Port Defence

The defence of harbours and anchorages were routinely split into active and passive elements.  The active arm of defence was of course action by the Royal Navy to engage and defeat any hostile naval force.  The passive aspect of defence included the following:

• Coastal defence batteries, often subdivided into Inner and Outer Defence Lines
• Submarine Mines
• Torpedoes, primarily the Brennan Torpedo
• Defence Electric Lights
• Floating defences, such as guard boats, gunboats and floating batteries

The problem, which was identified at the time, was command and control of these various elements and ensuring a unified response to any threats.  By 1890 formal protocols were being developed but inter service rivalry and lack of funds often diminished the result of much needed improvements.  At this point, as advocated by Lieutenant-Colonel Walford of the Royal Artillery in his lecture of The Tactics of Coast Defence to the Royal United Service Institution,  chain of command should be:

1. The Fortress Commander  with overall command of all forces
2. The Commanders of Defences, usually three commands:
   • The active sea defences, such as naval vessels working off shore
   • The passive or coastal defences including coastal batteries
   • The land defences including the land forts and defence lines
3. The Commanders of Sections which may be be required depending on geography, such as North and South Sections
4. Unit Commanders of forts, batteries, movable armaments etc
5. The Commander of groups of guns, usually junior officers controlling two to four guns

The size of garrison and extent of the coastal defences would often dictate to a certain extent the division of the high level command.  For eample in Gibraltar, their was a North and South Command.