Video
Naval Fire Support of the WWI Western Front: Long Patrol, Part 5, Marshal Ney Class
Alternate HistoryCoastal BombardmentDover PatrolHugh TweedyMarshal Ney Class MonitorsMonitorsNaval GunneryNaval LeadershipRoyal NavyShip DesignWorld War I
Study Naval Fire Support of the WWI Western Front: Long Patrol, Part 5, Marshal Ney Class, a Dr. Alex Clarke video from 4 May 2021, with 15 time notes. Topics include Alternate History, Coastal Bombardment, Dover Patrol.
Time notes
- 1:26Marshal Ney and Marshal Soult lend their names to British monitorsChapter
The Royal Navy names two heavy-gun monitors for French marshals whose contrasting fortunes suit the ships' own uneven careers.
- 3:30Marshal Ney-class diesel engines undermine a powerful monitor designChapter
Space-saving diesel machinery promises a compact monitor, then leaves the Marshal Ney class slow, unreliable, and difficult to handle.
- 8:18Ramillies gives up her turrets for the Marshal Ney monitorsNotable Point
Turret delays redirected two 15-inch mounts from HMS Ramillies to the monitors, exposing the long lead time and opportunity cost of capital-ship guns.
- 12:35An R-class battlecruiser counterfactual tests wartime procurement choicesNotable Point
A speculative passage asks whether more R-class hulls should have become battlecruisers, preserving turrets for another battleship and keeping HMS Resistance in the programme.
- 19:48The Dover Patrol combines monitors with a diverse coastal forceNotable Point
A compact inventory shows that coastal bombardment depended on a system of battleships, monitors, destroyers, minesweepers, submarines, aircraft, and auxiliary craft.
- 19:48Redoubtable proves useful in trials but awkward off the Belgian coastNotable Point
The old battleship HMS Revenge, renamed Redoubtable, supports the Dover Patrol's gunnery experiments even though her deep draft and symbolic value make her a poor fit for coastal operations.
- 23:08Dover Patrol monitors gain range but lose control in tidal watersChapter
The Marshal Ney-class monitors extend bombardment range beyond the 12-inch ships, but five-knot speed and erratic steering make that firepower difficult to position safely off Belgium.
- 24:07Marshal Ney circles under fire from the Tirpitz batteryNotable Point
Engine and steering failures leave Marshal Ney circling under German 11-inch fire until the destroyer Viking covers a tow with smoke and pulls the monitor clear.
- 25:18Rearmed Marshal Ney becomes a useful Downs guard shipNotable Point
After surrendering her turret and receiving altered engines plus six-inch guns, Marshal Ney returns in 1917 to defend the merchant anchorage in the Downs.
- 26:28Marshal Soult reaches bombardment stations under towNotable Point
Marshal Soult's reliable guns and keen crew remain useful, but her low speed forces newer monitors to tow her into action at substantial tactical cost.
- 27:47Marshal Soult and Marshal Ney find long second livesNotable Point
Despite their wartime shortcomings, both monitors survive in support roles, while Marshal Soult's guns later arm HMS Roberts and Marshal Ney remains an accommodation ship until 1957.
- 30:45Hugh Tweedy's career from Victorian ships to Grand Fleet destroyersChapter
Captain Hugh Tweedy's wide-ranging service explains the experience behind his ability to keep Marshal Ney useful despite the monitor's severe defects.
- 34:04The Tweedy family carries military service into the Second World WarNotable Point
Hugh Tweedy's sons continued the family's service in a destroyer command, the Guides Cavalry, and the Royal West African Frontier Force.
- 36:17A young Tweedy improvises a river operation in Sierra LeoneNotable Point
Tweedy's first command aboard a colonial paddle yacht becomes a case study in initiative when he raises and trains a militia after the troops he transported lose their way.
- 39:22Personnel quality turns flawed ships into usable capabilityNotable Point
Marshal Ney's service illustrates how trained people, institutional support, and retention can outweigh impressive technology.