Horde navy

The Horde navy, formerly known as the Orcish Armada, is the collective maritime military force of the various members of the Horde. As the naval wing of the Horde military, these combined navies protect the Horde's interests throughout Azeroth and beyond, and have seen particularly frequent service against the Alliance and its navy.
==History==
===Creation of the fleet===
When the orcs arrived from Draenor, they originally had no ships and even no naval tradition, as most of the superstitious clans feared the open sea.
But following his victory in the First War, Orgrim Doomhammer still wished the refugees of Stormwind pursued across the Great Sea. So following the Horde's conquest of Khaz Modan, Doomhammer planned to build a fleet of ships and launch a surprise attack in the heart of humanity's territories. Many orcs had reservations about this, for they were not a seafaring people. However, Gul'dan and his Stormreaver clan urged their allies that it was the best course of action, and in a bay tucked in the southwestern Wetlands Orgrim oversaw the construction of the fleet. To build the fleet, the Horde used iron and timber pilfered from their recent conquest of Khaz Modan and its dwarven mines.Tides of Darkness, chapter 7
While the orcs knew little of shipbuilding, some of their ogre allies had maritime knowledge and helped construct the immense juggernaughts — heavily armed and armored floating fortresses.Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness manual, Naval Units of the Horde, Ogre Juggernaught The forest trolls also helped with their own destroyers, while the Stormreavers also captured giant sea turtles from the South Seas, to be used as a submersible orcish craft after being pacified by potent spells of control.Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness manual, Naval Units of the Horde, Giant Turtle To augment this, Doomhammer also enlisted the aid of the goblin Steamwheedle Cartel. The warchief provided the goblins with vast quantities of gold as payment for new technologies, maps, information, and ship-building services. The orcs had virtually no need for gold currency, and they were still rich in it from plundering the Kingdom of Stormwind.
Beyond conquering the remaining human kingdoms, Gul'dan and the Stormreavers were secretly assisting building the great navy in order to later find the Tomb of Sargeras.Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness manual, A Brief History of the Fall of Azeroth
===Second War===
At the start of the Second War, Orgrim Doomhammer ordered the Blackrock clan to establish a base of operations on the island of Zul'Dare, not far from Lordaeron's shores, in order to prepare their strike towards the coastal human settlements.Zul'dare (WC2 Orc) Just before the battle of Hillsbrad Foothills, Admiral Daelin Proudmoore and the Alliance navy intercepted the Horde fleet near the island, successfully attacking the enemy ships, but the arrival of three enslaved red dragons turned the battle and Daelin and his ships were forced to retreat.
With the coast cleared, the Horde built several oil platforms in the Southshore region before launching their landing on the coast of Hillsbrad.Southshore (WC2 Orc)Assault on Hillsbrad (WC2 Orc)
After the battle of Hillsbrad Foothills, most of the Horde navy was left anchored at the recently-conquered seaport of Southshore. Gul'dan then enacted his plans and came back from Quel'Thalas to take a portion of the fleet to the Broken Isles.Tides of Darkness, chapter 15 The Black Tooth Grin clan later came back to Southshore as well in order to take the remaining ships and pursue the traitors. A lot of Horde ships ended up wrecked at Stormreaver Wreckage, while some others litter the coasts of Crestfall and Tol Barad.
The Horde navy ceased existing on Azeroth after these losses, but kept surviving somewhat on the orcish homeworld of Draenor, where Zeth'kur served as Ner'zhul's shipyard.Upon the Shadowed Seas (WC2 Human)
===Third War===
Warchief Thrall's new orcish Horde escaped the internment camps of Lordaeron in stolen ships from the Alliance of Lordaeron. In fact, throughout the entire Third War the Horde would produce little to no ships of their own, instead hiring mercenary transport boats from goblin shipyards when necessary.A Blaze of Glory (WC3 Orc) However, after the second invasion by the Burning Legion had ended, the Horde could instead focus on expanding their presence on land as well as on sea.
===Cataclysm===
The Cataclysm led to the war against Deathwing, in which Warchief Garrosh Hellscream ordered the Bilgewater Cartel to build an armada that he would name Hellscream warfleet, hoping to use it to persuade the Dragonmaw clan to ally the Horde.Where Is My Warfleet? However, corruption and delays in Bilgewater Harbor meant poor quality despite high costs,Ready the Navy but intimidating the Bilgewater Foreman in charge helped get the warfleet done in time for the Horde to successfully launch an incursion into the Twilight Highlands.Beating the Market The Warchief, on board the warfleet, ordered the Horde air guard to seize the opportunity and attack the Alliance armada while it was in close formation. Though the Alliance apparently inflicted heavy casualties,Kurdran's Waitin' the fleet was left seriously damaged following this ambush. The Horde's zeppelins too would pay for the sudden attack, when they were soon afterwards wiped out by a group of twilight dragons led by Deathwing, having dispatched all their close air support to deal with the Alliance.Twilight Skies (2)#Transcript
Elsewhere, the Horde's sea fleet was also attacked by Alliance naval forces in open waters en route to the Twilight Highlands, inflicting heavy damage.Twilight Skies (2)#Completion
Captain Skullshatter commanded the gunship Storm's Fury into Deepholm where it was shut down and crashed.
===Mists of Pandaria===
During the Attack on Theramore Isle, the Horde erected a naval blockade around Kalimdor,Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War with the Warchief's Fist engaging with the Alliance ship Elwynn.Quest for Pandaria
Later, the Horde navy was victorious at the coasts of Tanaris and Tol Barad. A southern fleet encountered an Alliance envoy and an uncharted landmass.The Art of War (quest)
Garrosh Hellscream sent Admiral Hagman to control the Horde fleet confronting Admiral Hodgson of the Alliance in a battle on the High Seas.
===Legion===
At the start of the third invasion of the Burning Legion, Horde navy assaulted the Broken Shore.The Battle for Broken Shore (Horde)
===Battle for Azeroth===
After the Argus Campaign, too many of the Horde navy's ships were destroyed either by the Legion or by the Alliance. Warchief Sylvanas Windrunner had Horde dockmasters working overnight.Sylvanas Windrunner#Gossip
During the Fourth War, much of the Horde's naval power was docked in the Echo Isles. Alliance champions were sent to infiltrate the troll capital, and set fire to the ships.Echo Isles Navy (Alliance)
The Horde fleet grew a great deal in size after the Zandalari trolls introduced their Golden Fleet to the Horde. However, it was almost entirely destroyed by the Alliance during the Battle of Dazar'alor as the ships had been sabotaged and later detonated.
==Vessels==
Name 	Description 	Examples 	Image
Orc destroyers 	Standard ship used by the Horde navy, forming the bulk of many Horde fleets, these ships are small spiked craft and have also been called "gunships",The Warchief's Fleet though that name normally refers to the flying crafts. 	Draka's Fury</br>Gorrok's Lament</br>Galerek's Remorse</br>The Iron Reaper</br>Stygian Bounty</br>The Sea Wolf</br>Warchief's Fist</br>Bladefist Reaper</br>Stygian Scar 	
Zeppelins 	Are flying contraptions created by the goblins, using a lighter-than-air design, with their machines employing bags filled with gas to make them buoyant in the air, compared to heavier-than-air designs, which employ wing surfaces and movement to produce lift, either using a fixed wing, or a spinning rotor. 	Spear of Durotar</br>Garrosh's Airship</br>Heart of Orgrimmar</br>The Indomitable</br>The Impervious</br>The Skyshredder 	
Gunship 	Highly versatile and complex airships that can act as mobile command centers during battle. First used during the war against the Lich King, eventually becoming common in all major Horde campaigns. Kept aloft and powered by two zeppelin-inspired hot air balloons. The design heavily incorporates goblin engineering. Heavily armored and possessing extremely heavy firepower. 	Hellscream's Fist</br>Storm's Fury 	
Forsaken flagship 	Largest ships in the Forsaken navy. The Forsaken flagship has been equipped with the New Plague and Dread Ballistas. More decks and levels also make these vessels one of the largest battleships in the Horde navy. 	Death's Advance</br>The Swift Vengeance 	
Forsaken battleship 	The Forsaken navy is composed of ships dredged up from the bottom of the ocean. Most of them were once among Lordaeron's fleets.Ask CDev Despite this, Forsaken battleships can be built at the Frostwall Shipyard. The Forsaken battleships have been equipped with Forsaken catapults, providing their ships with projectile weapons and blight anti-air. According to Sylvanas Windrunner, the Bilgewater Cartel have modified the catapults to be faster and more powerful.Making the Rounds (Horde)	The Windrunner</br>The Oblivion</br>The Dark Defiance</br>The Queen's Reprisal</br>The Blightbringer </br>The Casket Carrier</br>The Banshee's Wail</br>The Blightcaller </br>The Eternity</br>The Black Arrow</br>The Black Rose</br>The Immortal Coil	
Blood elven destroyers	Elven destroyers of the trireme hull type employ "junk sails" in a "schooner rig". This sail configuration is characterized by good windward handling and generally good speed across all sailing points (but less from running with the wind). This is consistent with the idea that the elven destroyer is a fast, highly maneuverable warship. 	The Crimson Dawn</br>The Firehawk</br>Crimson Treader</br>Starchaser</br>Salabria 	
Goblin ships 	Goblin yachts are light, fast sailing ships capable of carrying out many different types of operations. 	Kezan Runner 	
Goblin submarine 	Submersible craft of goblin design, capable of carrying out many different types of operations, these vessels are capable of striking both surface and underwater targets, and can even take to the land and function as a ground assault craft. 	Greasy Eel</br>The Verne 	
River boat 	Are a type of goblin sailboats used for small distances like rivers. 	 	
Carrier 	Large warships of the Iron Horde, and later, of the , very similar in appearance to dreadnaughts. Used during the war in Draenor by the Horde navy, and later reintroduced after the Mag'har exodus to Azeroth. These ships dedicated as mobile bases for gyrocopters and bombers. Heavily armored and generally effective against battleships, but vulnerable to submarines. 	 	
Iron boat 	Are a small seagoing watercraft, used to convey a landing force from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. 	 	
Zandalari flagship 	Largest ships in the Golden Fleet, and sometimes accompanied by a smaller battleship. They are equipped with two rows of ballistae on each side, as well as being more heavily armored in the front than other vessels. More decks and levels also make these vessels one of the largest battleships in the Horde navy. 	Gral's Call</br>Rastakhan's Might</br>Breath of Pa'ku</br>Rezan's Claw 	
Zandalari battleship 	Medium-sized warships, possess a single row of ballistae and one main mast. Though capable of battle, they are also frequently used as transport, cargo, and trade vessels in around Zandalar and beyond. 	The Golden Skipper</br>Rezan's Wake</br>Gral's Bounty 	
*Blood and Thunder (ship)
*Mannoroth's Bones
==Ranks==
The Horde navy features ranks similar to those of their Alliance counterpart.
The Forsaken do have an amount of Dread-Admirals and Dread-Captains such as Tattersail, Coldfathom, Graham, Nadeux and Winge. Some of them also share the same naval uniform, such as Tattersail, Captain Lightpast and Captain Dreadwake.
==See also==
*Golden Fleet
*Alliance navy
==References==
 
Category:Horde
Category:Fleets