List of naval battles

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Lord Howe's action, or the Glorious First of June, a painting by Philip James de Loutherbourg depicting the Glorious First of June, a naval battle between the British and the French. This battle occurred in 1794, during the height of the Age of Sail. Loutherbourg-La Victoire de Lord Howe.jpg
Lord Howe's action, or the Glorious First of June , a painting by Philip James de Loutherbourg depicting the Glorious First of June, a naval battle between the British and the French. This battle occurred in 1794, during the height of the Age of Sail.

This list of naval battles is a chronological list delineating important naval battles that have occurred throughout history, from the beginning of naval warfare with the Hittites in the 12th century BC to Piracy off the coast of Somalia in the 21st century. If a battle has no commonly used name it is referred to as "Action of (date)" within the list below.

Contents

Ancient

YearBattleWinnersLosersNotes
1275–1205 BC Battles of Alashiya Hittite navy Alashiya Off the coast of Cyprus over 3 engagements. [1]
c.1190 BC Battle of the Delta Ramesses III The "Sea Peoples"In the Nile delta
664 BC Corinth battles Corfu
540–535 BC Alalia Carthaginians and Etruscans Greeks Near Alalia (now Aléria), Corsica
497 BC Ionians Phoenicians Near Cyprus
494 BC Lade Persians Ionians
480 BC Artemisium Stalemate between Persians and Greeks
Salamis The allied Greek navyPersians
474 BC Cumae Syracuse and Cumae Etruscans
460s BC Eurymedon Delian League Persians
458 BC Aegina Athenians Aegina and the Peloponnesians
450s BC Salamis-in-Cyprus Delian LeaguePhoenicians and Cilicians
433 BC Sybota Corcyra and AthensCorinthians
429 BC Battles of Naupactus Athenians Spartans and Corinthians
425 BC Pylos AtheniansSpartans
413 BC Syracuse SyracusansAthenians
411 BC Cynossema AtheniansSpartans
Eretria SpartansAtheniansIn September
410 BC Cyzicus AtheniansSpartans and Peloponnesians
406 BC Arginusae AtheniansPeloponnesians
405 BC Notium (Ephesus) Spartans under LysanderAthenians under Antiochus
405 BC Aegospotami SpartansAthensAthenian navy destroyed
394 BC Cnidus Persians Spartans
384–3 BC Pharos Syracusans Liburnians
376 BC Naxos AtheniansSpartans
357 BCChiosAtheniansDuring the Social War
322 BC Amorgos MacedoniansAthenians
306 BC Salamis (in Cyprus) Demetrius I Poliorcetes Menelaeus, brother of Ptolemy I of Egypt
276 BC Strait of Messina Carthaginians Pyrrhus of Epirus
261 BC Cos Antigonus II Gonatas Ptolemy II
260 BC Lipara Islands Carthaginians Roman Republic
Battle of Mylae Romans under Duilius CarthaginiansNear Sicily
258 BC Ephesus Rhodians under Agathostratus Ptolemaic fleet under Chremonides
Sulci Romans under Gaius Sulpicius Paterculus Carthaginians under Hannibal Gisco
257 BC Tyndaris Romans under Gaius Atilius Regulus Carthaginians under Hamilcar
256 BC Cape Ecnomus RomansCarthaginians
249 BC Drepana CarthaginiansRomans
246–245 BC Andros Macedonians Egyptians At Andros
10 Mar 241 BC Aegates Islands Romans CarthaginiansEnding the First Punic War
229 BC Paxos IllyriansConquer island of Corcyra
218 BC Lilybaeum Romans under AmelliusCarthaginiansNear Lilybaeum, Sicily
217 BC Ebro River Romans under Cornelius Scipio CarthaginiansNear the mouth of the Ebro River, Spain
206 BC Carteia Romans under Gaius Laelius Carthaginians under Adherbal
201 BC Chios Egyptians, Rhodians, and Pergamese Philip V of Macedon
2nd Battle of Lade Philip V of Macedon Rhodians under Cleonaeus
190 BC Eurymedon Roman forces under Lucius Aemilius Regillus Seleucid fleet commanded by Hannibal
Myonessus Romans under Regillus and Rhodians under Eudoras Seleucids under Polyxenidas
147 BC Port of Carthage Carthaginians under Hasdrubal Roman fleet of Lucius Hostilius Mancinus
74 BC Chalcedon Pontians under Mithridates VI Roman fleet of Marcus Aurelius Cotta
73 BC Tenedos Romans under Lucius Licinius Lucullus Pontian fleet
67 BC Korakesion Romans under Pompey Cilician pirates
56 BC Morbihan Romans under Decius Brutus Veneti Near Armorica
49 BC Île du Levant Romans under Decius Brutus?At Île du Levant
Romans under Decius Brutus?At Tauroentum
42 BCRepublican fleetReinforcements of the triumvirs
led by Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus
Intercepted and destroyed
3 Sep 36 BC Naulochus AgrippaSextus Pompeius
2 Sep 31 BC Actium Octavian Antony and Cleopatra Decisive victory
AD 70Rome vs Batavi in the Maas
AD 199 Shaxian Wu forces under Sun Ce Liu Biao and Huang Zu
AD 208 Red Cliffs Combined forces of Liu Bei and Sun Quan Fleet under Cao Cao
AD 221 Yiling Sun Quan Fleet under Liu Bei And successfully defends Jingzhou
AD 222 Dongkou Eastern Wu general Lü Fan Cao Xiu
AD 272 Xiling Lu Kang Jin general Bu Chan And retakes Xiling

Middle Ages

5th century

6th century

7th century

8th century

9th century

10th century

11th century

12th century

13th century

14th century

15th century

16th century

Northern Seven Years' War (1563–1570)

YearBattleDescription
1563 Action of 30 May Swedes capture three Danes before war is declared.
Action of 11 September Inconclusive [skirmish?] between Danes/Lübeckers and Swedes.
1564 Action of 30 May Swedes under Bagge [clash with?] Danes/Lübeckers under Trolle.
Action of 12 July A Swedish captain blows up his ship after a Danish attack.
Action of 12 August Swedes under Klas Horn defeat Danes under Herluf Trolle, southeast of Öland.
1565 Action of 4 June An indecisive battle between Danes/Lübeckers and Swedes near Buchow.
Action of 7 July Swedes defeat Danes/Lübeckers between Bornholm and Rügen.
1566 Action of 26 July Swedes defeat Danes/Lübeckers between Öland and Gotland.
1568Swedish fleet captures several Polish corsairs and drives off remainder. [4]

Later 16th century

17th century

Early 17th century

Danish–Swedish War (1643–1645)

Cretan War (1645–1669)

Anglo-Dutch Wars (1652–1674)

Later 17th century

18th century

Early 18th century

Great Northern War (1700–1721)

War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748)

Seven Years' War (1756–1763)

Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774)

American War of Independence (1776–1783)

Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792)

Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790)

The Russian calendar was eleven days behind the Swedish during the 18th century, so Russian dates are eleven days earlier.

French Revolutionary War (1793–1802)

19th century

Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815)

South American Independence wars

War of 1812

Greek War of Independence

Cisplatine War

Mid 19th century

Liberal Wars (1828–1834)

Uruguayan Civil War (1839–1851)

  • 1842 – Argentinians under William Brown defeat Uruguayans

Texas-Mexican Wars

Anglo-French blockade of the Río de la Plata (1845–1850)

First Schleswig War (1848–1851)

  • 1849 May 3 – Schleswig-Holstein vs Denmark near Kiel
  • 1849 May 11 – Schleswig-Holstein vs Denmark near Bulk
  • 1849 June 4 – Battle of HeligolandGerman Confederation engages Denmark, ends in stalemate

Crimean War (1853–1856)

Ningpo massacre (1857)

  • 1857 26 June – battle between Chinese pirates and Portugal during the Qing dynasty, Chinese victory

American Civil War (1861–1865)

Late 19th century

Second Schleswig War (1864)

  • 1864 February Eckernfjorde – Danish ships defeated by Prussia
    • March 17 Jasmund – Prussians vs Danes
    • May 9 Helgoland – Danish fleet defeats Prussian-Austrian fleet in the North Sea

Paraguayan War (1864–1870)

  • 1865 June 11 Riachuelo – Brazilian fleet defeats Paraguayan fleet in Paraná river

Chincha Islands War (1865–1879)

  • 1866 February 7 Abtao – Spain vs Peru/Chile

Third Italian War of Independence (1866)

Boshin War (1868–1869)

Peruvian Coup attempt (1877)

War of the Pacific (1879–1883)

Sino-French War (1884–1885)

  • 1884 August 23 Foochow – Small French squadron annihilates Chinese force at Foochow (Fuzhou)
  • 1885 February 14 Battle of Shipu – French attack Chinese ships
  • 1885 March 1 Battle of Zhenhai – Chinese fleet and coastal defenses repel French squadron

Chilean Civil War (1891)

  • 1891 April 23 Battle of Caldera Bay – Chilean Balmacedist torpedo boats sink a Chilean Congressionalist frigate.

Homestead Strike (1892)

  • 1892 July 6 – armed striking union members in boats engage two armed barges

Franco-Siamese conflict (1893)

  • 1893 July 13 Paknam incident – French ships enter Siamese waters, Siamese fleet responds, French victory

Brazilian Naval Revolt (1893–1894)

  • 1894 January 9–21 Rio de Janeiro Affair – American fleet engages Brazilian rebel fleet, breaking the blockade of Rio de Janeiro

First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895)

Anglo-Zanzibar War (1896)

  • 1896 27 August – Anglo-Zanzibar War itself lasted 38 minutes, making it the shortest military conflict in history. Zanzibar royal yacht, HHS Glasgow is sunk by five British warships.

Spanish–American War (1898)

20th century

Boxer Rebellion (1899–1901)

Markomannia incident (1902)

Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905)

Mexican Revolution (1910–1920)

Italo-Turkish War (1911–1912)

First Balkan War (1912–1913)

Second Balkan War (1913)

World War I (1914–1918)

YearDateBattleDescription
1914–1918 U-boat campaign Actions throughout the war by the German U-boat Arm against Allied shipping
19144–10 August Pursuit of Goeben and Breslau Bloodless engagement – British fleet pursuits German battlecruiser SMS Goeben and light cruiser SMS Breslau, fails to intercept them and they escape to Constantinople.
16 August Battle of Antivari French and British force sinks Austrian cruiser in the Adriatic
26 August Battle of Río de Oro British cruiser HMS Highflyer intercepts and sinks German merchant raider, SMS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse
27 August – 7 November Siege of Tsingtao British & Japanese fleet destroy German & Austro-Hungarian colonial fleet and coastal defenses around Tsingtao, then launch amphibious assault, eventually capturing the city.
28 August Battle of Heligoland Bight British Grand Fleet ambushes and sinks German ships on patrol off Germany's coast; led Germany to pursue a fleet in being strategy for most of the rest of the war
14 September Sinking of SMS Cap Trafalgar British merchant raider, HMS Carmania encounters and sinks German merchant raider SMS Cap Trafalgar, which in turn was disguised as Carmania.
20 September Battle of Zanzibar German cruiser SMS Königsberg sinks British cruiser HMS Pegasus
22 September Action of 22 September 1914 German U-boat SM U-9 ambushes and sinks three British armored cruisers
22 September Bombardment of Madras German cruiser SMS Emden destroys Indian oil refinery in Madras and sinks one merchant ship
22 September Bombardment of Papeete German armored cruisers SMS Scharnhorst and SMS Gneisenau destroy French coastal defenses in French Polynesia and sink the French gunboat Zélée and a freighter
1 October – 11 July 1915 Battle of Rufiji Delta German cruiser SMS Königsberg is blockaded in the Rufiji River delta by a British fleet, holds out for months before being sunk by monitors HMS Mersey and Severn
17 October Battle off Texel British fleet repels attack by four German torpedo boats, sinking all four.
28 October Battle of Penang SMS Emden sinks Russian cruiser Zhemchug and French destroyer in Penang harbour
29 October Black Sea raid Ottoman war minister Enver Pasha instigates the Ottoman entry into the war with raids on Russian ports
1 November Battle of Coronel German cruisers under von Spee defeat a British cruiser force off the coast of Chile; German victory
3 November Raid on Yarmouth German battlecruiser squadron attempts to bombard British city of Yarmouth, intercepted by British destroyers. German cruiser SMS Yorck and British submarine HMS D5 are sunk by mines, and are the only losses of the action
9 November Battle of Cocos HMAS Sydney intercepts and forces the beaching of SMS Emden; Australian victory
18 November Battle of Cape Sarych Two Ottoman warships clash with five Russian pre-dreadnoughts
8 December Battle of the Falkland Islands British battlecruiser force virtually wipes out von Spee's squadron.
16 December Raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby German battlecruiser squadron successfully bombards several British ports, British fleet intercepts, but little damage is done in battle, neither side losses ships
25 December Raid on Cuxhaven British airships launch air raid on German port of Cuxhaven, causing major damage. German U-boats pursuit the fleeing airships, but fail to stop them
191524 January Battle of Dogger Bank Blucher sunk by British battlecruisers in the North Sea.
19 February Naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign Mainly carried out by the Royal Navy with substantial support from the French and minor contributions from Russia and Australia against Ottoman Empire and ended with Turkish victory
15 March Battle of Más a Tierra British cruisers pursuit, corner, and sink German cruiser SMS Dresden
1 May Battle off Noordhinder Bank Two German torpedo boats sunk by British destroyers
1 May Attack on SS Gulflight German submarine SM U-30 torpedoes the then-neutral American oil tanker SS Gulflight, but fails to sink her. Causes an international incident.
7 May Sinking of the RMS Luistania German submarine SM U-20 torpedoes and sinks the British ocean liner, RMS Lusitania killing 1193 civilians, turns international opinion against Germany
10 May Action of 10 May 1915 Russian and Ottoman ships clash near the Bosporus
23–24 May Bombardment of Ancona Austro-Hungarian fleet bombards Italian port of Ancona and damages an Italian destroyer
23–24 May Action off Vieste Austro-Hungarian squadron launches raid against Italian port of Vieste, intercepted by Italian cruisers and destroyers. Austro-Hungarians succeed in sinking an Italian destroyer.
24 May Raid on Porto Buso Italian destroyer Zeffiro raids and captures Austro-Hungarian naval base.
2 July Russian raid on Gotland Russian cruiser squadron intercepts German cruiser force laying mines off the Åland Islands. German mine-laying cruiser Albatross sunk and cruisers Roon and Prince Adalbert damaged.
8-20 August Battle of the Gulf of Riga Russian fleet successfully prevents German fleet from breaking into the Gulf of Riga
19 August First Baralong incident British Q-ship, HMS Baralong intercepts and sinks German U-boat SM U-27
24 August Second Baralong incident British Q-ship, HMS Baralong intercepts and sinks German U-boat SM U-41
10 December Battle of Kirpen Island Two Ottoman gunboats sunk by Russian destroyers
26 December-July 1916 Battle of Lake Tanganyika British, Belgians, & Germans battle for control of Lake Tanganyika
28-29 December First Battle of Durazzo Allied fleet defeats Austro-Hungarian fleet off Albania
19168 January Action of 8 January 1916 Russian and Ottoman ships encounter each other in the black sea, have a brief exchange of fire then withdraw
16 January Action of 16 January 1916 German merchant raider SMS Möwe sinks British cargo ship off Maedeira
10 February Second Battle of Dogger Bank German torpedo boat flotilla sorties and engages a British sloop flotilla, sinking the HMS Arabis
29 February Action of 29 February 1916 The Royal Navy dispatches ships to destroy a German commerce raider in the North sea, successfully sinking it with the loss of one armed merchant cruiser.
24 April Bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft German battlecruiser squadron shells British ports, intercepted by small British fleet, minimal losses for both sides
31 May – 1 June Battle of Jutland Inconclusive two-day battle between the main British and German fleets, largest and only such engagement of World War I.
19 August Action of 19 August 1916 Attempted reengagement of main British and German fleets, results in only minor skirmish
27 August Raid on Ruse Romanian torpedo boats attack an Austrian flotilla in Bulgaria
26–27 October Battle of Dover Strait (1916) German torpedo boats launch a raid into the Dover straight to disrupt shipping
191710 March Action of 10 March 1917 German merchant raider SMS Möwe sinks two New Zealand cargo ships
16 March Action of 16 March 1917 British cruiser HMS Achilles sinks German merchant raider SMS Leopard
7 April Scuttling of SMS Cormoran United States attempts to capture the German merchant raider SMS Cormoran, but her crew scuttles her before they are able to
21 April Battle of Dover Strait (1917) Destroyer battle.
4 May Action of 4 May 1917 Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney engages the German airship LZ92, neither side suffers casualties
15 May Battle of the Strait of Otranto (1917) Austro-Hungarian fleet attacks Allied fleet in attempt to break blockade
12–20 October Operation Albion German fleet engages and defeats Russian fleet, successfully lands and occupies West Estonian archipelago
15 October Action of 15 October 1917 American destroyer, USS Cassin engages and damages German U-boat SM U-61
17 October Battle of Moon Sound German and Russian forces clash in the Baltic Sea.
17 October Action off Lerwick German cruisers SMS Brummer and SMS Bremse attack a British convoy off the Shetland Islands, sinking most of it.
17 November Second Battle of Heligoland Bight Clash between British and German squadrons during mining operation
17 November Action of 17 November 1917 Two American destroyers sink German submarine SM U-58
191820 January Battle of Imbros Ottomans and British fight off Imbros in the Aegean.
23 April Zeebrugge Raid Royal Navy attempts to scuttle ships in Zeebrugge channel to prevent Germans from reaching open water, operation fails
23–24 April First Ostend Raid Royal Navy attempts to scuttle ships in Ostend channel to prevent Germans from reaching open water, operation fails
8 May Action of 8 May 1918 German submarine SM U-32 is sunk by depth charges from HMS Wallflower
9 May Second Ostend Raid Royal Navy attempts to scuttle ships in Ostend channel to prevent Germans from reaching open water, operation fails
21 May Action of 21 May 1918 American patrol ship USS Christabel engages and sinks the German submarine SM UC-56
2 June Sinking of SS Carolina German submarine SM U-151 sinks American passenger liner SS Carolina
10 June Sinking of the SMS Szent István Italian torpedo boat MAS-15 torpedoes and sinks Austro-Hungarian battleship SMS Szent István
18 June Action of 18 June 1918 German submarine SM U-151 torpedoes and damages the British cargo ship SS Dwinsk, submarine is later engaged by American transport USS Von Stuben, but escapes
19 July Tondern raid British aircraft carrier, HMS Furious launches air raid on German airfield in Todern
21 July Attack on Orleans German submarine SM U-156 attacks a group of barges off Massachusetts
25 August Action of 25 August 1918 Brazilian fleet sailing from Freetown to Dakar is attacked by German U-boats, but suffer no losses. Brazilians successfully counterattack, sinking one U-boat. [5]
2 October Second Battle of Durazzo Allied fleet attacks Austro-Hungarian fleet and coastal defenses in Durazzo, Albania, decimating the city
14 October Action of 14 October 1918 Portuguese patrol ship NRP Augusto de Castilho is sunk by the German submarine SM U-139 while defending a merchant ship
31 October – 1 November Raid on Pula Italian frogmen sink the Austro-Hungarian battleship, SMS Viribus Unitis, without knowing it had just been transferred to the State of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs the day prior

Russian Civil War (1917–1922)

Turkish War of Independence (1919-1922)

Irish Civil War (1922-1923)

Colombia-Peru War (1932–1933)

Chaco War (1932–1935)

Spanish Civil War (1936–1939)

Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945)

Ecuadorian-Peruvian War (1941)

Italian Invasion of Albania (1939)

Winter War (1939-1940)

World War II (1939–1945)

Later 20th century

21st century

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Convoy</span> Group of vehicles traveling together

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naval warfare of World War I</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adriatic Campaign of World War I</span>

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References

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  4. Unconfirmed.
  5. Maia, Prado (1961). D.N.O.G. (Divisão Naval em Operações de Guerra), 1914–1918: uma página esquecida da história da Marinha Brasileira. Serviço de Documentação Geral da Marinha.
  6. https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/the-daring-capture-of-a-british-naval-ship-that-enraged-downing-street-and-armed-anti-treaty-ira-for-civil-war/42426755.html
  7. "Naval War in China". www.combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  8. "Chinese Naval Battles(Civil War and later)(re-done)". Soviet-Empire.com. Archived from the original on 29 July 2016.
  9. Assault on the Liberty: The True Story of the Israeli Attack on an American Intelligence Ship], by James M. Ennes, Jr. ( ISBN   0-9723116-0-2) page 67
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