Being a video game franchise about 20th-century naval combat, the team at World of Warships has ample experience portraying the intricacies of naval history, from beautifully recreated warships down to the narratives and stories forged around them.
Below, we offer you their top picks for the most fascinating naval battles fought in spring that you can partially recreate in-game by sailing into a match aboard some of the ships that took part in them!
Want to immerse yourself in naval history truly? Use the bonus codes below when creating your free World of Warships PC, Legends and Blitz account, and hit the ground running with some valuable loot!
- WoWs (PC) – WOWSHISTORY25 (new and existing players)
- WoWs: Legends (console and mobile) – 25WELCOMEWOWSL (new players) and 25HISTORYWOWSL (existing players)
- WoWs Blitz (mobile) – XTWOWSBHISTORY25 (new players) and XTBWOWSBHISTORY25 (existing players)
‘The Greatest Raid of All’ – Saint-Nazaire, March 1942
In the early hours of March 28, 1942, the docks of Saint-Nazaire, France, were the focal point of a scene that could be described as something from a Hollywood movie.
Under cover of darkness, HMS Campbeltown (I42), weighed down with explosives and daring Commandos, rammed the gates of the German-held drydock as the clock ticked down to what would be her utterly devastating curtain call. The gates were utterly demolished, and due to the damage caused by general flooding and the demolition charges, the dock remained out of service for the duration of the Second World War.
The only port on the Atlantic coast capable of providing shelter to German battleships was gone.
A lesson in deception – Cape Matapan, March 1941
What do you do when you decode messages detailing the movements of an enemy fleet, but don’t want them to know that you know how to decode them? You carefully direct a reconnaissance aircraft to fly around them visibly and they’ll think it was a happy accident! Then, have your own fleet’s commander make a show of turning up in a club late in the evening with overnight luggage, and they’ll be surprised when your warships show up in battle formation the next day to face them!
The Allied squadron’s surprise attack ended with the loss of several Italian cruisers and destroyers, as well as the crippling of the pride of their fleet, the battleship Vittorio Veneto.
Goliath’s demise – Operation Ten-Go, April 1945
On April 7, 1945, the legendary Yamato – the largest ship in naval history – was attacked by waves of American carrier-borne aircraft while en route to Okinawa to play her part in the Imperial Japanese Navy’s (IJN) desperate last stand.
The first attack wave did little but scratch her, but after her escort ships had been summarily defeated, all of the attention focused on Yamato – namely, on her port side. As the damage mounted, she began to slow, becoming a more manageable target until, not even two hours after the air raids had started, she capsized and her ammunition magazine catastrophically detonated.
A ‘Phoney War’ phoney no more – Narvik, April 1940
In April 1940, British and German destroyer forces engaged in brutal close quarters combat in two separate engagements in the claustrophobic confines of the Norwegian fjords as both powers vied for strategic control of the Nordic country.
Cornered and outgunned by the Royal Navy squadron, which included the fearsome battleship HMS Warspite (03), the German destroyer flotilla was soundly defeated, thus cementing a vital victory for Allied morale in the uncertain days of the beginning of World War II.
Modern navies put to the test – Jutland, May 1916
Over a decade of rapid technological and doctrinal development in naval combat had led up to this very moment: when modern dreadnought battleships and battlecruisers would meet in a massive open-water duel.
However, not even a lifetime’s worth of complex study and grueling exercises drilled into the heads of the British and German commanders could’ve prepared them for the shocking moment when the most prominent war machines ever conceived collided in the defining naval battle of the First World War.
It’s difficult to assess the results of this landmark battle unambiguously. While it’s true the Royal Navy suffered severe losses (almost twice the German losses in tonnage), the German Empire failed to achieve its primary goal of breaking the economic stranglehold the British enforced via blockade.