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GIUK Gap
The GIUK gap (sometimes written G-I-UK) is an area in the northern Atlantic Ocean that forms a naval choke point. Its name is an acronym for ''Greenland, Iceland'', and the ''United Kingdom'', the gap being the two stretches of open ocean among these three landmasses. It separates the Norwegian Sea and the North Sea from the open Atlantic Ocean. The term is typically used in relation to military topics. The area has for some nations been considered strategically important since the beginning of the 20th century. Strategic significance to the Kingdom of Denmark Comprising Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Denmark, the Kingdom of Denmark is an Arctic state alongside seven other countries whose territories cover the Arctic region. All matters of foreign policy for both Greenland and the Faroe Islands fall within the jurisdiction of the Danish government. The Danish government has historically used its jurisdiction over foreign policy in both Greenland and the Faroe Islands to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sea Lines Of Communication
Sea lines of communication (abbreviated as SLOC) is a term describing the primary maritime routes between ports, used for trade, logistics and naval forces. It is generally used in reference to naval operations to ensure that SLOCs are open, or in times of war, to close them. The importance of SLOCs in geopolitics was described in Nicholas J. Spykman's ''America's Strategy in World Politics'' published in 1942. In the American Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars, the SLOCs were, for the most part, in the control of the British Navy. When the British lost control of them during the Revolution, the result was the fall of Yorktown and its biggest army and, ultimately, the war. In the Napoleonic era, maintaining belligerence throughout, the British embargoed and blockaded any country associated with Napoleon, which created large economic hardships and dislocations that played a part in people of France becoming disenchanted with Napoleon. In World War I and World War II, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Invasion Of Iceland
The United Kingdom invaded Iceland on 10 May 1940, during World War II using its Royal Navy and Royal Marines forces. The operation, codenamed Operation Fork, occurred because the British government feared that Kingdom of Iceland, Iceland would be used militarily by Nazi Germany, which had German invasion of Denmark (1940), overrun Denmark a month earlier. Although Iceland was independently governed, it was in a personal union with Denmark, which was largely responsible for its foreign relations. The Government of Iceland issued a protest, charging that its neutrality had been "flagrantly violated" and "its independence infringed". At the start of World War II, the UK imposed strict export controls on Icelandic goods, preventing profitable shipments to Germany, as part of its naval blockade. The UK offered assistance to Iceland, seeking co-operation "as a belligerent and an ally", but the Icelandic government refused and reaffirmed its neutrality. The German diplomatic presence ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Occupation Of The Faroe Islands
Operation Valentine, the British occupation of the Faroe Islands during the Second World War, was implemented immediately following Operation Weserübung, the German invasion of metropolitan Denmark and Norway. It was a small component of the roles of Nordic countries in the war. In April 1940, the United Kingdom occupied the strategically important Faroe Islands (part of Denmark) to forestall a German invasion. British troops left shortly after the end of the war. Occupation At the time of the occupation, the Faroe Islands had the status of an amt (county) of the Danish Realm. Following the invasion and occupation of Denmark on 9 April 1940, British forces launched Operation Valentine to occupy the Faroe Islands. On 11 April, Winston Churchill – then First Lord of the Admiralty – announced to the House of Commons that the Faroe Islands would be occupied, On the same day the Royal Navy cruiser embarked Faroes Force, consisting of 13 officers and 180 men of the Roy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas. Naval convoys Age of Sail Naval convoys have been in use for centuries, with examples of merchant ships traveling under naval protection dating to the 12th century. The use of organized naval convoys dates from when ships began to be separated into specialist classes and national navies were established. By the French Revolutionary Wars of the late 18th century, effective naval convoy tactics had been developed to ward off pirates and privateers. Some convoys contained several hundred merchant ships. The most enduring system of convoys were the Spanish treasure fleets, that sailed from the 1520s until 1790. When merchant ships sailed independently, a privateer c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German U-boat Bases In Occupied Norway
German U-boat bases in occupied Norway operated between 1940 and 1945, when the ''Kriegsmarine'' (German navy), converted several naval bases in Norway into submarine bases. Norwegian coastal cities became available to the ''Kriegsmarine'' after the Norwegian campaign, invasion of Denmark and Norway in April 1940. Following the conclusion of the Norwegian Campaign (June 1940), the occupying Germans began to transfer U-boats stationed in Germany to many Norwegian port cities such as Bergen, Narvik, Trondheim, Hammerfest (town), Hammerfest and Kirkenes. Initial planning for many Submarine pen, U-boat bunkers began in late 1940. Starting in 1941, the Organisation Todt, Todt Organisation began the construction of bunkers in Bergen and Trondheim. These bunkers were completed by Weyss & Freytagg AG between 1942 and 1943. The ''Kriegsmarine'' generally used U-boats stationed in Norway to extend its range of operation in the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. The Norwegian bases housed U- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising all resources in pursuit of total war. Tanks in World War II, Tanks and Air warfare of World War II, aircraft played major roles, enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, first and only nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II is the List of wars by death toll, deadliest conflict in history, causing World War II casualties, the death of 70 to 85 million people, more than half of whom were civilians. Millions died in genocides, including the Holocaust, and by massacres, starvation, and disease. After the Allied victory, Allied-occupied Germany, Germany, Allied-occupied Austria, Austria, Occupation of Japan, Japan, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the west almost by the Morocco–Spain border. The Mediterranean Sea covers an area of about , representing 0.7% of the global ocean surface, but its connection to the Atlantic via the Strait of Gibraltar—the narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates the Iberian Peninsula in Europe from Morocco in Africa—is only wide. Geological evidence indicates that around 5.9 million years ago, the Mediterranean was cut off from the Atlantic and was partly or completely desiccated over a period of some 600,000 years during the Messinian salinity crisis before being refilled by the Zanclean flood about 5.3 million years ago. The sea was an important rout ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gibraltar
Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the Atlantic Ocean (Strait of Gibraltar). It has an area of and is Gibraltar–Spain border, bordered to the north by Spain (Campo de Gibraltar). The landscape is dominated by the Rock of Gibraltar, at the foot of which is a densely populated town area. Gibraltar is home to some 34,003 people, primarily Gibraltarians. Gibraltar was founded as a permanent watchtower by the Almohad Caliphate, Almohads in 1160. It switched control between the Nasrids, Crown of Castile, Castilians and Marinids in the Late Middle Ages, acquiring larger strategic clout upon the destruction of nearby Algeciras . It became again part of the Crown of Castile in 1462. In 1704, Anglo-Dutch forces Capture of Gibraltar, captured Gibraltar from Spain during the War of the S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maritime And Coastguard Agency
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is an executive agency of the United Kingdom that is responsible for implementing British and international maritime law and safety policy. It works to prevent the loss of lives at sea and to prevent marine pollution. It is a subsidiary executive agency of the UK Department for Transport and responsible through the Secretary of State for Transport to Parliament. It is also responsible for land based search and rescue helicopter operations since 2015.About us, MCA GOV.UK. Retrieved 18 March 2016. Its motto is ''"Safer Lives, Safer Ships, Cleaner Seas"''. The organisation is currently led by Virginia McVea. History The MCA was established on 1 April 1998 following a government merger of the UK Coastguard Agency and t ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English Channel
The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busiest Sea lane, shipping area in the world. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to at its narrowest in the Strait of Dover."English Channel". ''The Columbia Encyclopedia'', 2004. It is the smallest of the shallow seas around the continental shelf of Europe, covering an area of some . The Channel aided the United Kingdom in becoming a naval superpower, serving as a natural defence against invasions, such as in the Napoleonic Wars and in the World War II, Second World War. The northern, English coast of the Channel is more populous than the southern, French coast. The major languages spoken in this region are English language, English and French language, French. Names Roman historiography, Roman sources as (or , ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early Middle Ages, medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Kingdom of France, France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the English Navy of the early 16th century; the oldest of the British Armed Forces, UK's armed services, it is consequently known as the Senior Service. From the early 18th century until the World War II, Second World War, it was the world's most powerful navy. The Royal Navy played a key part in establishing and defending the British Empire, and four Imperial fortress colonies and a string of imperial bases and coaling stations secured the Royal Navy's ability to assert naval superior ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
