Chapter 103: Aftermath

If the Battle of the Shetland Seas shattered the myth of the British Royal Navy’s two-century-long invincibility, then the Battle of Dogger Bank struck the Royal Navy from its pedestal.

Just how significant was this naval battle?

On December 17th, the fourth day after the battle, and the very day the High Seas Fleet and the Spee Squadron returned to Wilhelmshaven, negotiations between the Empire and Italy made major progress. The Imperial Foreign Minister explicitly stated that as long as Italy entered the war on the side of the Axis Powers, the Empire would refrain from intervening in Mediterranean affairs post-war and would confine Austria-Hungary’s influence to the Adriatic Sea. Should the Ottoman Empire also join the war as an ally, its sphere of influence would cover the Black Sea and the seas east of Crete—effectively handing over the greater part of the Mediterranean to Italy. Such a substantial “gift” was hard for the Italian authorities to ignore, yet they withheld a definitive response. Their principal demand was to acquire territories controlled by Austria-Hungary and to strengthen their influence in the Balkans—requests the Empire did not clearly acknowledge.

Italy’s hesitation was also influenced by the efforts of Britain and France.

Although Britain refused to concede the Mediterranean to Italy, and France would never agree either—considering that France no longer contested Britain for control over the North Atlantic and regarded the Mediterranean as its principal naval theater—both Britain and France offered Italy other benefits, such as economic aid. Moreover, France hinted that if Italy joined the Allies, it would make concessions in territorial disputes.

Securing Italy thus became the diplomatic centerpiece for both the Axis and Allied powers by the end of 1914.

While attention was focused on Italy, many overlooked another crucial player: the Ottoman Empire.

On December 21st, the Ottoman Empire declared war on Russia, officially entering the conflict.

Numerous factors drove the Ottoman Empire to side with the Axis Powers, including the gift of two warships from the Empire and the war minister’s pro-German stance. Yet the immediate catalyst for Ottoman involvement was the entry of the battlecruiser Goeben—renamed the “Brave Sultan Selim”—into the Black Sea on December 18th, where she attacked the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Although the Goeben achieved no decisive victories in this minor skirmish, it directly soured relations between the Ottoman Empire and Russia. In truth, even if the Ottoman Empire had not declared war on Russia on December 21st, war between the two was inevitable.

In reality, the Goeben’s assault on the Russian Black Sea Fleet had nothing to do with the Ottoman Navy.

After gifting the warship to the Ottomans, the German Emperor had all its crew— including the Mediterranean squadron commander—remain with the Ottoman Navy. The Ottomans formally employed these officers, granting them official ranks, effectively making them Ottoman naval personnel.

The problem was, these officers still served the German Empire.

It was clear that the Goeben’s aggressive move toward Sevastopol was not the Ottoman Empire’s intention, as internal consensus on entering the war had not been reached. The pro-German faction led by War Minister Enver Pasha was in stark conflict with the pro-British faction headed by the Prime Minister, to the point where civil war was a real possibility. Adding to the turmoil was the Sultan himself, the Empire’s ruler, who was utterly ineffectual and wielded no real power.

At that time, the Ottoman Empire was already engaged in secret negotiations with Britain and France and had even made significant progress.

The sole sticking point preventing the Ottomans from joining the Allies was the deep-seated resentment toward Russia.

The Ottoman Prime Minister explicitly proposed that if Russia returned the territories seized during the Crimean War, the Empire would join the Allies and immediately declare war on the German and Austro-Hungarian Empires once Russia made such a commitment.

Britain and France welcomed this proposal enthusiastically.

It should be noted that during the Crimean War, Britain had supported the Ottoman Empire to prevent Russian expansion southward.

However, Russia adamantly opposed this, even threatening to withdraw from the war if Britain, France, and the Ottomans formed a secret agreement detrimental to Russian interests.

Clearly, Britain and France needed both the Ottoman Empire and Russia.

It was precisely amid this stalemate between the Ottomans and Russia that the Goeben and Breslau stormed into the Black Sea and attacked Sevastopol.

It was evident this operation was directly linked to Enver Pasha, as it effectively eliminated any possibility of the Ottoman Empire joining the Allies.

Shortly after, with the support of the Imperial Military Advisor, Enver orchestrated a brilliant military coup.

The day after Enver seized control of the Ottoman government, he officially declared war on Russia, thereby aligning the Ottoman Empire with the Axis Powers.

The Ottoman entry into the war was no trivial matter.

In many ways, it intensified the burden on the Allies, particularly Britain.

On December 22nd, after an emergency cabinet meeting and consultations with France and Russia, British Prime Minister H.H. Asquith declared war on the Ottoman Empire. Russia and France followed suit the same day, with the Ottomans declaring war on Britain and France the following day.

At that time, the greatest threat posed by the Ottoman Empire was not on land, but at sea—or more precisely, in the land battles closely tied to maritime theaters.

The Ottoman border lay less than a hundred kilometers from the Suez Canal. Should the Ottomans seize control of the canal, Britain’s carefully maintained route from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean would be severed, cutting off the shortest path to India and the Far East.

Britain’s paramount challenge was to defend the Suez Canal.

To this end, Britain had to deploy troops to North Africa and bolster its military presence in the Mediterranean.

But herein lay a problem.

On the Western Front in Europe, although German strategic offensives had been halted, Germany still occupied territories north of the Marne River and most of Belgium. The German forces were steadily advancing toward the Belgian coast, with the entire country expected to fall by year’s end. France remained in a semi-shocked state; despite repeated assurances from General Joffre that France could launch a large-scale counteroffensive within the year, without direct British support, France had no chance to defeat Germany and thus relied heavily on continued British expeditionary forces.

At the time, Britain and France were negotiating the establishment of a joint military command.

Obviously, Asquith sought to establish such a command and desired its leadership, which meant Britain would have to commit more troops to the Western Front.

The problem was that the British Parliament had yet to pass conscription laws.

Without conscription, increasing forces in France meant Britain could not send additional troops to North Africa, leaving insufficient forces to guard the Suez Canal.

Of course, this was a secondary concern, as France also recognized the canal’s strategic importance.

One must remember that France held vast colonial territories in the Far East, and much of its war resources came from overseas colonies.

The real crux was the maritime battlefield.

Even if the Ottoman Navy was feeble and posed little direct threat, Britain and France had to strengthen their military presence in the Mediterranean. Italy’s stance remained uncertain, and its fleet rivaled France’s in strength. Should Italy be swayed and join the Axis, France’s modest naval presence in the Mediterranean would become insignificant.

Clearly, Britain needed to dispatch more warships to the Mediterranean—capital ships, no less.

But did the Royal Navy still have ships to spare?

At the Battle of Dogger Bank, the Royal Navy lost three battlecruisers and six light cruisers. Though all twenty-three battleships returned to the Bay of Biscay, four were severely damaged, three required extensive repairs, and only sixteen had relatively minor damage.

This amounted to nearly the entirety of the Royal Navy’s core strength.

Of course, with the Spee Squadron’s return to Wilhelmshaven, the Royal Navy’s long-range interception operations had ended. The battleships Invincible, Australia, and New Zealand were able to return home, leaving only the Royal Princess stationed in the Mediterranean.

But what impact could three battlecruisers have?

It must be remembered that the High Seas Fleet lost no capital ships at Dogger Bank. Even though Rear-Admiral Reuter’s six battlecruisers were heavily damaged—both the Queen Augusta and Crown Prince Wilhelm returned to Wilhelmshaven with their bows flooded—these ships were repairable within a year. Newly building a battleship, by contrast, took at least three years.

It was evident the High Seas Fleet had gained a significant advantage in strength.

Under such circumstances, sending more ships to the Mediterranean would only further weaken the Grand Fleet, which was already stretched to its limits.

In short, the Grand Fleet had no ships left to deploy.

For a time, no one could devise an effective response.

Unsurprisingly, the first to suffer after the Battle of Dogger Bank was Winston Churchill, who had boasted before Asquith.

On December 22nd, following Asquith’s declaration of war on the Ottoman Empire, Churchill voluntarily resigned, ending his political career with some dignity.

Churchill’s resignation paved the way for Admiral Jellicoe.

Though Jellicoe bore undeniable responsibility for the defeat, the Royal Navy did not remove him; he remained commander of the Grand Fleet.

However, this was his final chance.

Should he suffer another crushing defeat in the next battle, he would surely follow Churchill into political oblivion.

Of course, the most precarious position at this time was not Jellicoe’s, but that of Prime Minister Asquith, whose authority and competence were under severe scrutiny. (To be continued)