French Navy Deployment, Armoured Ships 1914 (original) (raw)

French Navy Deployment, Armoured Ships August 1914

Contributed by Doug Thompson (doug_thompson@adg.ardemgaz.com), with his own comments interspered throughout.

References:

Notes and disclaimers: This list takes no account of whether a ship was fit to fight or not. If the references said the ship was in the French Navy in August, 1914, it is listed.

I have not given up on light craft, but that will take more time.

Ships of the same class were often scattered between different units. As far as possible, ships of the same class in the same unit are listed on the same line.

Wargamers looking for as many ships as possible, take note: many ships that made it to 1914 had sister ships that were scrapped before the war. The presence of some ships in one class is not - repeat, not - any indicator that other ships in the class took part in the war.

Protected cruisers and torpedo cruisers are lumped into a "flotilla leader" (FL) category. Predreadnoughts are called BA, a classification that is a fiction of mine.

A couple of purely personal observations are indicated by the intials "D.Th." I would also guess that ships listed as "reserve" or "normal reserve" are manned by core crews that are filled out by reservists upon mobilization, and ships listed as "special reserve" are mothballed until mobilization. Some ships that appear to have been in reserve or assigned to a special duty have a "?" put in a note beside to warn the user that the ship's role is not confirmed.

1ST FLEET (Toulon)
(Commander in Chief's section)
BB: Courbet (fleet flag), Jean Bart
FL: Jurien de la Graviere

1ST BATTLE SQUADRON
BB: France, Paris (These two ships were very new. They were at sea when the war began, returning from a shakedown cruise and diplomatic mission to St. Petersburg.)
BA: Danton, Condorcet, Diderot, Mirabeau, Vernaud, Voltaire

2ND BATTLE SQUADRON
BA: Verite (f), Democratie, Justice
Patrie, Republique

SUPPLEMENTARY DIVISION (Manned by reservists?)
BA: Suffern (f)
Bouvet
Galois, Saint Louis

TRAINING SQUADRON
BA: Charlemagne, Jaureguiberry

NORMAL RESERVE
BA: Carnot

SPECIAL RESERVE
BA: Charles Martel
Massena (This ship was hulked in 1915. Therefore, it could be in bad shape. D.Th.)
Henri IV
Requin (Very old D.Th))
Marceau (Not active: used by the torpedo school)

1ST ARMORED CRUISER SQUADRON
AC:Waldeck Rosseau (f), Edgar Quinet
Ernest Renan
Leon Gambetta, Jules Ferry, Victor Hugo
Jules Michlet (reserve)

SPECIAL UNIT AT CRETE
AC: Latouche-Treville
Bruix

NORMAL RESERVE (Whereabouts unknown)
FL: Lavoisier

SPECIAL RESERVE (Morocco)
AC: Amiral Charner

SPECIAL DETAIL (Morocco?)
FL: Friant
Cassard
Cosmao

CHANNEL FLEET
2nd Cruiser Squadron (Cherborg)
AC: Marseillase(f), Conde, Amiral Aube
Desaix, Kleber (both reserve)

TRAINING SQUADRON (Channel)
AC: Pothuan
Glorie Jean d'Arc
Dupetit-Thouars, Gueydon

SPECIAL RESERVE (used as minelayers, Channel and Bay of Biscay)
FL: Chateaurenault
D'entrecasteaux
Du Chayla
Surcouf

SPECIAL RESERVE (also Channel/Biscay)
FL: Guichen

ALSO IN CHANNEL
FL: D'Estrees

FOREIGN STATIONS
AC: Descartes - West Indies (Martinique)
Dupleix - Far East
Montcalm - South Pacific

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Last Updated: 10 February, 1999.