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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2015}}
{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name=Harwich Force
|image=Harwich Force destroyers.jpg
|image_size=250px
|caption=Destroyers of the Harwich Force in line ahead
|dates=1914–1918
|country={{UK}}
|allegiance=[[British Empire]]
|branch=[[Royal Navy]]
|type=Naval Fleet
|role=
|size=
|command_structure=
|current_commander=
|garrison=
|ceremonial_chief=
|colonel_of_the_regiment=
|nickname=
|patron=
|motto=
|colors=
|march=
|mascot=
|battles= [[Battle of Heligoland Bight (1914)|Battle of Heligoland Bight]]<br /> [[Battle off Texel]]<br /> [[Battle of Dogger Bank (1915)|Battle of Dogger Bank]]<br />[[Battle off Noordhinder Bank]]
|notable_commanders=[[Reginald Tyrwhitt]]
|anniversaries=
}}

The '''Harwich Force''' originally called '''Harwich Striking Force''' was a squadron of the [[Royal Navy]], formed during the [[First World War]] and based in [[Harwich]].{{sfn|Churchill|2005|p=169}} It played a significant role in the war.

==History==
After the outbreak of the First World War, it was important for the Royal Navy was to secure the approaches to the [[English Channel]], to prevent elements of the [[Imperial German Navy]] (Kaiserliche Marine) from breaking out into the Atlantic or from interfering with British maritime trade and troop convoys to the continent.{{sfn|King-Hall|1929|pp=11–12}} Most of the big ships of the [[Grand Fleet]] had dispersed to the navy's anchorage at [[Scapa Flow]] or to other north-eastern ports to watch the northern route from the [[North Sea]] into the Atlantic. Patrol flotillas were organised along the south and east coasts of England, with commands established at several ports in the region. The [[Dover Patrol]] was based at [[Dover]], consisting mostly of [[destroyer]]s, while a number of [[pre-dreadnought]]s and [[cruiser]]s were based at [[Portland Harbour]]. A large number of destroyers, [[flotilla leader]]s and [[light cruiser]]s were based at [[Harwich]], under the command of Commodore [[Reginald Tyrwhitt]].{{sfn|King-Hall|1929|pp=11–12}}

==Composition==
The Harwich Force consisted of between four and eight light cruisers, several flotilla leaders and usually between 30 and 40 destroyers in [[flotilla]]s, the number varying. Also stationed at Harwich was a submarine force under Commodore [[Roger Keyes, 1st Baron Keyes|Roger Keyes]].{{sfn|King-Hall|1929|pp=11–12}} In early 1917, the Harwich Force consisted of eight light cruisers, two flotilla leaders and 45 destroyers. By the end of the year, there were nine light cruisers, four flotilla leaders and 24 destroyers. The combination of light, fast ships was intended for scouting, reconnaissance, engaging German light forces and frustrating German attempts at [[minelaying]] in the Channel.{{sfn|Jellicoe|1920|pp=127–129}}

==Rear-Admirals==
Post holders included:

{| class="wikitable"
! !! Rank !! Flag !! Name !! Term  !! Notes
|-
| colspan="6" align="center" style="background:#dcdcfe;" | '''Rear-Admiral Commanding, Harwich Force'''
|-
|1 || Rear-Admiral  || [[File:Flag of Rear-Admiral - Royal Navy.svg|25px]] ||[[Reginald Tyrwhitt]] ||7 April 1914 – 1 May 1919<ref>{{cite web|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Commodore 'T', Reginald Y Tyrwhitt, Rear-Admiral commanding Harwich Force, diary of events, 30 December 1917 to 19 April 1919.|url=http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4112007|website=discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk|publisher=The National Archives UK|access-date=5 February 2017}}</ref>||receiving shore support from FOIC, Harwich
|-
|2 || Rear-Admiral || [[File:Flag of Rear-Admiral - Royal Navy.svg|25px]] ||[[George Borrett|George Holmes Borrett]] ||1 March 1919<ref>{{cite web|last1=Lovell |first1=Tony |last2=Harley |first2=Simon|title=George Holmes Borrett|url=http://www.dreadnoughtproject.org/tfs/index.php/George_Holmes_Borrett|website=The Dreadnought Project|access-date=4 June 2018|date=10 March 2018}}</ref>||ditto
|-
| colspan="6" align="center" style="background:#dcdcfe;" | '''Rear-Admiral-in-Charge, Harwich'''
|-
|1 || Rear-Admiral  || [[File:Flag of Rear-Admiral - Royal Navy.svg|25px]] ||[[George Cuthbert Cayley]] ||2 July 1917 – 31 March 1918<ref>{{cite web|last1=Lovell |first1=Tony |last2=Harley |first2=Simon|title=George Cuthbert Cayley|url=http://www.dreadnoughtproject.org/tfs/index.php/George_Cuthbert_Cayley|website=The Dreadnought Project|access-date=15 February 2018|date=28 August 2017}}</ref>||in charge of the base at [[Harwich Dockyard]]
|-
|2 || Rear-Admiral || [[File:Flag of Rear-Admiral - Royal Navy.svg|25px]] ||[[Cecil Hickley|Cecil Spencer Hickley]] ||1 April 1918 – 1 March 1919<ref>{{cite web|last1=Lovell |first1=Tony |last2=Harley |first2=Simon|title=Cecil Spencer Hickley|url=http://www.dreadnoughtproject.org/tfs/index.php/Cecil_Spencer_Hickley|website=The Dreadnought Project|access-date=4 June 2018|date=31 August 2017}}</ref>||ditto
|}

==Service==
[[File:Cruisers and destroyers at Harwich RMG PW0882.jpg|thumb|right|Painting depicting Harwich Force at anchor in 1914, by [[William Lionel Wyllie]].]]
It was intended that the Harwich Force would operate when possible in conjunction with the Dover Patrol, and the [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]] intended that the Harwich force would also be able to support the Grand Fleet if it moved into the area. Tyrwhitt was also expected to carry out reconnaissance of German naval activities in the southern parts of the North Sea, and to escort ships sailing between the [[Thames]] and the [[Netherlands]].{{sfn|Jellicoe|1920|pp=127–129}} Tyrwhitt's objectives were often complicated by the need to provide reinforcements for the Dover Patrol. The force fired the first shots of the war when a flotilla led by {{HMS|Amphion|1911|6}} sank the [[minelayer]] {{SS|Königin Luise|1913|2}} on 5 August 1914.{{sfn|Tucker|2005|p=1,192}} During the war, the Force captured or sank 24 enemy merchants, and it escorted 520 eastbound and 511 westbound ships between Dutch and British ports.{{sfn|Jellicoe|1920|pp=127–129}} Their ships also took part in the [[Cuxhaven Raid]] on Christmas Day, 1914.

[[File:Harwich Force U-boat boarding.jpg|thumb|Surrender of U-Boats at Harwich: A British officer boards a U-boat at Harwich to examine her papers]]
The force was also active in a number of clashes with the ''Kaiserliche Marine'' (Imperial German Navy). Their ships were present at the [[Battle of Heligoland Bight (1914)|Battles of Heligoland Bight]], [[Battle off Texel|Texel]], and [[Battle of Dogger Bank (1915)|Dogger Bank]], and were mobilised after the German raids on [[Raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby|Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby]] in 1914, and on [[Bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft|Yarmouth and Lowestoft]] in 1916. They were called out during the prelude to the [[Battle of Jutland]] but did not take part in the battle.{{sfn|Tucker|2005|p=1,192}}

During the winter of 1916–1917, the force assisted the Dover Patrol in patrolling the [[Dover Barrage]], an anti-submarine steel netting barrier which required on a large number of small vessels to operate and were vulnerable to attack by German destroyers and torpedo boats. Other regular patrols were mounted in [[The Downs (ship anchorage)|The Downs]], an anchorage in the eastern part of the Channel and another net barrage which was laid parallel to the Belgian coast. Forays along the coast of Germany sometimes resulted in the sinking or capture of German fishing vessels; on one sweep in 1915, twenty captured trawlers were brought to Harwich as [[Prize (law)|prize]]s. Another duty was coastal bombardment of German positions in occupied Belgium; on one mission to [[Zeebrugge Raid#Ostend bombardment, 5 June 1917|bombard Ostend on 5 June 1917]], Tyrwhitt's flagship, {{HMS|Centaur|1916|6}}, sank the German torpedo boat ''S.20'' off [[Zeebrugge]].{{sfn|Knight|2010|pp=28–30}}

After the end of the war, Harwich was designated the port at which the remaining German [[U-boat]]s would be surrendered and Harwich Force oversaw the operation.{{sfn|Massie|2004|p=780}}

==Battle of Jutland==
At the end of May 1916, at the time of the Battle of Jutland, the Harwich force consisted of:
* [[5th Light Cruiser Squadron]]:
** {{HMS|Carysfort|1914|2}} (Commodore Tyrwhitt)
** {{HMS|Cleopatra|1915|2}} (Captain F. P. Loder-Symonds)
** {{HMS|Conquest|1915|2}} (Captain [[Roger Backhouse]])
** {{HMS|Canterbury|1915|2}} (Captain [[Percy Royds]], detached to Grand Fleet)
** {{HMS|Penelope|1914|2}} (Captain [[Hubert Lynes]]; undergoing repairs)
** {{HMS|Vindex|1915|2}}, a seaplane carrier (detached to [[Rosyth]], Scotland)
* [[9th Destroyer Flotilla]]
** light cruiser {{HMS|Undaunted|1914|2}} (Capt. Francis G. St.John)
** destroyer leader {{HMS|Nimrod|1915|2}}
** 17 ([[Laforey-class destroyer (1913)|L-class]]) destroyers (''Laforey'', ''Lance'', ''Lark'', ''Lassoo'', ''Laverock'', ''Lawford'', ''Leonidas'', ''Lookout'', ''Loyal'', ''Lysander''; detached to the Battlecruiser Fleet: ''Landrail'', ''Laurel'', ''Liberty'', ''Lydiard''; in repairs or refitting: ''Laertes'', ''Lennox'', ''Lucifer'')
* [[10th Destroyer Flotilla]]
** light cruiser {{HMS|Aurora|1913|2}} (Capt. Wilmot S. Nicholson)
** destroyer leader  {{HMS|Lightfoot|1915|2}}
** 15 [[Admiralty M-class destroyer|M-class]] and 3 [[Talisman-class destroyer|''Talisman''-class]] destroyers. ''Manly'', ''Mentor'', ''Miranda'', ''[[HMS Murray (1914)|Murray]]'', ''Milne'', ''Myngs''; attached to the [[3rd Battle Squadron (United Kingdom)|3rd Battle Squadron]] at [[Commander-in-Chief, The Nore|The Nore]]: ''Mastiff'', ''Matchless''; detached to the Battlecruiser fleet: ''Moorsom'', ''Morris'', ''Termagant'', ''Turbulent''; in repairs or refit: ''Melpomene'', ''Medea'', ''Meteor'', ''Trident'', ''Mansfield'', ''Minos''.

The Harwich Force sortied to join the Grand Fleet on the initiative of Commodore Tyrwhitt early on 1 June 1916 in the hope that it might help should the action be re-joined later in the day but it was recalled by the Admiralty a few hours later and told to await orders.  The following ships had sortied:{{sfn|Admiralty|1920|pp=341–342}}
:light cruisers: ''Carysfort'', ''Cleopatra'', ''Conquest'', ''Aurora'', ''Undaunted''
: flotilla leaders ''Nimrod'', ''Lightfoot''
: destroyers:
::1st Division: ''Laforey'', ''Lookout'', ''Lawford'', ''Laverock''
::2nd Division: ''Lance'', ''Lassoo'', ''Lysander'', ''Lark''
::3rd Division: ''Loyal'', ''Leonidas'', ''Mentor'', ''Miranda''
::4th Division: ''Manly'', ''Murray'', ''Milne'', ''Myngs''

==See also==
* {{HMS|Ben-my-Chree|}}
* {{HMS|Curacoa|D41|6}}
* {{HMS|Engadine|1911|6}}
* {{HMS|Empress|1914|6}}
* {{HMS|Riviera||6}}
* [[Seaplane Experimental Station]]

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist|20em}}

==References==
* {{cite book |ref={{harvid|Admiralty|1920}}
|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |series=Cmd. 1068 |title=Battle of Jutland, 30th May to 1st June 1916: Official Despatches with Appendices |url=https://archive.org/details/battleofjutland300grearich |via=Archive Foundation |year=1920 |edition=online scan |publisher=H.M. Stationery Office |location=London |oclc=58965862}}
* {{cite book |last1=Churchill |first1=Winston |title=The World Crisis, 1911–1918 |year=2005 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |location=New York |isbn=978-0-7432-8343-4}}
* {{cite book |last=Jellicoe |first=Viscount Jellicoe Of Scapa |title=The Crisis of the Naval War |publisher=Cassell |location=London |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924014647956 |via=Archive Foundation |edition=online scan |year=1920 |oclc=2920117}}
* {{cite book |last=King-Hall |first=Stephen |series=Benn's Sixpenny library, no. 88 |title=The War on Sea: 1914–1918 |year=1929 |publisher=Ernest Benn |location=London |oclc=977369458}}
* {{cite book |last=Knight |first=E. F. |series=Project Gutenberg, 33769 |year=2010 |orig-year=1919 |title=The Harwich Naval Forces |location=Salt Lake City |publisher=Project Gutenberg |isbn=978-1-4068-9601-5}}
* {{cite book |last=Massie |first=R. K. |author-link=Robert K. Massie |title=Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany and the Winning of the Great War at Sea |year=2004 |publisher=Ballantine Books |location=New York |isbn=978-0-345-40878-5}}
* {{cite book |last=Tucker |first=Spencer |title=World War I: Encyclopedia |year=2005 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |location=Santa Barbara, CA |isbn=1-85109-420-2}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Halpern |first=P. G. |title=A Naval History of World War I |year=1995 |orig-year=1994 |location=Annapolis |publisher=Naval Institute Press |edition=pbk. UCL Press, London |isbn=1-85728-498-4}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Harwich Force}}
* [http://www.harwichanddovercourt.com/the-harwich-force.html The Harwich Naval Forces 1914-1918.]

[[Category:Military units and formations of the Royal Navy in World War I]]
[[Category:Royal Navy ad hoc formations]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in the 1910s]]
[[Category:Harwich]]