![]() ![]() The concept of underwater combat has roots deep in antiquity. They remain a focus of popular culture and the subject of numerous books and films.Įarly A 16th-century Islamic painting depicting Alexander the Great being lowered in a glass submersible. They are used extensively in search and rescue operations for other submarines, surface vessels, and air craft, and offer a means to descend vast depths beyond the reach of scuba diving for both exploration and recreation. They are heavily employed in the exploration of the sea bed, and the deepest places of the ocean floor. The military use of submarines continues to this day, predominantly by North Korea, China, the United States and Russia.īeyond their use in warfare, submarines continue to have recreational and scientific uses. The latter conflicts also saw an increasing role for the military submarine as a tool of subterfuge, hidden warfare, and nuclear deterrent. The Second World War use of the U-Boat by the Kriegsmarine against the Royal Navy and commercial shipping, and the Cold War's use of submarines by the United States and Russia, helped solidify the submarine's place in popular culture. The introduction of the diesel engine, then the nuclear submarine, saw great expansion in submarine use – and specifically military use – during World War I, World War II, and the Cold War. While early attempts, such as those by Alexander the Great, were rudimentary, the advent of new propulsion systems, fuels, and sonar, propelled an increase in submarine technology. Humanity has employed a variety of methods to travel underwater for exploration, recreation, research and significantly, warfare. They attempted to take the battle beneath the water’s surface and built a series of experimental underwater vessels, and helped give birth to the age of the submarine.The history of the submarine spans the entire history of human endeavour as mankind has since early civilisation sought to explore and travel under the sea. Hunley, James McClintock and Baxter Watson began to work together to find solutions to break the blockade. ![]() Born out of necessity, this setting led the Confederates to make groundbreaking advancements in naval warfare and eventually led to the building of the world’s first successful submarine. The newly formed Confederate States of America had to rethink traditional battle tactics at sea when up against the powerful and established Union Navy. The South grew increasingly desperate for any way to break the blockade to bring in much needed supplies. It was literally starving the South of supplies. Once in place, the Union’s Blockade strategy was very effective, covering 3,500 miles of coastline and 12 major ports. Based on a plan by General-in-Chief Winfield Scott, its goal was to close all Confederate ports, preventing ships from exporting goods in support of commerce or delivering cargo and supplies to the South. On April 19, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln issued an order for the Union forces to begin a blockade of all major Confederate ports with the signing of the Proclamation of Blockade Against Southern Ports. After two days of heavy bombardment, Fort Sumter surrendered to the Confederates.Īt the outset of the war, the Union recognized the importance of keeping the Confederacy isolated from foreign markets. When Anderson refused, the next day at 4:30 AM, Beauregard ordered his forces at the Charleston battery to open fire onto Fort Sumter. On April 11, General Beauregard sent a letter to Major Anderson demanding the surrender of the fort. Robert Anderson was the Federal Major assigned to Fort Sumter and by April 1861, he and his men did not even have enough supplies to get them through the end of the month. The only fort they were unable to seize was the most strategic and important one to the Union: Fort Sumter. When South Carolina seceded, the first Confederate state to do so, they began to seize the forts within their borders and off their coastline. In late 1860 and early 1861, the Southern states voted to secede from the United States, and formed the Confederate States of America. Not only would the country forever be transformed, but even the nature of warfare was fundamentally altered by the events that unfolded during this bloody conflict. The Civil War-era was one of industrious innovation and sweeping economic and cultural change.
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