Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 37:55-38:55

St Nazaire followed a long Royal Navy port-attack tradition

The dry-dock raid fits a long British habit of attacking naval targets in harbor, with the Danish fleet as a larger earlier example.

Amphibious RaidsNaval DoctrineRoyal NavySaint-Nazaire RaidWorld War II
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Question

Should the St Nazaire raid have been expected from earlier Royal Navy port raids and blockades?

Short answer

Yes. Attacking enemy naval assets in harbor was established Royal Navy practice, and the concentration on one dry dock was comparatively limited.

Notes

A raid on St Nazaire's dry dock fits the Royal Navy's long practice of attacking enemies in port. Earlier port raids and blockades made the type of operation predictable. The attack on the Danish navy in the Napoleonic era supplies a comparison with a much larger target. Against that precedent, concentrating on one dry dock appears comparatively limited.