In naval warfare, the line of battle[1] is a tactic in which the ships of the fleet form a line, end-to-end. Naval warfare is Combat in and on Seas Oceans or any other major bodies of water such as large Lakes and wide Rivers History Military tactics ( Greek: Taktikē, the art of organizing an army are the techniques for using weapons or military units in combination for engaging and defeating Its origins are traditionally ascribed to the navy of the Commonwealth of England, especially to General at Sea Robert Blake who wrote the Sailing and Fighting Instructions of 1653. The Commonwealth of England was the Republican government which ruled first England (including Wales) and then Ireland and Scotland Robert Blake (1599 — August 17, 1657) was one of the most important military commanders of the Commonwealth of England, and one of the most famous However, it was already used by the Portuguese under Vasco Da Gama in 1502 near Malabar against a Muslim fleet[2], and for the first time in European waters in the Action of 18 September 1639 by Dutch Lieutenant-Admiral Maarten Tromp. Dom Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira ('vaʃku dɐ 'gɐmɐ ( Sines or Vidigueira, Alentejo, Portugal, ca Malabar (മലബാര് is a region of southern India, lying between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea. This battle took place between 17 and 19 September 1639 when a Dutch squadron under Admiral Maarten Tromp and Admiral Witte Corneliszoon de With, met with a much larger but poorly Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp ( April 23, 1598 &ndash August 10, 1653) was an officer and later Admiral in the Dutch
The line of battle has the advantage over previous naval tactics — in which ships closed on each other for individual combat — that each ship in the line can fire its broadside without fear of hitting a friendly ship. A broadside is the side of a Ship; the battery of Cannon on one side of a Warship; or their simultaneous (or near simultaneous fire in Therefore in any given amount of time more shots can be fired by the entire fleet. Another advantage is that a relative movement of the line in relation to some part of the enemy fleet allows for a systematic concentration of fire on that part. To fend off this possibility the other fleet too can move in a line, with the result so typical for sea battle since 1675: two fleets sailing along each other or in opposite tack. A ship powerful enough to stand in the line of battle came to be known as a "ship of the line" (of battle) or a "line of battle" ship which shortened to become "battleship". A ship-of-the-line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th century through the mid-19th century to take part in the the naval tactic known as the Line of battle A battleship is a large heavily armored Warship with a main battery consisting of the largest Calibre of Guns Battleships were The line is at its most effective when moving perpendicular to the axis of movement of the enemy fleet, e. g. by "crossing the T" or by breaking the enemy line and moving through it (e. Crossing the T or Capping the T is a tactic in Naval warfare, in which a line of Warships crosses in front of a line of enemy ships allowing them to g. Four Days Battle, Battle of Schooneveld, Battle of Trafalgar), by trying to cut off and isolate part of the enemy's line and concentrating a stronger force on it (e. The Four Days Battle was a Naval battle of the Second Anglo-Dutch War. The Battles of Schooneveld were two Naval battles of the Third Anglo-Dutch War, fought off the coast of the Netherlands on June 7 and The Battle of Trafalgar ( 21 October 1805) was a historic sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the g. Battle of Texel, Battle of the Saintes), or by trying to 'double up' the enemy's ships (e. For the 1653 battle that partly took place near Texel, see the Battle of Scheveningen The naval Battle of Texel Origins On April 7 1782, the Comte de Grasse set out from Martinique with 35 Ships of the line, including 2 50-gun ships and a large convoy g. Battle of Beachy Head). The Battle of Beachy Head (also known as the Battle of Bévéziers) was a naval engagement fought on 10 July 1690 during the Nine Years' War. This way the enemy ships block each other's line of fire.
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Development of the Line of Battle
From the mid 16th Century the cannon gradually became the most important weapon in naval warfare, replacing boarding actions as the decisive factor in combat. | NOTE Throughout this article "cannon" is used as BOTH the || singular and plural At the same time, the natural tendency in the design of galleons was for longer ships with lower castles, which meant faster, more stable vessels. A galleon was a large multi-decked Sailing ship used primarily by the nations of Europe from the 16th to 18th centuries These newer warships could mount more cannon along the sides of their decks, concentrating their firepower along their broadside.
Until the mid 17th Century, the tactics of a fleet were often to 'charge' the enemy, firing bow chaser cannon, which did not deploy the broadside to its best effect. The chase guns, usually distinguished as bow chasers and stern chasers (or just chasers for short were Cannons mounted in the bow These new vessels required new tactics, and "since. . almost all the artillery is found upon the sides of a ship of war, hence it is the beam that must necessarily and always be turned toward the enemy. On the other hand, it is necessary that the sight of the latter must never be interrupted by a friendly ship. Only one formation allows the ships of the same fleet to satisfy fully these conditions. That formation is the line ahead [column]. This line, therefore, is imposed as the only order of battle, and consequently as the basis of all fleet tactics. [3]
The Line in the Age of Sail
The Anglo-Dutch Wars
Modern research has shown that the first documented deliberate use seems to be in the Action of 18 September 1639 by Dutch Lieutenant-Admiral Maarten Tromp who employed it to damage a Spanish fleet, far superior in numbers and firepower, so severely it took refuge in The Downs where he would destroy it five weeks later in the Battle of the Downs. This battle took place between 17 and 19 September 1639 when a Dutch squadron under Admiral Maarten Tromp and Admiral Witte Corneliszoon de With, met with a much larger but poorly Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp ( April 23, 1598 &ndash August 10, 1653) was an officer and later Admiral in the Dutch The Downs are a Roadstead or area of sea in the southern North Sea near the English Channel off the east Kent Coast, between the The naval Battle of the Downs took place on 31 October 1639 ( New style) during the Eighty Years' War and was a decisive defeat of the The United Provinces, however, did not formalise it into an official doctrine. "United Netherlands" redirects here For the "Kingdom of the United Netherlands" see United Kingdom of the Netherlands. Even before the Dutch, the Portuguese had already made it standard practice to assume a line-ahead formation. It was used as early as 1502 under Vasco Da Gama against a large Muslim fleet off Malabar, and in 1557 when the English pirate William Towerson was routed by repeated broadsides from a Portuguese squadron in a line-ahead formation. [4]
In the 1652 battles of the First Anglo-Dutch War the Dutch again used the line-of-battle when trying to defend themselves against the heavier English vessels. The First Anglo–Dutch War (Eerste Engelse Zeeoorlog (1652–54 (called the First Dutch War in England and the First English Sea-War in the Netherlands was On 29 March 1653, the English issued the 'Instructions for the better ordering of the Fleet in Fighting', instructing each of the three squadrons of their fleet to 'keep in line with their chief' and ships out of station to return to the 'wake or grain' of their flagship.
The next major battle of the war, the Battle of the Gabbard, was a decisive English victory and caused severe losses to the Dutch fleet. The naval Battle of the Gabbard, also known as the Battle of Gabbard Bank, the Battle of the North Foreland or the second Battle of Nieuwpoort
After this war the English perfected the method; but the Dutch were slower to adopt the modern tactic, still having no written instructions when the Second Anglo-Dutch War broke out. The Second Anglo-Dutch War was fought between England and the United Provinces from 4 March, 1665 until 31 July, 1667. An attempt to employ the line-of-battle against the English by Dutch Lieutenant-Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam failed catastrophically in the Battle of Lowestoft due to insufficient training and confusion among the lower ranks whether the line should be used or the direct attack. Jacob Banner Lord of Wassenaer Lord Obdam Hensbroek Spanbroek Opmeer Zuidwijk and Kernhem (1610 The Hague – 13 June 1665 off Lowestoft The naval Battle of Lowestoft took place on 13 June ( New Style) 1665 during the Second Anglo-Dutch War. In the summer of 1665 the Dutch too wrote formal instructions. Michiel de Ruyter used the line-of-battle with great ability in the Four Days Battle. Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter ( 24 March 1607 – 29 April 1676) is one of the most famous Admirals in Dutch history The Four Days Battle was a Naval battle of the Second Anglo-Dutch War. That the English were still more competent in it was shown in the St. James's Day Battle when they recovered much earlier from exceptional weather conditions causing large manpower losses to the Dutch. The naval St James' Day Battle (also known as the St James' Day Fight, the Battle of the North Foreland and the Battle of Orfordness) took place on
In the Third Anglo-Dutch War the Dutch had full mastery of the tactic as is evident by the events during the Battle of Schooneveld. The Third Anglo-Dutch War or Third Dutch War ( Dutch: Derde Engelse Oorlog or Derde Engelse Zeeoorlog) was a military conflict between The Battles of Schooneveld were two Naval battles of the Third Anglo-Dutch War, fought off the coast of the Netherlands on June 7 and
The 18th Century
During the later 17th Century the British became rather dogmatic about the line-of-battle, trying to employ it even in unfavourable conditions, as shown in the Battle of Beachy Head and the Battles of Barfleur and La Hougue, where the French gained an advantage because of British inflexibility. The Battle of Beachy Head (also known as the Battle of Bévéziers) was a naval engagement fought on 10 July 1690 during the Nine Years' War. The related naval battles of Barfleur and La Hougue took place between 29 May and 4 June New Style(NS, 1692 (19th-24 May in the Old Style(OS This worsened during the 18th century when the line-of-battle became a dogmatic doctrine; in 1778, at the First Battle of Ushant, the French escaped, in part due to British over-reliance on the line. Origins The British had 30 ships of the line commanded by Admiral the Honourable Augustus Keppel in HMS ''Victory''. Nevertheless, the lateness of the British fleet in forming the line became the pretext for the politically-motivated court-martials of Admirals Keppel and Palliser. Admiral Augustus Keppel 1st Viscount Keppel PC ( 25 April 1725 &ndash 2 October 1786) was an officer of the British Royal Navy Admiral Sir Hugh Palliser 1st Bart ( 22 February 1722 &ndash 19 March 1796) was an officer of the British Royal
After further reverses in the American Revolutionary Wars, where British lines proved vulnerable to faster French warships using hit-and-run tactics, the Royal Navy became receptive to new ideas about the line tactic. John Clerk, an Edinburgh merchant, published a book called 'An Essay on Naval Tactics', emphasising the need to concentrate fire on a part of the enemy's line of battle. The book circulated widely, including to naval officers.
At the Battle of the Saints in 1782 a British fleet under Admiral Rodney broke across the enemy line instead of keeping their own line intact at all costs. Origins On April 7 1782, the Comte de Grasse set out from Martinique with 35 Ships of the line, including 2 50-gun ships and a large convoy Admiral George Brydges Rodney 1st Baron Rodney, KB ( 13 February, 1719 &ndash May 24 1792) was a British Whether this was deliberate, or indeed desirable, was and still is disputed. The result was nevertheless hailed as the greatest victory since the Seven Years War. The Seven Years' War (1756&ndash1763 involved all of the major European powers of the period causing 900000 to 1400000 deaths The Battle of the First of June (1794) saw a return to the mêlée. The Glorious First of June (also known as the Third Battle of Ushant, and in France as the fr ''Bataille du 13 prairial an 2'' or fr ''Combat de Prairial'' British admirals, Nelson amongst them, continued to develop offensive modifications to the simple line ahead tactic throughout the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson 1st Viscount Nelson 1st Duke of Bronté, KB (29 September 1758– 21 October 1805 was a British
Sail Line Tactics
For a time sea-officers were inclined to doubt whether order could be maintained among vessels subject to the forces of wind and tide. But, in the very first years of the 16th century, the Spanish writer Alonso de Chaves argued that even an approach to order was superior to none, and that, given the accidents of wind and tide, and given that the early means of injuring an enemy at a distance were nil, the advantage would rest with the one who took his precautions. This truth was so obvious that it could not help but be universally accepted. The line ahead then became the "line of battle".
The governing principles were simple and were essentially sound. The ships were arranged in a line, in order that each should have her broadside free to fire into the enemy without running the risk of firing into her own friends. In order to remove the danger that they would collide and allow for a change of course in case of need, a space was left between them. It was fixed at two cables – that is, 200 fathoms, or 400 yards – though less room was occasionally taken.
In a large fleet, the line was typically divided into three squadrons, or divisions, each under a subordinate admiral. Note that, unlike land armies, there is no advanced guard, rear guard, and vanguard (a. k. a. Main Body) because changes in wind direction, sailing direction, and position of the enemy fleet would make this too confusing. Rather, one squadron usually remained under the direct command of the Admiral of the Fleet, one squadron was commanded by a Vice Admiral and one by a Rear Admiral, each of the three squadrons flying different coloured flags. The flag of the Fleet Admiral's squadron is red, the Vice Admiral's is white and the Rear Admiral's blue. Although the names Vice (advanced) and Rear may have derived from sailing positions within the line at the moment of engagement it was more common to refer to squadrons by their colour, or by the name and the admiral's ship and, in conversation but not in signals, by the name of the commander.
To reduce the number of men required to handle the sails, and leave them free to fight the guns, the ships fought under reduced canvas. But it was necessary to retain the power to increase the speed of a ship rapidly. This was secured by not sheeting home one of the sails – that is to say, it was left loose, and the wind was "spilt out of it". When the vessel was required to shoot ahead it was easy to sheet the sail home, and "let all draw". The fleets would fight "on the wind" – that is to say, with the wind on the side, because they were then under better control. With the wind blowing from behind they would take the wind out of one another’s sails. When the course had to be altered, the ships turned by tacking – that is, head to wind – or by wearing – that is, stern to wind, either together or in succession.
To tack or wear a large fleet in succession was a very lengthy operation. The second ship did not tack, or wear, until she had reached the place where the first had turned, and so on, down the whole line. By tacking or wearing together the order of a fleet was reversed, the forward squadron becoming the rear, and the rear the van. It must be remembered that a fleet was divided into squadrons, which kept their names even when the order was reversed. Orders were given by signals from the flagship, but as they could not always be seen by the ships in a line with her, frigates were stationed on the disengaged side of the line to repeat signals. flagship is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels a designation given on account of being either the largest fastest newest most heavily armed or for publicity purposes the most well
A main object which the admirals who drafted the British Sailing and Fighting Instructions had before them was to obviate the risk that the enemy would double on one end of the line and put it between two fires. It is obvious that if two fleets, A and B, are sailing, both with the wind on the starboard side, and the leading ship of A comes into action with the seventh or eighth of B, then six or seven leading ships of B’s line will be free to turn and surround the head of A’s line, a tactic known as doubling. This actually happened at the Battle of Beachy Head (1690). The Battle of Beachy Head (also known as the Battle of Bévéziers) was a naval engagement fought on 10 July 1690 during the Nine Years' War. Therefore, the orders enjoin on the admiral the strict obligation to come into action in such a way that his leading ship shall steer with the leading ship of the enemy, and his rear with the rear. The familiar expression of the British navy was "to take every man his bird".
The regular method of fighting battles was thus set up. In itself it was founded on sound principles. As it was framed when the enemies kept in view were the Dutch, who in seamanship, strategy and tactics and gunnery were fully equal to the British, its authors were justified in prescribing the safe course. Unhappily they added the direction that a British admiral was to keep his fleet, throughout the battle, in the order in which it was begun. Therefore he could take no advantage of any disorder which might occur in the enemy’s lines.
The Line in the Age of Steam
For a period in the late 19th century, naval tactics became chaotic as ironclad warships were introduced. An ironclad was a steam-propelled Warship of the later 19th century protected by Iron or Steel armor plates One school of thought held that ironclads were effectively invulnerable to gunfire, so ramming became a popular method of attack, for instance at the Battle of Lissa or the Battle of the Yalu River. Another held that naval battles would only be decided by an assault on an enemy fleet in port. Ships built according to these doctrines tended to mount a handful of guns which could fire ahead or all-round, rather than broadside. The fleets of these periods tended to use the line of battle less.
However, as ramming fell out of fashion, the logic of the line of battle returned; used in the Battle of Tsushima of 1905, the Battle of Jutland in 1916 and finally in the Battle of Surigao Strait in 1944. The Battle of Tsushima ( Japanese: 対馬海戦 tsushima-kaisen, Цусимское сражение Tsusimskoye srazheniye) commonly known as the fix various bugs per WikipediaHow to fix bunched-up edit links --> The Battle of Leyte Gulf, also called the "Battle for Leyte Gulf" the "Battles for Leyte Gulf" and formerly as the "Second Battle of the Philippine
During World War II the development of aircraft carriers and the guided missile meant that gun engagements would never again be decisive. An aircraft carrier is a Warship designed with Guided Missile is a London based Independent record label set up by Paul Kearney in 1994. This meant there was no rationale for using a line-of-battle formation. In modern naval warfare, a battlegroup generally deploys with the highest-value units in the centre, accompanied closely by anti-aircraft escorts, with a number of anti-submarine escorts surrounding the formation at a distance of tens of miles.
In fiction
Some military science fiction works revive the term "battle-line", or its 3D analogon, "wall of battle", to refer to the heavy warships of a space fleet. Three-dimensional space is a geometric model of the physical Universe in which we live
See also
Sources
Rodger, N. Naval tactics in the Age of Sail were used from the early 1600s onward when Sailing ships replaced oared Galleys These were used until the 1860s Crossing the T or Capping the T is a tactic in Naval warfare, in which a line of Warships crosses in front of a line of enemy ships allowing them to A. M. The Command of the Ocean, a Naval History of Britain 1649-1815. Allen Lane, London, 2004. ISBN 0-713-99411-8
Further reading
- Corbett, Julian S. (Julian Stafford), 1854-1922 Fighting Instructions, 1530-1816 Publications Of The Navy Records Society Vol. XXIX.
Footnotes
- ^ If the fleet is in front of the flagship it is a line ahead, if behind a line astern. flagship is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels a designation given on account of being either the largest fastest newest most heavily armed or for publicity purposes the most well
- ^ Geoffrey Parker, The Military Revolution, p. 94
- ^ Mahan, A. T. , The Influence of Sea Power Upon History 1660-1783, pp. 115-116, quoting Chabaud-Arnault
- ^ Geoffrey Parker, The Military Revolution: Military Innovation and the Rise of the West 1500-1800, p. 93-94
Dictionary
line of battle
-noun
- (military) The position of troops drawn up in their usual order without any determined maneuver.
- (naval) The line or arrangement formed by vessels of war in an engagement.
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