History Main / NavalBlockade

-->--'''NapoleonBonaparte'''

* You can do this in some of the ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'' games. It prevents the blockaded city from working water tiles or gaining income from trade routes. This applies also in ''VideoGame/SidMeiersAlphaCentauri.

* You can do this in some of the ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'' games. It prevents the blockaded city from working water tiles or gaining income from trade routes.

* ''Film/ThirteenDays'': JohnFKennedy goes with this instead of an airstrike to deal with ships carrying missiles to Cuba. Since a blockade is technically an act of war, they decide to call it a [[InsistentTerminology quarantine]].

* THe Citadel Council tries this in ''[[FanFic/SovereignGFCOrigins Origins]]'', a ''MassEffect''[=/=]''StarWars''[[spoiler:[=/=]''[=Borderlands=]''[=/=]''[=Halo=]'']] MassiveMultiplayerCrossover against the Terminus Systems (the source of an AlienInvasion), but it doesn't work. Also kind of inverted when the Council pulls the opposite of the trope, blocking everything ''in'' to try to keep an area safe as the war expands. Still doesn't work though.

* One of the Empire of the Rising Sun's moves in ''VideoGame/RedAlert3'' was to use one of its massive floating fortresses to stop all naval activity in the North Sea. The Allies and Soviets were forced to [[EnemyMine call a truce until it was dealt with]]. Another blockaded the Strait of Gibraltar.

* A common tactic in the ''VideoGame/TotalWar'' series, though it depends on the era. In ''Rome'', all harbors have trade routes and ships attacking the harbor blockade it. In ''Empire'', ships can attack trade routes themselves, gaining plunder, while ships that enter empty ports belonging to the enemy deprive them from building any new ships.

* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'': One episode dealt with a Separatist blockade around the planet Ryloth, and the Republic's attempt to break it.

A close blockade is probably what most people think of, a fleet within weapons-range and probably the direct sight of the enemy. This works better for a visual medium. A loose or distant blockade is beyond the defenders' weapons-range and probably beyond their direct sight as well. A distant blockade will take place on the open sea, such as the one imposed by the Royal Navy in the English Channel and North Sea in both World Wars. A close blockade is often more effective, but often entails more clashes with the enemy and operating further from one's supply and repair bases. How these would work in [[SpaceIsAnOcean space]] depends on the author.

* French and British attempts at intercepting merchant ships carrying goods destined for (or coming from) each others' countries resulted in two wars with the United States. The Quasi-War in 1798 against France and the War of 1812 against Britain. The War of 1812, incidentally, also included a British blockade of American ports, which basically shut down inter-state US domestic trade and devastated the country's (unusually trade-centric on account of its good access to the sea) economy since their merchant ships could no longer take to the sea. The US Navy was too weak to try to lift it, hence the lack of important naval battles during a three-year war involving two trade-oriented countries. The few times that American light-warships did manage to sneak past the blockade they were able to cause disproportionate damage to British merchant shipping, with the USS ''Essex'' being probably the most successful example and the USS Constitution being the most iconic.

* In war, the movement of things is everything - not just for Armies, which march on their stomachs, but for the economies of the countries that fight them. This is particularly true of the world today, where raw resources (e.g. iron and peaches) may be shipped many thousands of kilometres before they are made into things (steel and peach-gloop) which can be used in other things (tinned peaches) which can well be shipped right back to where those raw resources came from in the first place (iron mines and peach-plantations). Disrupting the flow of trade and supplies is good, because it can weaken an enemy's military forces and economy, but ''stopping the flow completely'' is the ideal - and that's what blockades are for.[=\\=]\\
[=\\=]\\
This invites the question: why a ''naval'' blockade, given that there are other means of supply and trade - rail, road, and air (in descending order of cost-effectiveness)?[=\\=]\\
[=\\=]\\The simple answer is that the vast bulk of supply and trade, ''especially'' over long distances, is conducted by shipping. This was ''triply'' true before the 19th century as there were no aeroplanes, motor-cars, or locomotives - shipping was the ''only'' means of supplying substantial forces or maintaining high volumes of trade, even over short distances. Despite that, before the 19th century the world economy was overwhelmingly agricultural and even the smallest and most urban countries (e.g. The Dutch Republic) also had primarily agricultural economies. This meant that there wasn't much trade over long ''or'' short distances, relative to today, and most of the goods that ''were'' traded (sugar, spices, tea, clothes, tools, fish) were not essential to the continued well-being of the economy as a whole. Moreover, if this flow of trade were stopped then many of these goods could just be sourced locally. ''That said'', many early-modern countries made most of their money from taxing trade - so even though a blockade wouldn't necessarily hurt their economy, it ''would'' hurt their government's coffers.

* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'': One episode dealt with a Separatist blockade around the planet Ryloth.

In war, logistics are everything. Armies march on their stomachs, tanks and planes need fuel, and weapons need ammunition. Though there are various ways of getting these things to the front lines, even in this day and age, the most cost effective method of moving large forces or materials in bulk is by ship. Enemy forces, to prevent them from reaching their destination, will commonly employ a tactic of sending a fleet of ships to surround a target port and interdict any traffic in or out, thus depriving the enemy forces of the supplies and reinforcements they need to keep up the fight. To be more effective, this may coincide with an offensive from the other side, trapping the enemy forces between an advancing front and the blockade.

Depending on the setting, this can be done to port towns or cities, a nation's coastline, if you have a fleet large enough, or, in sci-fi works, an entire planet. Obviously, the larger the area you're trying to block off, the more ships and other resources you're going to need. Thus, the effectiveness of a blockade depends as much on the terrain and weather as it does the strength of the force assigned to it. The smaller an opening to a sea, the easier it will be to concentrate ships and cut off trade routes.

Blockades are generally differentiated by how close they are to their objective. A close blockade is probably what most people think of, a line of ships close together, well within sight of their target. This is also the one that works best for a visual medium. A loose blockade positions itself just over the horizon, with the idea that enemy ships can be drawn out into an ambush. A distant blockade will take place on the open sea, such as Germany's U-Boat wolf packs being used to try and cut the supply lines between the U.S. and Britain during both World Wars. Each has their own advantages and disadvantages, like a close blockade being most effective, but requiring more resources and having no place close for ships to go if they need repairs. How these would work in [[SpaceIsAnOcean space]] depends on the author.

Under current rules of warfare, deployment of a blockade fleet is considered an act of war. If it's on a vital route, one a nation cannot survive without, the blockading fleet becomes an ultimatum to either surrender or fight.

Despite the force of ships surrounding their destination, there are those foolhardy enough to try and get through anyway. This is known as RunningTheBlockade.

In war, logistics is everything. Armies march on their stomachs, tanks and planes need fuel, and weapons need ammunition. Though there are various ways of getting these things to the front lines, even in this day and age, the most cost effective method of moving large forces or materials in bulk is by ship. Enemy forces, to prevent them from reaching their destination, will commonly employ a tactic of sending a fleet of ships to surround a target port and interdict any traffic in or out, thus depriving the enemy forces of the supplies and reinforcements they need to keep up the fight. To be more effective, this may coincide with an offensive from the other side, trapping the enemy forces between an advancing front and the blockade.

In war, the movement of things is everything - not just for Armies, which march on their stomachs, but for the economies of the countries that fight them. This is particularly true of the world today, where raw resources (e.g. iron and peaches) may be shipped many thousands of kilometres before they are made into things (steel and peach-gloop) which can be used in other things (tinned peaches) which can well be shipped right back to where those raw resources came from in the first place (iron mines and peach-plantations). Disrupting the flow of trade and supplies is good, because it can weaken an enemy's military forces and economy, but ''stopping the flow completely'' is the ideal - and that's what blockades are for.

This invites the question: why a ''naval'' blockade, given that there are other means of supply and trade - rail, road, and air (in descending order of cost-effectiveness)?

The simple answer is that the vast bulk of supply and trade, ''especially'' over long distances, is conducted by shipping. This was ''triply'' true before the 19th century as there were no aeroplanes, motor-cars, or locomotives - shipping was the ''only'' means of supplying substantial forces or maintaining high volumes of trade, even over short distances. Despite that, before the 19th century the world economy was overwhelmingly agricultural and even the smallest and most urban countries (e.g. The Dutch Republic) also had primarily agricultural economies. This meant that there wasn't much trade over long ''or'' short distances, relative to today, and most of the goods that ''were'' traded (sugar, spices, tea, clothes, tools, fish) were not essential to the continued well-being of the economy as a whole. Moreover, if this flow of trade were stopped then many of these goods could just be sourced locally. ''That said'', many early-modern countries made most of their money from taxing trade - so even though a blockade wouldn't necessarily hurt their economy, it ''would'' hurt their government's coffers.

* French and British attempts at intercepting merchant ships carrying goods destined for (or coming from) each others' countries resulted in two wars with the United States. The Quasi-War in 1798 against France and the War of 1812 against Britain. The War of 1812, incidentally, also included a British blockade of American ports, which did much to hamper operations of the US Navy, hence the relative lack of naval battles during a several years-long war. The few times that American warships did manage to get out to sea, they were able to cause considerable damage by attacking British merchant shipping, with the USS ''Essex'' being probably the most successful example, and the USS Constitution being the most iconic.

In war, logistics is everything - not just for Armies, which march on their stomachs, but for the economies of the countries that fight them. This is particularly true of the world today, where raw resources (e.g. iron and peaches) may be shipped many thousands of kilometres before they are made into things (steel and peach-gloop) which can be used in other things (tinned peaches) which can well be shipped right back to where those raw resources came from in the first place (iron mines and peach-plantations). Disrupting the flow of trade and supplies is good, because it can weaken an enemy's military forces and economy, but ''stopping the flow completely'' is the ideal - and that's what blockades are for.

In war, logistics is everything. Armies march on their stomachs, tanks and planes need fuel, and weapons need ammunition. Though there are various ways of getting these things to the front lines, if the fighting is taking place near a major port, chances are supplies will be brought in by ship.

The enemy knows this, and to prevent those supplies from reaching their destination, a common tactic is to send a fleet of ships to surround said port and interdict any traffic in or out, thus depriving the enemy forces of the supplies they need to keep up the fight. To be more effective, this may coincide with an offensive from the other side, trapping the enemy forces between an advancing front and the blockade.

Depending on the setting, this can be done to port towns or cities, a nation's coastline, if you have a fleet large enough, or, in sci-fi works, an entire planet. Obviously, the larger the area you're trying to block off, the more ships and other resources you're going to need. Thus, the effectiveness of a blockade often depends on the terrain. The smaller an opening to a sea, the easier it will be to concentrate ships and cut off trade routes.

* During the Klingon civil war on ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' the federation put a blockade along the Klingon-Romulan border to keep the Romulans from supplying the Duras Sisters.

* In ''Film/{{Godzilla 2014}}'', the American Navy attempts to block Godzilla's approach to Hawaiis shore. Unfortunately, they didn't anticipate Godzilla swimming ''under'' their blockade and displacing so much water that the destroyers and aircraft carriers get tossed about in the waves that proceed to flood the city in a tsunami.

* ''Film/{{Godzilla 2014}}'' sees the American Navy preparing to block Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'s approach to a city's coast. Unfortunately, they didn't anticipate Godzilla swimming ''under'' their blockade and displacing so much water that the destroyers and aircraft carriers get tossed about in the waves that proceed to flood the city in a tsunami.

* One of the most effective blockades ever was during UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar, where this was a key part of the Union's strategy to defeat the Confederacy; the blockade strategy came to be known as the Anaconda Plan. At full effect, approximately 95% of pre-war traffic in Confederate ports was cut off.