United States Navy

The U.S. Navy was the naval arm of the United States military ever since it was created in 1794. Although it had seen some successful actions during the wars against the British Empire in the War of Indepedence (as the Continental Navy) and in the War of 1812, which established many Navy heroes and traditions, the Navy was allowed to lapse into decay throughout the 19th Century. During the War of Secession it had blockaded the Confederate States coast while controlling interior rivers, but had done so only because the C.S. Navy was in even worse shape.

After the twin defeats in 1862 and in 1882 (the Second Mexican War), the U.S. Navy was reformed into a modern force along the lines of the British navy, and then, following the German-American alliance and Kaiser Wilhelm II's build-up of the High Seas Fleet, was made to follow bilateral naval operations in the North Atlantic. Under the aegis of President Alfred Thayer Mahan, two fleets were built: the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets.

It was thanks to the modern Navy and to Mahan's reforms that the United States was able to successfully defend both its coasts in the two Great Wars and project U.S. power onto enemy soil.

Notable Battles:


 * The Battle of Pearl Harbor -- August 1914
 * The Battle of the Three Navies -- June 1916
 * The Battle of Midway -- 1941-1943