The Wiley-Blackwell Dictionary of Modern European History Since 1789

Jacobins Members of the Jacobin clubs that were at the forefront of radical extra-parliamentary action during the FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1789. The first and most significant of these was at Paris. It grew out of the Breton Club of 1789, so-called because its founders came from Brittany. As membership expanded, its name was changed to the Society of the Friends of the Constitution, popularly known as the “Jacobins” after its meeting place, a nationalized Dominican monastery in the rue Saint-Honoré. It was distinguished from the many other clubs founded at the start of the Revolution both by taking a common line on business to be transacted in the Assemblies, thus permitting the Jacobins to operate as a peculiarly effective pressure group, and by forming a network of affiliated societies that gave it a national presence. At their height in 1793, there were some 2,000 provincial clubs with a membership of 100,000. Unlike the CORDELIERS, the Jacobins charged high admission fees and an annual subscription that restricted membership to the affluent middle classes in the earlier years. However, from October 1792 the public were admitted to the galleries of the Paris club, allowing the Jacobins to maintain contact with working-class sentiment and to bolster their claims to probity and openness. Their clubs became seed-beds for rising politicians. Until 1791, the liberal constitutional monarchists, headed by the triumvirate of Barnave, Lameth, and Duport, represented the dominant strand of opinion within the Jacobins. But LOUIS XVI'S flight to VARENNES split them. The constitutional monarchists in the Paris club defected to form the Feuillants, though they were not followed by members of the provincial societies. The radical rump that remained in the Paris club re-formed, initially under the leadership of BRISSOT and the GIRONDINS, but became increasingly challenged by ROBESPIERRE and his adherents, especially over the issue of war (see FRENCH REVOLUTIONARY WARS). From September 1792, the Jacobin faction of around 100 deputies in the CONVENTION dominated the politics of the Assembly, though they became increasingly dependent upon support from the SANS-CULOTTES. The provincial Jacobins were prominent in implementing the TERROR and DECHRISTIANIZATION[2], in close liaison with the representatives-on-mission. Though the Jacobin club at Paris survived in the immediate aftermath of Robespierre's downfall, it was closed in November 1794. The provincial societies went the same way the following August, amid the reaction that followed the events of THERMIDOR. Many Jacobins fell victim to the WHITE TERROR that ensued. Theirs was an ambiguous political legacy. For some contemporaries, Jacobinism embodied the dangers inherent in a centralized and bloody dictatorship; for others, it represented the best hope of social progress.

Jaruzelski, Wojciech (1923–), First Secretary of the Communist Party of POLAND (1981–9), and Head of State (1985–90) with title of President (1989–90). Having been deported in childhood to the Soviet Union, he fought in the Polish division of the RED ARMY during World War II. After his return to Poland, he continued to pursue a military career and joined the Communist Party (see COMMUNISM) in 1947. He was chief of general staff from 1965 to 1968, and then minister of defense until 1983. In 1981 he had also assumed the premiership, with a view to quelling the disorder that had continued after the collapse of GIEREK'S administration. Possibly anxious to forestall any danger of Soviet intervention, Jaruzelski soon resorted to martial law. This prevailed for two years, during which time he imprisoned many dissidents, including WAŁĘSA and other figures prominent in the new trade-union movement of SOLIDARITY. As opposition continued to grow through the mid-1980s, the Polish regime adopted a more conciliatory stance that also reflected its heed for some of the reformist urgings coming from GORBACHEV in Moscow. Once the European REVOLUTIONS OF 1989–91 were under way, Jaruzelski managed a more dignified retreat from power than most of his fellow-leaders across the communist bloc. In 1996 the Polish parliament agreed not to prosecute him on charges concerning the repression inflicted under martial law during the period 1981–3.

Jaurès, Jean Léon (1859–1914), French socialist leader and intellectual. Born to middle-class parents in Castres, he enjoyed a glittering academic career and became a philosophy lecturer at the University of Toulouse. In 1885 he entered parliament as the republican “Opportunist” deputy for the Tarn, and was a supporter of FERRY'S colonial ventures. When Jaurès lost his seat in 1889, he returned to academic life and became an advocate of SOCIALISM. He re-entered parliament in 1893 as an independent socialist deputy for Albi. Never an ideologue, he felt uncomfortable with the Marxism (see MARX) espoused by GUESDE, and favored gradualist reform. Without compromising his ideals, he believed that socialists should work to change the system from within, and alongside MILLERAND he urged cooperation with bourgeois parties. Jaurès was an ardent defender of DREYFUS, and in 1904 he founded the newspaper L'Humanité. A year later he set aside his differences with Guesde in order to found a united socialist party, the Section Française de l'Internationale Ouvrière. On the eve of World War I this had 100 seats in parliament, yet it never matched the success of the SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF GERMANY and remained beset by factional differences. Increasingly agitated by the worsening international situation, Jaurès advocated pacifism and a general strike to avert conflict. On July 31, 1914, with war imminent, he was assassinated by a right-wing nationalist.

Jelačić, Josip (1801–59), Croatian soldier and supporter of the ILLYRIAN MOVEMENT who assisted the HABSBURG EMPIRE in its suppression of the REVOLUTIONS OF 1848–9. Soon after these began, he found himself in March 1848 being nominated as ban (governor) of CROATIA both by the imperial state council and by the Zagreb revolutionary assembly. In this capacity, he promoted popular reforms, including the abolition of SERFDOM, the calling of elections, and the ending of Croatian subordination to HUNGARY. The imperial court disliked much of his approach and tried to have him removed, before conceding that he might offer vital help in crushing a still more dangerous Magyar revolt. Thus in September 1848 Jelačić led an imperial army of 40,000 against the Hungarians, but was soon driven back almost to Vienna. There during October he joined WINDISCHGRLSQUÄTZ in bombarding the Austrian radicals who had just launched a mass rising. He then returned to the campaign against the Magyar rebellion – a task of suppression that was not completed until August 1849, and only with additional Russian assistance. He remained ban of Croatia until his death, loyally serving the new Habsburg emperor, FRANCIS JOSEPH I. However, the latter proved unresponsive to Jelačić's hopes for a federalist reorganization of the imperial structures (see FEDERALISM[1]), conducted on principles more respectful towards the rights of the Croats and of their fellow-Slavs.

Jena-Auerstlsquädt, Battles of Major engagements fought on October 14, 1806 during the NAPOLEONIC WARS in which the Prussians were decisively defeated. Alarmed by the formation of the CONFEDERATION OF THE RHINE following Austria's defeat at AUSTERLITZ (1805), Prussia declared war on France in August 1806. Prussian forces, beset by divided leadership, advanced hesitantly. At Jena in Saxony NAPOLEON I engaged them, ordering Davout and BERNADOTTE to move north and cut off their line of retreat. But while Napoleon rapidly overwhelmed his opponents, Davout unexpectedly encountered the main Prussian force some 19 kilometers (12 miles) to the north at Auerstlsquädt. Although outnumbered by more than two to one, the French fought a skilful defensive battle until FREDERICK WILLIAM III, commanding the Prussian forces, ordered a retreat. Bernadotte took no part in the battle, and was fortunate to escape court-martial. This particular campaign, which ended in July 1807 with the TILSIT TREATY, prompted far-reaching reforms in Prussia (see GNEISENAU; HARDENBERG; SCHARNHORST; STEIN).

Jenkins, Roy (1920–2003), British centrist politician, particularly active in promoting EUROPEAN INTEGRATION (see also BRITAIN AND EUROPE). This university-educated miner's son became a Labour MP in 1948. His precocious talents were recognized by Harold Wilson, who made him aviation minister in 1964 and promoted him to Home Secretary the following year. In that role Jenkins lent support to private members' bills decriminalizing homosexuality and legalizing abortion. In 1967 he took charge of the Treasury, overseeing a devaluation of the pound and helping to stem a balance-of-payments crisis. After Labour's defeat in the 1970 elections, Jenkins (now deputy leader of the party) took an increasing interest in Europe. In 1971, he led 68 pro-European Labour MPs to support the Conservative government's policy of gaining British entry into the European Community. Three years later, Jenkins returned as Home Secretary and led the “yes” campaign in favor of continuing the nation's membership. Though increasingly mistrusted by his own party, he seemed a natural choice as president of the European Commission, and during his term in Brussels (1977–81) he laid the foundations of the European monetary system and reaffirmed the powers of the Commission which had been whittled away by DE GAULLE. It is widely acknowledged that the DELORS reforms of the 1980s greatly benefited from the groundwork laid by Jenkins. Returning to the UK in 1981, he was disenchanted with the extremism then gripping Labour and therefore helped to found a new Social Democratic movement that aimed to break the mold of British two-party politics. In 1982 he resumed his career as an MP, but was soon disappointed by his new party's inability to maintain its initial momentum. Having lost his Commons seat in 1987, he entered the House of Lords. From there he continued to promote the centrist and pro- European views that also became increasingly important to the “New” Labour project pursued under BLAIR.

Jews Those who profess belief in Judaism, or who otherwise in a more secular sense identify themselves with much of the tradition of community and culture that originated among the ancient Hebrews. The experience of the Jewish people in modern Europe is remarkable for the prominence both of its negative and of its positive features. While the former are most apparent in the prejudice and persecution that Jews have suffered at the hands of others and are best considered chiefly within the context of ANTISEMITISM, the latter involve acknowledging major Jewish contributions to European political, economic, and cultural life over the last two centuries or so. The achievements in science, philosophy, EDUCATION, and the creative arts (as registered, for example, by Freud and Kafka as part of MODERNISM in culture) have been particularly outstanding, and so too has been the role played in financial and BANKING services – a sphere where firms such as Rothschilds were able to establish themselves within parts of the market that the Christian community had tended to under-occupy. The scale of Jewish accomplishment appears all the more remarkable granted the demographic base involved: though the numbers are particularly hard to calculate, their relative slenderness is plain enough. Around 1820 the tally of European Jews may well have stood at some 2.7 million – now predominantly the Yiddish-speaking Ashkenazim of the continent's central and eastern regions (see also PALE OF SETTLEMENT) rather than the Sephardim of the Mediterranean area. By 1900 the figure had risen to around 9 million, thus comprising 80 percent of the world's Jewish population. A hundred years or so later, however, the total had fallen back to an estimated 2.3 million, divided almost equally between western Europe on one hand and central and eastern Europe (including the former Soviet Union) on the other. From the end of the nineteenth century onward the major concentrations of Jewish settlement were becoming increasingly located in the USA, and eventually in Palestine/Israel (see also ZIONISM) as well. Much of that MIGRATION was attributable to the frustrations caused by incomplete emancipation and assimilation, and especially to a rising tide of antisemitism. That hostility was also responsible, however, for an essentially murderous process aimed in the early 1940s at the genocidal elimination of those who remained within Europe itself. Though HITLER'S project of a “FINAL SOLUTION” was only partially implemented, it nonetheless brought death to some 6 million of the 9 million Jews still living on the continent when WORLD WAR II began. Subsequent to that disaster, the revival in Europe of Jewish communities was complicated by further major emigration from Russia to Israel, by the divisions (broadly, between Orthodox and Reform traditions of allegiance) that persisted within Judaism itself, and more generally by the increasing pressures towards SECULARIZATION evident in a wider society strongly marked by “post-Christian” values. There have also been tensions with Islam, related to recent rapid growth in the numbers of European MUSLIMS and to continuing spillover from the troubled politics of the Middle East.

Joffre, Joseph (1852–1931), French general of WORLD WAR I. He was credited with the “miracle of the MARNE,” which reversed the German offensive of September 1914. A professional soldier, he served in the defense of Paris in 1870 and then earned distinction in the colonial service, one of the best avenues of promotion during a prolonged spell of European peace. Chief of the general staff in 1911, he helped devise the infamous Plan 17 which envisaged an offensive strategy in any new war with Germany. The dangers of this approach were demonstrated by early German successes in 1914, but Joffre possessed considerable calmness and was able to repulse the invader at the Marne. In 1915 he planned offensives in Artois and Champagne, yet neither attack made much ground and both resulted in heavy casualties. With the failure of the SOMME offensive in 1916, criticism of Joffre became uncontainable. His appointment as marshal was effectively a “move upstairs,” and allowed NIVELLE to become commander-in-chief. Joffre retired from public life in 1918, but retained the affection of the French people who nicknamed him “Papa Joffre.”

John XXIII (1881–1963), Pope (1958–63). Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, the son of Italian peasant farmers, came to prominence after 1925 for his service as a papal diplomat in Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey. During World War II he was also notable for his efforts to help Jews and deportees in Greece and to assist the church in France under the VICHY REGIME – endeavors that displayed the warmth, tolerance, and human understanding that were his hallmarks. Already in his later seventies when elected pope, he was widely expected to be a caretaker. Yet his pontificate was a turning point for CATHOLICISM, mainly because of his summoning of the Second VATICAN COUNCIL held in 1962–3. This was conceived as the start of a process of updating, or aggiornamento, that would regenerate every aspect of church life and lead to greater Christian unity. He died before the completion of its formal proceedings. One of the most loved popes, he was beatified by JOHN PAUL II in 2000.

John Paul II (1920–2005), Pope (1978–2005). Following the deaths of Paul VI and John Paul I in the autumn of 1978, the second papal conclave of that year elected the Polish-born Karol Wojtyła. Thus, as John Paul II, the new leader of CATHOLICISM assumed an office that had been entirely monopolized by Italians since the early sixteenth century. A native of Wadowice, the young Wojtyła had become a seminarian during World War II. After ordination in 1946 he progressed to a professorship of theology at Lublin. Appointed a suffragan bishop in 1958, he then participated in the Second VATICAN COUNCIL of 1962–3. At the end of this he succeeded to the archbishopric of Kraków, and in 1967 was raised to the rank of cardinal. During the first half of his papal tenure, he still possessed a physical vigor unmatched by any other modern Bishop of Rome. This was amply evident in his pastoral determination to undertake European and indeed worldwide travel on an unprecedented scale. With an increasingly charismatic reputation, he reached out to adherents of ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY and also of the major non-Christian religions (e.g. deploring more convincingly than any of his predecessors the Catholic contribution to centuries of ANTISEMITISM). However, notwithstanding these initiatives as well as his earlier work for the Vatican Council, he also showed himself increasingly inclined towards slowing the pace of further theological and institutional reform within his own church. Thus, he proved notably supportive of the reactionary cult of OPUS DEI, while also opposing campaigns in favor of women's ordination and artificial birth control. Much of his approach to European political issues reflected a similar CONSERVATISM. However, granted the circumstances still prevailing particularly in the central and eastern regions of the continent during the 1980s, it was understandable that such an attitude should be expressed in the paradoxical form of demands for radical change. He directed these principally against the post-1945 hegemony of Soviet-inspired COMMUNISM. His return visits to POLAND (in 1979, 1983, and 1987) were especially important in re-asserting the Vatican as a rival source of authority to that of the Kremlin, and in encouraging the SOLIDARITY movement to challenge the regime of JARUZELSKI and indeed to stimulate more general dissent across the whole of Moscow's “satellite” system. Consequently, John Paul made a significant contribution to the causation of the REVOLUTIONS OF 1989–91 across communist Europe. Although he had recovered quite strongly from a nearly-fatal assassination attempt made against him in 1981, his final years as pope were marked by such severely failing health that there was growing (but unheeded) pressure for abdication. Upon his death he was followed by a German who, as Benedict XVI, proved keen to accelerate a process aimed at achieving the earliest possible canonization of the first non-Italian pope of modern times.

(1938–), King of SPAIN (1975–). Grandson of ALFONSO XIII, he oversaw the transition to liberal democracy following the death of FRANCO. When the latter had sought a successor, he settled on Juan Carlos ahead of his father, Don Juan, as he believed that the younger man was more malleable and could be trusted to perpetuate his reactionary regime. To this end, Juan Carlos was designated Prince of Spain in 1969. In the event, he was his own man, meeting privately with opposition leaders who sought a return to democracy. In 1974, with Franco's health rapidly failing, he became acting head of state, and on the dictator's death in 1975 was proclaimed king. He quickly pressed ahead with liberal reforms and received the blessing of both the Socialist and Communist parties that was crucial for ensuring the legitimacy of the new state. In 1977 Spain held its first democratic elections since the SECOND REPUBLIC, and the following year approved a constitution in which Juan Carlos relinquished most of the powers previously available to Franco. None of this pleased sections of the military, who launched an abortive coup in 1981. Juan Carlos publicly denounced the plotters and won enormous acclaim, though it has been subsequently suggested that the scheme was an establishment ploy to boost the monarchy's popularity and stymie any real opposition. Thereafter Juan Carlos rarely entered the political arena, acting instead as a figurehead crucial to preserving national unity. (See also CARLISM)

July crisis The frenetic diplomatic maneuvering which followed the assassination of Archduke FRANCIS FERDINAND, heir to the HABSBURG EMPIRE, in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. Thus the crisis is pivotal to the immediate (as distinct from longer-term) causation of WORLD WAR I. The full gravity of the situation began to become apparent only on July 23. It was then that Austria-Hungary, secretly assured of German backing, issued an ultimatum to SERBIA. Aiming to suppress separatism within the BALKANS and to safeguard the integrity of its empire, Vienna demanded that the Serbs should prohibit anti-Austrian propaganda, disband the nationalist movement of so-called “People's Defense,” arrest those suspected of the assassination, allow Habsburg officials to participate in the investigation, and restrict cross-border freedom of movement. Though the Belgrade government replied within the 48-hour deadline, it was not prepared to cave in, possibly because it feared being associated with the murder plot and was seeking Russian support. The latter came on the 25^th when the Tsar approved preparations for mobilization. That same day Austria-Hungary broke off diplomatic relations with Serbia. While Belgrade's reply had been conciliatory, it had not unconditionally accepted all of Vienna's demands. This provided the pretext for an Austrian declaration of war on Serbia (July 28), endorsed from Berlin. By now diplomatic panic was rising, with Britain and France both realizing that they too were being drawn directly into a crisis where military rather than civilian officials increasingly held the determining hand. On July 30 the tsar ordered general mobilization, and Germany followed suit. On August 1, Berlin declared war on Russia, claiming self-defense. Bearing in mind the FRANCO-RUSSIAN ALLIANCE, the Germans made a similar declaration against France (August 3) and thus implemented their SCHLIEFFEN PLAN. This entailed a violation of the NEUTRALITY of Belgium, which made it easier for the British parliament to approve entry into the fray against Germany on the 4^th. Two days later Vienna came into the conflict against Russia, and Serbia declared war on Germany. On August 12, France and Britain acted similarly against Austria. Despite the terms of the TRIPLE ALLIANCE Italy stayed neutral until May 1915, when it joined with France, Britain, and Russia (initially only against Austria) and not with the CENTRAL POWERS. By then, most of Europe had become involved, and the horrors of battle were fully evident. It remains doubtful whether, back in July–August 1914, the protagonists understood the scale of what they were unleashing. Yet, because of the immense consequences stemming from their handling of that crisis, few other historical topics have been investigated in such detail or have continued to generate so much controversy.

July Days (see under RUSSIAN REVOLUTIONS OF 1917)

July Monarchy (1830–1848). Name given to the rule of Louis Philippe in France, after the events in July 1830 (see REVOLUTIONS OF 1830–2) which led to his proclamation as king. The abdication of his predecessor, CHARLES X, had resulted from widespread discontent with that monarch's ultra-royalist policies and in particular his contempt for the constitution. Louis Philippe (Duke of Orléans and Charles's cousin) was seen as a safe representative of bourgeois values, and became king after accepting a revised constitutional charter that kept effective power in the hands of the wealthy. His regime was characterized by a cautious foreign and domestic policy. Both the king and GUIZOT, who as foreign minister dominated the government from 1840, refused to meet demands for extension of the franchise to the lower middle class. However, this intransigence provoked a political campaign which got out of hand early in 1848 when an economic depression brought students and workers on to the streets of Paris (see REVOLUTIONS OF 1848–9). Unwilling to shed blood, and mindful of the eventual fate of LOUIS XVI, Louis Philippe abdicated and moved to England where he died in 1850. (See also LEGITIMISM; ORLEANISM)

July plot The most important conspiracy undertaken by German opponents of Nazi rule (see NAZISM). It was plotted largely by conservative senior officers deeply critical of HITLER'S mishandling of WORLD WAR II, and culminated, on July 20, 1944, in a failed attempt to kill him. The chosen assassin was Claus von Stauffenberg who, as chief of general staff in the reserve army, had access to military headquarters at Rastenberg in East Prussia (the “wolf 's lair” of the Führer). Having left a time-bomb under the conference table, Stauffenberg immediately flew to Berlin to join General Ludwig Beck in forming a new government that would attempt to secure a negotiated peace with the Western powers. Meanwhile, Hitler (though badly shaken) had survived the explosion. Stauffenberg was promptly shot, as was Beck after a bungled attempt to kill himself. Among others associated with the plot, ROMMEL was the most notable figure to succeed in resort to suicide, though his betrayal of the regime and his manner of death were kept secret. Many of Stauffenberg's co-conspirators shared his fate of summary execution, or were otherwise dispatched only after suffering the crude travesties of due process that characterized the “People's Court” of judge Roland Freisler.

July Revolution (see under JULY MONARCHY; REVOLUTIONS OF 1830–2)

June Days A protest between June 22 and 26, 1848, by the workers of Paris, whose suppression by General CAVAIGNAC undermined the radicalism of the French SECOND REPUBLIC. One of the earliest problems confronting the Revolutionary government, which had succeeded the JULY MONARCHY in February 1848 (see REVOLUTIONS OF 1848–9), was large-scale unemployment. A cure was attempted through the establishment of government workshops in urban centers. There were 120,000 of these by the start of June. Moderate and conservative elements within government were anxious about their cost, and also troubled by the increasing radicalism of the Parisian WORKING CLASS that was demonstrated in street protests on May 15. So it was that, on June 21, orders were given to close the workshops. Despite providing only limited employment and offering little more than a miserly dole, they had at least provided a safety net and were valued by the left as a form of social organization. Their closure on June 22 was thus met by the raising of barricades in Paris, a protest supported by some 60,000 people, though not imitated in the provinces. When some members of the Parisian National Guard sided with the protestors, Cavaignac as minister for war initially bided his time. However, on the 24th he ordered in his men, who, ironically, were recruited from the same social classes as the demonstrators. In the ensuing fighting, some 4,000 government troops and 6,000 insurgents were killed. Afterwards many protesters were summarily executed, and at least 5,000 were transported. Frightened by what had happened, the Constituent Assembly subsequently voted full powers to Cavaignac and, in November, settled on a conservative constitution. In the presidential elections conducted the following month, not even Cavaignac's tough reputation could save him from overwhelming defeat by Louis Napoleon Bonaparte (later NAPOLEON III) whose own law-and-order message was far better received, especially by the peasantry.

Junkers Literally “young lords,” these were landed nobles concentrated in PRUSSIA and eastern Germany. Enjoying a virtual monopoly of senior ranks in the Prussian army and civil service, the Junkers were politically conservative. They were alive, however, to technological advances and during the nineteenth century did much to modernize their extensive East Elbian estates and to promote a market economy. They were less unquestioning in their support for the HOHENZOLLERN DYNASTY than is sometimes argued, but they certainly backed BISMARCK'S moves to achieve GERMAN UNIFICATION around a Prussian axis. He himself stressed the Junker part of his origins, though his mother's bourgeois background may also have helped to widen his horizons. Under the GERMAN EMPIRE, these nobles were prominent supporters of the Conservative Party and the Agrarian League, and helped to oust CAPRIVI in 1894 when he threatened reduction of protectionist tariffs. In WORLD WAR I the military figure of the Junker was epitomized by HINDENBURG. Even after he became president of the WEIMAR REPUBLIC, the Junkers remained generally hostile to that regime. By the early 1930s they were harboring what proved to be entirely vain hopes of using HITLER to overthrow it for their own purposes rather than his. After 1945, the extension of Soviet-style agricultural COLLECTIVIZATION to the GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC meant the end of the Junkers' estates, though since GERMAN REUNIFICATION some have attempted to reacquire their former lands.

Jutland, Battle of Sole major naval engagement between the British and German fleets during WORLD WAR I, fought in the North Sea on May 31 and June 1, 1916. In the initial stages, Hipper's force of five battle-cruisers, showing superior gunnery, blew up two of Admiral Beatty's six ships, but Beatty successfully lured the main German fleet under Admiral Scheer towards the stronger British force commanded by Admiral Jellicoe. However, Scheer escaped the trap under cover of a smoke screen and headed back to port. Fearing mines and torpedoes, the new weapons of naval warfare, Jellicoe broke off the engagement. While his fleet suffered disproportionately heavy losses and expectations of another TRAFALGAR were disappointed, the British still held the strategic initiative at sea. Beyond the European theater, German naval bases and shipping had been put out of action at the start of the conflict, and the German High Seas Fleet would remain bottled up until the end of the war. Britain now tightened its blockade by limiting the freedom of neutrals to trade with the CENTRAL POWERS.