The Mediterranean Fleet, 1919–1929

Post-First World War, the Mediterranean Fleet found itself in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Sea of Marmora, the Black Sea and the Adriatic. The collapse of the Ottoman, Russian and Habsburg empires created a vacuum of power in which different factions struggled for control. In the Black Sea this involved the Royal Navy in intervention in 1919 and 1920 on the side of Russians fighting the Bolsheviks. By 1920 the Allies were also faced with the challenge of the Turkish nationalists. As well as these events, those that comprise the final section show the Mediterranean Fleet preparing for a major war, applying the lessons of World War One and studying how to make use of new weapons, aircraft carriers and aircraft.