Abrown-water navy orriverine navy, in the broadest sense, is anaval force capable of military operations in inland waters (rivers,lakes andinland seas) andnearshores.[1] The term originated in theUnited States Navy during theAmerican Civil War, when it referred toUnion forces patrolling the muddyMississippi River, and has since been used to describe the smallgunboats andpatrol boats commonly used in rivers, along with the larger "mother ships" that supported them, which include convertedWorld War II-eramechanized landing craft andtank landing ships, among other vessels.
Brown-water navies are typically only used for patrolling and enforcinginternal waters, in contrasted with seaworthyblue-water navies, which can independently conduct operations in theopen oceans andproject power far offshore.Green-water navies, which operate mainly inbrackishestuaries,bays andshallow seas not too far offcoasts (typically within the bounds ofexclusive economic zones), fill the operational gap between brown-water and blue-water navies.
TheRiver Thames was a regular thoroughfare for theSovereign until the middle of the 19th century. Monarchs would berowed up and down the river in aRoyal barge, with transport and security organised by theKing's Bargemaster. The barges were operated by the Royal Watermen, drawn from the ranks of theCompany of Watermen and Lightermen. In 1798, Watermen and other groups of river tradesmen on the River Thames voluntarily formed associations of River Fencibles. These were officially drawn together in 1803 as the "Corps of River Fencibles of the City of London". Members of the Corps escorted the barge carrying the body ofLord Nelson along the Thames in small boats during his state funeral in 1806. The Corps of River Fencibles was eventually disbanded in 1813.[2]
Both theHabsburg Empire and theOttoman Empire maintained river flotillas on the Danube in 18th and 19th centuries, most notable for the use ofšajka boats.Men who served in the Habsburg flotilla were known asŠajkaši.
After losing its blue-water fleet in theBattle of Copenhagen in 1807, the kingdom ofDenmark-Norway quickly built a brown-water navy. The partial successes of the resultingGunboat War were undone by land invasion.
During theMexican–American War,CommodoreMatthew C. Perry decided to invade the Mexican towns along the Gulf Coast nearTabasco. In October 1846 Perry was in command ofUSSMississippi,USSVixen,USRCMcLane,USSReefer,USSBonito,USSNonata andUSRCForward with a 253-man landing force. After capturing the port ofFrontera on theTabasco River, the ships under Perry's command crossed the bar at the mouth of the river and traveled 74 miles (119 km) up river to the town of Tabasco. After several days of bombardment of Tabasco, Perry's ships captured several Mexican ships on the river and brought them back to Frontera. Some were commissioned into U.S. Navy service and others were burned.[3]
The city ofTampico was poorly defended and offered a base for operations for the conquest of the state ofTamaulipas. For these reasons Tampico became the next target for seizure by American naval forces. CommodoreDavid Conner directed that it be attacked in late October 1846 and those plans were captured by GeneralAntonio López de Santa Anna. Santa Anna directed that Tampico be almost abandoned and his forces be moved up river toPánuco. This move was completed by 28 October. The bar at the mouth of thePánuco River was only eight feet and hindered the movement of American ships up the river. The wife of the former American consul at Tampico sent word to Conner that the river was rising and that the town had been abandoned. Conner's forces crossed the bar on 14 November and began shelling the town. Almost immediately the remaining garrison at Tampico surrendered and Conner learned that the troops stationed there had retreated to Pánuco 25 miles upstream from Tampico. After Conner's ships moved to Pánuco and several days of naval bombardment, the Mexican forces at Pánuco surrendered. The American Army quickly occupied Tampico and used it for a staging point for a planned attack onVeracruz.[4]
The U.S. Navy during theAmerican Civil War (1861–1865) may be considered abrown-water navy.[5] As a blueprint for the "strangulation" of theConfederate States of America,Winfield Scott'sAnaconda Plan called for a two-pronged approach by first blocking the South's harbors and then pushing along theMississippi River, effectively cutting the Confederate territory in two while also robbing the South of its main artery of transport. The U.S. Navy was assigned the blockade of the seaports, while a new force ofgunboats andriver ironclads, together with regular army units, would take, or at least lay siege to, the Confederate forts and cities along the Mississippi. In the early days of the war, U.S. Army built and crewed these boats, with the naval officers commanding them being the only direct connection to the U.S. Navy. By the autumn of 1862, the boats and their mission were transferred to theDepartment of the Navy. Because of the river's murky brown water, the ships that participated in theseMississippi campaigns were quickly referred to as thebrown-water navy, as opposed to the regular U.S. Navy (which was henceforth referred to as thedeep-water orblue-water navy).
After the end of the American civil war the next major military conflict in the world was theParaguayan War (1864–1870). In this the Brazilian brown-water navy, which comprised largeironclads as well as rivermonitors, had a crucial role.
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The natural water highway to theRepublic of Paraguay was theRiver Paraguay but this route was blocked by the formidableFortress of Humaitá. It comprised a 6,000-foot (1,800 m) line of artillery batteries overlooking a sharp concave bend in the river, at a point where the channel was only 200 yards (180 m) wide. A chain boom could be raised to block the navigation. The fortress was exceedingly hard to take from the landward side for it was protected by impassible swamp, marsh or lagoons and, where not, by 8 miles (13 km) of trenches with a garrison of 18,000 men. The river was shallow, uncharted and capable of trapping large vessels if the water level should fall. In that environment the greatest threat to shipping was "torpedoes" (nineteenth-century floating naval mines).
Six vessels of the Brazilian ironclad squadron eventually succeeded in dashing past Humaitá in an incident known as thePassage of Humaitá, an event considered as nearly impossible. Although it could not operate far beyond its military forward base, nevertheless, Brazilian domination of the river meant that Paraguay could no longer resupply the fortress, and eventually it was starved out and captured by the land forces in theSiege of Humaitá.
Even after Humaitá was captured − which took more than two years – the Paraguayans improvised further strongpoints along the river, further delaying the Allies (theEmpire of Brazil, theArgentine Republic and theRepublic of Uruguay).
Save for an occasional river patrol boat, the United States' river ironclad navy was all but abolished at the end of the American Civil War. Yet the concept of a river defense force lived on in countries and regions where rivers enabled the U.S. to project its military presence, allowing it to protect its foreign interests abroad. U.S. river boats (gunboats) of theAsiatic Fleet operated in portions of Chinese rivers, sometimes referred to as the "Asiatic Navy" or "China Navy", during the turbulent 1920s, patrolling forinsurgents and river pirates. Two of the most notable China gunboats wereUSS Panay, which was sunk in 1937 by Japanese military aircraft prior to World War II, andUSS Wake, which was captured by the Japanese in December 1941. The U.S. Navy of that era used the term for protecting U.S. foreign policy and its citizens abroad "gunboat diplomacy". The U.S. Navy, China gunboat,USS Asheville, was sunk by the Japanese in March 1942.
During theSecond Sino-Japanese War, theManchukuo Imperial Navy served principally to patrol theSungari,Amur, andUssuri rivers, support Army operations against Chinese resistance forces, and guard Manchukuo's riverine borders with the Soviet Union. In 1939 the Navy's forces came under the control of theManchukuo Imperial Army as the River Defence Fleet.[6][7]
During theFirst Indochina War, theFrench Navy created theDinassaut (naval assault divisions), in 1947, to operate in the waters of theMekong andRed rivers, conductingsearch and destroy missions, againstcommunist guerillas andriver pirates. They succeeded the river flotillas created in 1945, by the request of GeneralLeclerc. The Dinassaut served until the end of the conflict in 1955, and its concept would be latter adopted by the United States Navy in the Vietnam War.
Ten Dinassauts were created, with five based inCochinchina and the others inTonkin. Each one was made of about ten vessels and oneCommandos Marine unit. The types of vessels operated by a Dinassaut includedLCI,LCT,LCM,LCVP,LCS,LCA,LSSL and fire support vessels.
The role of the Dinassaut was to transport, land and support the infantry, to patrol the watercourses and to assure the supply of the isolated posts.
The sailors that served in the Dinassaut were referred as the "Navy in Khaki", in comparison with the sailors that served in the ocean that were referred as the "Navy in White".[8][9]
In Portuguese service, the brown-water navy has been often referred as the "Naval Dust" (Portuguese:Poeira Naval), for its use of a large number of small vessels, in comparison with the conventional blue-water navy that uses a smaller number of larger vessels. In several historical periods, thePortuguese Navy had to develop riverine forces to operate in then-Portuguese colonies in Asia, South America and Africa.
During thePortuguese Colonial War, from 1961 to 1974, the Portuguese Navy created a brown-water navy to operate in the rivers and lakes ofAngola,Portuguese Guinea andMozambique, against the separatist, communist guerrillas, as well as river pirates. For the organization of their riverine forces, the Portuguese were inspired by the French experience in Indochina with the Dinassaut and by their own historical experience in the operation of river flotillas in support of the Portuguese colonial pacification campaigns in Africa during the late 19th and early 20thcenturies.
Under the local commands of the Navy, the Portuguese created river boat flotillas (esquadrilhas de lanchas) in theZaire River in Angola, in theLake Nyasa in Mozambique and in the river system of the Portuguese Guinea. Smaller riverine forces were also created in theCabinda Province of Angola, in Eastern Angola (to operate in the Cuito,Zambezi,Cuando,Lungué Bungo andCuanza rivers) and inTete to operate in the Mozambican section of the Zambezi river. These forces were responsible for reconnaissance, surveillance, the interdiction of the rivers and lakes to the enemy, and to avoid their use for the infiltration and supply of guerrillas in the interior of Portuguese territory. Additionally, the riverine forces were also tasked with the mobile fire support to the land forces, the movement of troops, the supply of the Portuguese garrisons and the support of the civilian population in the riverine areas.
For these riverine forces, the Portuguese Navy conceived five types of vessels: the LFG (large river patrol boats of 200–300t), the LFP (small river patrol boats of 18–40 t), the LDG (large landing craft of 480–550 t), the LDM (medium landing craft of 50 t) and the LDP (small landing craft of 12 t). The LFGs were armed with 40 mm guns and the LDPs with 20 mm guns, with several units of both types being also armed withrocket launchers. The LDG, LDM and LDP types were based, respectively, in theLCT,LCM andLCVP/LCA designs, but were modified in order to have a greater mission endurance and to be used for patrolling, fire support and as a mobile base for the Marines. This modifications included the protection of sensitive parts with armor, the installation of 40 mm (LDGs) or 20 mm (LDMs and LDPs) guns and the improvement of the crew accommodations, partially at the expense of the cargo deck.
The river boat flotillas were complemented by assault units of Special Marines (fuzileiros especiais) and security units of Marines (fuzileiros). ThePortuguese Marines operated based in the patrol boats and landing craft and also using their own rubber boats.[10]
On 18 December 1965, for the first time since theAmerican Civil War, theUnited States Navy formalized its new, brown-water navy inVietnam. Initially, the brown-water navy patrolled the inland waterways of theMekong River, primarily with South Vietnamese river craft (RAG—River Assault Groups) boats, which were mostly inherited from the French Navy during the previous war and in turn, had been received from the U.S., as military aid, in the French fight against theViet Minh, the Communist-led Vietnamese alliance. As the new fiberglassPatrol Boat, River usingwater jet propulsion, became available, it became the maininterdiction vessel for patrolling the Vietnamese Mekong River country.
For coastal duty theSouth Vietnamese Navy used larger seaworthy craft. These were replaced by newer U.S. NavySwift Boats (PCF—Patrol Craft Fast, aluminum 50 footers) andUnited States Coast GuardPoint-class cutters. By the late 1960s, the Swift Boat would commence operations alongside the PBRs in the inland waters, as well as maintaining operations along the coastline. Navy and Coast Guard ships assumed coastal duties. The Swift boats were operated by small crews but became a staple asset in riverine operations; they patrolled waterways, performed special operations, gunfire support and insertion of troops into enemy territory.[11]
The brown-waterMobile Riverine Force was a joint venture between the Navy and theArmy, modeled after the earlier French Riverine and coastal patrols in theFirst Indochina War (1946–1954). In the beginning this force consisted of mostly modified surplus U.S. World War II landing craft (boats), such as theLCMs,LCVPs,LCIs, etc. The only entirely new riverine boat from the French Indochina War had been the French designed STCN (an all-steel "V" hulled boat, approximately 40 feet in length, whose design had been influenced by the U.S. LCVP). This particular craft influenced the design of the U.S. Navy's only original riverine boat built for the Vietnam War—the 50-foot all-steel hull, aluminum superstructuredAssault Support Patrol Boat (ASPB) or "Alpha Boat".[12] The ASPB was built by theGunderson Company, in Oregon, USA, and was of reinforced construction, in order to survive exploding mines. As a consequence, the ASPB earned a reputation as the "minesweeper" of the riverine forces.
Along with the aforementioned PBRs, other riverine craft included PCFs, ASPBs, and monitors (modified LCMs). Together these craft formed aMobile Riverine Force, that utilized various supporting facilities, such as theYard Repair Berthing and Messings, advance bases,LSTs,helicopter and seawolf units.
The brown-water navy (in conjunction with other efforts, such asOperation Market Time andOperation Game Warden) was largely successful in its efforts to stop North Vietnam using the South Vietnamese coast and rivers to resupply its military and theViet Cong. The flow of weapons and ammunition came to a virtual standstill during Operation Market Time, from 1965 and 1970.
Brown-water river assault units were formalized in January 1967 with the 2nd Brigade,9th Infantry Division arriving under the command of Major General William Fulton. Later that same year, in combination with U.S. Navy Task Force 116 & 117 they formed the Mobile Riverine Force. In 1970, for the last time since the Civil War, the Navy stood down the last of its brown-water navy units, as they were turned over to the South Vietnamese and Cambodian governments under theVietnamization policy.
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