British home army in the First World War bridge between Tilbury and Gravesend. There were fears that a German fleet protected by mines and submarines could land a 100,000-strong force before the British Grand Fleet could steam the south from its base at Scapa Flow. To counter this threat, the Admiralty redeployed pre-dreadnought battleships and submarines closer to vulnerable ports, expanded the coastwatch and increased patrolling of the North Sea. In October, Churchill responded to Kitchener's call for the Royal Navy to take more specific precautions against invasion by insisting that the role of the Grand Fleet was to eliminate an invader's covering fleet rather than defeat the
Centenary of the outbreak of World War I 49 beams of light rising above London from Victoria Tower Gardens to mark the centenary of the entry of Britain into the war. Between 5 August (the centenary of the first day of the war) and 11 November (Remembrance Day) 2014 at the Tower of London, a ceramic poppy was planted for each British and Commonwealth soldier that died, making up the artwork titled "Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red". Centenary of the outbreak of World War I The centenary of the outbreak of World War I was commemorated in Europe in late July and early August 2014. A