though the Germans inflicted more damage than they received; thereafter the bulk of

11712-738: The protection of the " cruiser rules ", which demanded warning and movement of crews to "a place of safety" (a standard that lifeboats did not meet). Finally, in early 1917, Germany adopted a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare , realising the Americans would eventually enter the war. Germany sought to strangle Allied sea lanes before the United States could transport a large army overseas, but, after initial successes, eventually failed to do so. The U-boat threat lessened in 1917, when merchant ships began travelling in convoys , escorted by destroyers . This tactic made it difficult for U-boats to find targets, which significantly lessened losses; after

11834-523: The space for additional fuel tanks. Nineteen modern American destroyers left the Atlantic to escort the battleships New Mexico , Mississippi , Idaho , and North Carolina and the aircraft carriers Yorktown , Wasp , and Hornet to the Pacific. The remaining American destroyers were diverted from MOEF assignments to troop convoys and in response to the U-boat 's Second happy time off

11956-750: The surveillance capability of support groups. As the winter weather cleared, new Very Long Range Consolidated B-24 Liberator patrol bombers extended surveillance into the mid-Atlantic. World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War , was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers . Fighting took place mainly in Europe and

12078-469: The term First World War was in September 1914 by German biologist and philosopher Ernst Haeckel who stated, "There is no doubt that the course and character of the feared 'European War' ... will become the first world war in the full sense of the word." For much of the 19th century, the major European powers maintained a tenuous balance of power , known as the Concert of Europe . After 1848, this

12200-691: The threat posed by the closing of this gap was more important than competing with the Royal Navy. After Germany expanded its standing army by 170,000 troops in 1913, France extended compulsory military service from two to three years; similar measures were taken by the Balkan powers and Italy, which led to increased expenditure by the Ottomans and Austria-Hungary. Absolute figures are difficult to calculate due to differences in categorising expenditure since they often omit civilian infrastructure projects like railways which had logistical importance and military use. It

12322-466: The trawl with a mine sweep. Adding depth charge racks on the deck, ASDIC sonar below, and a 3-inch (76 mm) or 4-inch (102 mm) gun in the bow equipped the trawler for anti-submarine duties. The naval trawler is a concept for expeditiously converting a nation's fishing boats and fishermen to military assets. England used trawlers to maintain control of seaward approaches to major harbours. No one knew these waters as well as local fishermen, and

12444-715: The trawler was the ship type these fishermen understood and could operate effectively without further instruction. The Royal Navy maintained a small inventory of trawlers in peacetime, but requisitioned much larger numbers of civilian trawlers in wartime. The larger and newer trawlers and whalers were converted for antisubmarine use and the older and smaller trawlers were converted to minesweepers. Armed trawlers were also used to defend fishing groups from enemy aircraft or submarines. The smallest civilian trawlers were converted to danlayers . Some nations still use armed trawlers for fisheries protection and patrol. The Indian Navy used naval trawlers for patrol duties during its involvement in

12566-645: The war ended with the Armistice of 11 November 1918 . The Paris Peace Conference of 1919–1920 imposed settlements on the defeated powers, most notably the Treaty of Versailles , by which Germany lost significant territories, was disarmed, and was required to pay large war reparations to the Allies. The dissolution of the Russian, German, Austro-Hungarian, and Ottoman Empires redrew national boundaries and resulted in

12688-601: The war involved British, French, and German colonial forces in Africa. On 6–7 August, French and British troops invaded the German protectorates of Togoland and Kamerun . On 10 August, German forces in South-West Africa attacked South Africa; sporadic and fierce fighting continued for the rest of the war. The German colonial forces in German East Africa , led by Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck , fought

12810-446: The war. The weather trawler programme was a major disaster for the German war effort; it has even been suggested that it was one of the major contributors to Germany's defeat. The British Royal Navy monitored and pursued them relentlessly, capturing or sinking many. The reason was not just the strategic importance of weather data, but that the trawlers were carrying Enigma encryption machines and information, which when captured helped

12932-477: The west , which despite initial successes left the German Army exhausted and demoralised. A successful Allied counter-offensive from August 1918 caused a collapse of the German front line. By early November, Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary had each signed armistices with the Allies, leaving Germany isolated. Facing a revolution at home , Kaiser Wilhelm   II abdicated on 9 November, and

13054-481: The winter of 1942–43: Gleaves -class destroyer Gleaves left the escort group after convoy ON 92 lost seven ships. USCG Treasury-class cutters Spencer and Campbell assumed escort leader responsibility. Flower-class corvettes Mayflower and Trillium replaced Flower-class corvettes Chilliwack , Shediac and Algoma . Flower-class corvette Dianthus replaced Flower-class corvettes Mayflower and Bittersweet . Flower-class corvette Dauphin rotated into

13176-432: Was a major factor in the deadly Spanish flu pandemic. The causes of World War I included the rise of Germany and decline of the Ottoman Empire , which disturbed the long-standing balance of power in Europe, as well as economic competition between nations triggered by industrialisation and imperialism . Growing tensions between the great powers and in the Balkans reached a breaking point on 28 June 1914, when

13298-403: Was challenged by Britain's withdrawal into so-called splendid isolation , the decline of the Ottoman Empire , New Imperialism , and the rise of Prussia under Otto von Bismarck . Victory in the 1870–1871 Franco-Prussian War allowed Bismarck to consolidate a German Empire . Post-1871, the primary aim of French policy was to avenge this defeat, but by the early 1890s, this had switched to

13420-557: Was escorted without loss. Convoy ON 100 lost three ships torpedoed by U-94 and U-124 . Convoys HX 195 and ON 112 were escorted without loss. Convoy SC 94 lost ten ships. Group leader Assiniboine and Flower-class corvettes Dianthus , Nasturtium and Primrose were replaced by destroyer St. Laurent and Flower-class corvettes Eyebright , Napanee , Kenogami and Shediac . Convoys ON 123, SC 99, ON 133, HX 211, ON 143 and SC 110 were escorted without loss. Flower-class corvettes Orillia , Chambly and Eyebright rotated out of

13542-632: Was government-owned in planned economy , but this has become increasingly difficult to do after the reform due to private ownership. However, PLAN has to keep a very large number of auxiliary minesweepers to prepare for war, and as a result, when naval trawlers had retired from their intelligence gathering role, they were converted to auxiliary minesweepers and placed in operational reserve of PLAN. In addition, environmental problems have caused constant geological/geographical/hydrographical changes in Chinese waters, hence creating huge survey requirement, thus

13664-550: Was irreparably damaged when depth charges blew off its stern following a collision. Town-class destroyer Burnham replaced Saguenay . Flower-class corvettes Wetaskiwin , Sackville , Galt and Agassiz were replaced by corvettes Bittersweet , Eyebright , La Malbaie and Mayflower . The new River-class frigate Jed joined the group. Convoys ON 152, HX 221, ON 163, HX 226, ON 172, SC 124 and ON 180 were escorted without loss. Convoys ON 95, SC 85, ON 105, HX 197, ON 116 and SC 96 were escorted without loss. Destroyer St. Francis

13786-400: Was rammed by the group leader Harvester . Harvester was then torpedoed by U-432 . U-432 was then sunk by Aconit . Thornycroft type leader Keppel was assigned as group leader replacement. Convoy ON 174 was escorted without loss. Convoy HX 232 lost three ships torpedoed by U-563 and U-168 . Flower-class corvettes Abelia , Clover and Snowflake joined the group; and

13908-654: Was refused. Early on the morning of 4   August, the Germans invaded, and Albert I of Belgium called for assistance under the Treaty of London . Britain sent Germany an ultimatum demanding they withdraw from Belgium; when this expired at midnight, without a response, the two empires were at war. Germany promised to support Austria-Hungary's invasion of Serbia, but interpretations of what this meant differed. Previously tested deployment plans had been replaced early in 1914, but those had never been tested in exercises. Austro-Hungarian leaders believed Germany would cover its northern flank against Russia. Beginning on 12 August,

14030-459: Was replaced by Town-class destroyer St. Croix and Flower-class corvettes Lethbridge , Prescott and Eyebright were replaced by corvettes Amherst , Celandine and Sherbrooke . Convoy ON 127 lost six ships; and Ottawa was torpedoed by U-91 . Convoys SC 101 and ON 137 were escorted without loss. Convoy SC 107 lost fifteen ships. Destroyer St. Croix was replaced by Town-class destroyer Churchill and Flower-class corvette Arvida

14152-457: Was replaced by corvettes Brandon and Collingwood . Convoys ON 147, SC 112 and ON 158 were escorted without loss. Convoy HX 224 lost two ships torpedoed by U-456 . Convoys ON 177 and HX 235 were escorted without loss. Escort Group B-5 returned to MOEF with the H-class destroyer Havelock , the Flower-class corvettes Pimpernel , Godetia , Saxifrage , Buttercup and Lavender and with

14274-667: Was returning to Germany when it sank two British armoured cruisers at the Battle of Coronel in November 1914, before being virtually destroyed at the Battle of the Falkland Islands in December. The SMS Dresden escaped with a few auxiliaries, but after the Battle of Más a Tierra , these too were either destroyed or interned. Soon after the outbreak of hostilities, Britain began a naval blockade of Germany . This proved effective in cutting off vital supplies, though it violated accepted international law. Britain also mined international waters which closed off entire sections of

14396-538: Was the No.1 class auxiliary patrol boat , though ultimately only 27 were completed. In World War II the Royal New Zealand Navy operated 35 minesweepers, including 20 purpose-built naval trawlers (13 Castle class, three Bird class four Isles class), five converted fishing trawlers, and ten converted merchant vessels. Norway had a large fishing and whaling fleet industry. For the Second World War

14518-781: Was the foundation of German foreign policy but in 1890, he was forced to retire by Wilhelm II . The latter was persuaded not to renew the Reinsurance Treaty by his new Chancellor , Leo von Caprivi . This gave France an opening to agree the Franco-Russian Alliance in 1894, which was then followed by the 1904 Entente Cordiale with Britain. The Triple Entente was completed by the 1907 Anglo-Russian Convention . While not formal alliances, by settling long-standing colonial disputes in Asia and Africa, British support for France or Russia in any future conflict became

14640-470: Was torpedoed by U-188 . Convoy HX 234 lost one ship torpedoed by U-306 . The Royal Norwegian Navy-crewed Flower-class corvettes Andenes , Eglantine , Rose , Potentilla , and Montbretia from Escort Group A4, and the new leader F-class destroyer Fame were joined by the V-class Viscount (which had been reconstructed as a long range escort), the Town-class destroyer Ramsey , and

14762-502: Was torpedoed by U-211 and sank. The D-class destroyer HMS  Duncan was assigned as replacement group leader; and the new River-class frigate Tay joined the group. Convoys SC 115, ON 164, SC 120 and ON 173 were escorted without loss. Convoy HX 231 lost three ships torpedoed by U-635 , U-630 and U-706 . Convoy ONS 5 lost eleven ships. Corvette Buctouche was replaced by Flower-class corvettes Battleford , Chilliwack , Orillia and Primrose . Convoy HX 189

14884-566: Was unavailable at any given time. Half of the unavailable ships needed storm or battle damage repairs, and the remainder were undergoing normal refit and training. Each MOEF escort group worked in a 33-day cycle allowing nine and one-half days with a westbound ON convoy, six days in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador , nine and one-half days with an eastbound HX or SC convoy, and eight days' refit in Derry . The shorter routing away from Iceland eliminated

#324675