The 1st Special Squadron (January 1917 – October 1918) was an Imperial Japanese Navy fleet. In accordance with the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, the fleet helped defend Australia and New Zealand as well as Allied shipping in the Pacific and Indian oceans during World War I.
Background
At the outbreak of war, the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) stood at 3,800 personnel and consisted of sixteen ships, including the , the light cruisers and , the destroyers , and , and the submarines and . Another light cruiser () and three destroyers were under construction, and a small fleet of auxiliary ships was also being maintained.Jose 1987, pp. 472–473
After the Imperial German Navy's East Asia Squadron was destroyed early in the war, most RAN ships were redeployed to the European theatres, leaving Australia and New Zealand exposed to German merchant raiders operating in the Pacific.Jose 1987, p. 337. The Australian government requested help from the British Admiralty, as the remaining warships could not effectively protect the region.Jose 1987, p. 338. These requests suggested that ships of the United States Navy be deployed to supplement the forces in Australian waters, but instead, the Admiralty contacted Japan and made arrangements for several ships to be sent to Australia.
1st Special Squadron In January 1917, Japan created the 1st Special Squadron, made up of several cruisers supported by the 2nd Destroyer Division. They were tasked to defend the Strait of Malacca and shipping from Australia to Aden.Tucker, Roberts 2005, p. 611. This squadron was based at Singapore and commanded by Rear Admiral Kozaburo Oguri. To provide more coverage, the Japanese Navy formed the 3rd Special Squadron on March 26, 1917, to defend the eastern coast of Australia and New Zealand. With the capture and sinking of German raiders, the pressure against Allied shipping lessened, and after December 1917, the 3rd Special Squadron was dissolved and the operational area of the 1st Special Squadron was enlarged to include the eastern coast of Australia and New Zealand. The defence of Australia, New Zealand and of Indian shipping lanes by Japanese ships continued until October 1918.
Ships of the 1st Special Squadron Cruisers Name Kanji Image Launched Type 矢矧 October 3, 1911 対馬 December 15, 1902 新高 November 15, 1902 Niitaka class 2nd Destroyer Division Name Kanji Image Launched Type 神風 Picture is not of ship but a sister ship of the same class and design; see destroyer July 15, 1905 如月 September 6, 1905 Kamikaze class 初霜— May 13, 1905 Kamikaze class 響— March 31, 1906 Kamikaze class
See also North American Task Force - Fleet assigned to patrol Canada and later the West Pacific Third Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy) - Fleet assigned to patrol Russian coast during the Soviet Revolution 2nd Special Squadron (Japanese Navy) - Fleet assigned to patrol Meditarean 2nd Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy) was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) created as a mobile strike force in response to hostilities with Russia, and saw action in every IJN military operation until the end of World War II. 1st Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)
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