Decision at Sea

Decision at Sea PDF Author: Craig L. Symonds
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199754888
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 585

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Book Description
From thunderous broadsides traded between wooden sailing ships on Lake Erie, to the carrier battles of World War II, to the devastating high-tech action in the Persian Gulf, here is a gripping history of five key battles that defined the evolution of naval warfare--and the course of the American nation. Acclaimed military historian Craig Symonds offers spellbinding narratives of crucial engagements, showing how each battle reveals the transformation of technology and weaponry from one war to the next; how these in turn transformed naval combat; and how each event marked a milestone in American history. - Oliver Hazard Perry's heroic victory at Lake Erie, one of the last great battles of the Age of Sail, which secured the Northwestern frontier for the United States - The brutal Civil War duel between the ironclads Monitor and Virginia, which sounded the death knell for wooden-hulled warships and doomed the Confederacy's hope of besting the Union navy - Commodore Dewey's stunning triumph at Manila Bay in 1898, where the U.S. displayed its "new navy" of steel-hulled ships firing explosive shells and wrested an empire from a fading European power - The hairsbreadth American victory at Midway, where aircraft carriers launched planes against enemies 200 miles away--and where the tide of World War II turned in the space of a few furious minutes - Operation Praying Mantis in the Persian Gulf, where computers, ship-fired missiles, and "smart bombs" not only changed the nature of warfare at sea, but also marked a new era, and a new responsibility, for the United States. Symonds records these encounters in detail so vivid that readers can hear the wind in the rigging and feel the pounding of the guns. Yet he places every battle in a wide perspective, revealing their significance to America's development as it grew from a new Republic on the edge of a threatening frontier to a global superpower. Decision at Sea is a powerful and illuminating look at pivotal moments in the history of the Navy and of the United States. It is also a compelling study of the unchanging demands of leadership at sea, where commanders must make rapid decisions in the heat of battle with lives--and the fate of nations--hanging in the balance.

Decision at Sea

Decision at Sea PDF Author: Craig L. Symonds
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199754888
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 585

Get Book Here

Book Description
From thunderous broadsides traded between wooden sailing ships on Lake Erie, to the carrier battles of World War II, to the devastating high-tech action in the Persian Gulf, here is a gripping history of five key battles that defined the evolution of naval warfare--and the course of the American nation. Acclaimed military historian Craig Symonds offers spellbinding narratives of crucial engagements, showing how each battle reveals the transformation of technology and weaponry from one war to the next; how these in turn transformed naval combat; and how each event marked a milestone in American history. - Oliver Hazard Perry's heroic victory at Lake Erie, one of the last great battles of the Age of Sail, which secured the Northwestern frontier for the United States - The brutal Civil War duel between the ironclads Monitor and Virginia, which sounded the death knell for wooden-hulled warships and doomed the Confederacy's hope of besting the Union navy - Commodore Dewey's stunning triumph at Manila Bay in 1898, where the U.S. displayed its "new navy" of steel-hulled ships firing explosive shells and wrested an empire from a fading European power - The hairsbreadth American victory at Midway, where aircraft carriers launched planes against enemies 200 miles away--and where the tide of World War II turned in the space of a few furious minutes - Operation Praying Mantis in the Persian Gulf, where computers, ship-fired missiles, and "smart bombs" not only changed the nature of warfare at sea, but also marked a new era, and a new responsibility, for the United States. Symonds records these encounters in detail so vivid that readers can hear the wind in the rigging and feel the pounding of the guns. Yet he places every battle in a wide perspective, revealing their significance to America's development as it grew from a new Republic on the edge of a threatening frontier to a global superpower. Decision at Sea is a powerful and illuminating look at pivotal moments in the history of the Navy and of the United States. It is also a compelling study of the unchanging demands of leadership at sea, where commanders must make rapid decisions in the heat of battle with lives--and the fate of nations--hanging in the balance.

Guadalcanal: Decision At Sea

Guadalcanal: Decision At Sea PDF Author: Eric Hammel
Publisher: Daniel Hammel
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 496

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Book Description
GUADALCANAL DECISION AT SEA The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal November 13–15,1942 BY ERIC HAMMEL Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea is a full-blown examination in vivid detail of the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, November 13–15, 1942, a crucial step toward America’s victory over the Japanese during World War II. The three‑day air and naval action incorporated America’s most decisive surface battle of the war and the only naval battle of this century in which Ameri­can battleships directly confronted and mor­tally wounded an enemy battleship. This American victory decided the future course of the naval war in the Pacific, indeed of the entire Pacific War. Eric Hammel has brilliantly blended the detailed historical records with personal accounts of many of the officers and enlisted men involved, creating an engrossing nar­rative of the strategy and struggle as seen by both sides. He has also included major new insights into crucial details of the battles, including a riveting account of the American forces’ failure to effectively use their radar advantage. Originally published in 1988 as the concluding volume in Eric Hammel’s series of three independent books focusing on the Guadalcanal campaign and exploring all the elements that made it a turning point of the war in the Pacific, Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea lives up to the high standards and expectations that have marked this author’s many historical books and articles. Praise for Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea and Eric Hammel “Hammel’s description of surface tactics, naval gunnery, and what happens when the order to abandon ship is given is vivid and memorable.” —Publishers Weekly “[Hammel’s] detailed and fast-paced chronicle includes a number of incidents and anecdotes not found in the more prosaic official histories.” —Sea Power “Meticulously well-researched and scholarly, but still readable. Author Hammel presents an interesting account of the three-phase battle with frequently gripping ship-by-ship, plane-by-plane, blow-by-blow narratives laden with many human-interest vignettes from both sides.” —The Hook “[Hammel] mixes action with his history, the result being a highly readable story difficult to put down.” —Riversie Press-Enterprise “Hammel’s painstaking reconstruction affords not only a wealth of strategic and tactical detail but also a full measure of critical judgements. . . . a kaleidoscopic but invariably intelligible accounts of key actions . . .” —Kirkus Reviews “Hammel does not write dry history. His battle sequences are masterfully portrayed.” —Library Journal

The Civil War at Sea

The Civil War at Sea PDF Author: Craig L. Symonds
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199931682
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
Continuing in the vein of the Lincoln-prize winning Lincoln and His Admirals, acclaimed naval historian Craig L. Symonds presents an operational history of the Civil War navies - both Union and Confederate - in this concise volume. Illuminating how various aspects of the naval engagement influenced the trajectory of the war as a whole, The Civil War at Sea adds to our understanding of America's great national conflict. Both the North and the South developed and deployed hundreds of warships between 1861 and 1865. Because the Civil War coincided with a revolution in naval techonology, the development and character of warfare at sea from 1861-1865 was dramatic and unprecedented. Rather than a simple chronology of the war at sea, Symonds addresses the story of the naval war topically, from the dramatic transformation wrought by changes in technology to the establishment, management, and impact of blockade. He also offers critical assessments of principal figures in the naval war, from the opposing secretaries of the navy to leading operational commanders such as David Glasgow Farragut and Raphael Semmes. Symonds brings his expertise and knowledge of military and technological history to bear in this essential exploration of American naval engagement throughout the Civil War.

Sinking Deeper

Sinking Deeper PDF Author: Steve Vernon
Publisher: Nimbus Pub Limited
ISBN: 9781551097770
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 159

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Book Description
The tiny fishing community of Deeper Harbour is in deep trouble-and so is fourteen-year-old Roland MacTavish. Roland's mom wants to move with him to Ottawa, away from his father, his weird friend Dulsie, and his even weirder grandfather, Angus. So Roland does what any sane teenager would do: he invents a sea monster. Unfortunately, the scheme quickly spins out of Roland's control, and he has to go to greater and greater lengths to keep up the illusion. And then Roland must deal with a situation far more terrifying than any sea monster.As moving as it is irresistibly funny, Steve Vernon's portrait of Roland and Deeper Harbour is perfect for anyone who's ever been stuck badly enough to do something awesomely, brilliantly, heroically stupid.

Alliance Decision-Making in the South China Sea

Alliance Decision-Making in the South China Sea PDF Author: Joseph A. Gagliano
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351183966
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 279

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Book Description
The combination of rising Chinese power and longstanding territorial disputes has drawn increased attention and threats to the Asia-Pacific region. Five smaller powers contest Beijing’s claims; Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei and Indonesia, with the United States viewed as the most likely counterbalance to coercive behavior towards them. However, only one of these five states - the Philippines -has maintained a guarantee of protection through alliance with the US. What factors have influenced state decisions to form security relationships with Washington, and what does the evolution of these factors portend for future security relationships in the South China Sea? Using research on U.S. policy preferences based on recently declassified material, this book produces conclusions previously inaccessible beyond classified forums. The author surveys recent alliance theory developments to examine relationships between claimant states and the US, explores historical bilateral relations and considers the future of regional security relationships. This book contributes to the fields of security studies, foreign policy and international relations and expands beyond traditional concepts of defense alliances to explore security cooperation along a spectrum from allied to aligned to non-aligned.

Guadalcanal

Guadalcanal PDF Author: Eric Hammel
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 460

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Book Description
GUADALCANALDecision at SeaThe Naval Battle of GuadalcanalNovember 13-15,1942Eric HammelGuadalcanal: Decision at Sea is a full-blown examination in vivid detail of the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, November 13-15, 1942, a crucial step toward America's victory over the Japanese during World War II. The three-day air and naval action incorporated America's most decisive surface battle of the war and the only naval battle of this century in which American battleships directly confronted and mortally wounded an enemy battleship. This American victory decided the future course of the naval war in the Pacific, indeed of the entire Pacific War. Hammel has brilliantly blended the detailed historical records with personal accounts of many of the officers and enlisted men involved, creating an engrossing narrative of the strategy and struggle as seen by both sides. He has also included major new insights into crucial details of the battles, including a riveting account of the American forces' failure to effectively use their radar advantage. Originally published in 1988 as the concluding volume in Eric Hammel's series of three independent books focusing on the Guadalcanal campaign and exploring all the elements that made it a turning point of the war in the Pacific, Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea lives up to the high standards and expectations that have marked this author's many historical books and articles. Praise for Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea and Eric Hammel - "Hammel's description of surface tactics, naval gunnery, and what happens when the order to abandon ship is given is vivid and memorable." -Publishers Weekly"[Hammel's] detailed and fast-paced chronicle includes a number of incidents and anecdotes not found in the more prosaic official histories." -Sea Power "Meticulously well-researched and scholarly, but still readable. Author Hammel presents an interesting account of the three-phase battle with frequently gripping ship-by-ship, plane-by-plane, blow-by-blow narratives laden with many human-interest vignettes from both sides." -The Hook"[Hammel] mixes action with his history, the result being a highly readable story difficult to put down." -Riverside Press-Enterprise"Hammel's painstaking reconstruction affords not only a wealth of strategic and tactical detail but also a full measure of critical judgements. . . . a kaleidoscopic but invariably intelligible accounts of key actions . . ." -Kirkus Reviews "Hammel does not write dry history. His battle sequences are masterfully portrayed ----Library Journal

Decision in the West

Decision in the West PDF Author: Albert Castel
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 764

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Book Description
Following a skirmish on June 28, 1864, a truce is called so the North can remove their dead and wounded. For two hours, Yankees and Rebels mingle, with some of the latter even assisting the former in their grisly work. Newspapers are exchanged. Northern coffee is swapped for Southern tobacco. Yanks crowd around two Rebel generals, soliciting and obtaining autographs.

World War II at Sea

World War II at Sea PDF Author: Craig L. Symonds
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190243686
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 793

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Book Description
Author of Lincoln and His Admirals (winner of the Lincoln Prize), The Battle of Midway (Best Book of the Year, Military History Quarterly), and Operation Neptune, (winner of the Samuel Eliot Morison Award for Naval Literature), Craig L. Symonds has established himself as one of the finest naval historians at work today. World War II at Sea represents his crowning achievement: a complete narrative of the naval war and all of its belligerents, on all of the world's oceans and seas, between 1939 and 1945. Opening with the 1930 London Conference, Symonds shows how any limitations on naval warfare would become irrelevant before the decade was up, as Europe erupted into conflict once more and its navies were brought to bear against each other. World War II at Sea offers a global perspective, focusing on the major engagements and personalities and revealing both their scale and their interconnection: the U-boat attack on Scapa Flow and the Battle of the Atlantic; the "miracle" evacuation from Dunkirk and the pitched battles for control of Norway fjords; Mussolini's Regia Marina-at the start of the war the fourth-largest navy in the world-and the dominance of the Kidö Butai and Japanese naval power in the Pacific; Pearl Harbor then Midway; the struggles of the Russian Navy and the scuttling of the French Fleet in Toulon in 1942; the landings in North Africa and then Normandy. Here as well are the notable naval leaders-FDR and Churchill, both self-proclaimed "Navy men," Karl Dönitz, François Darlan, Ernest King, Isoroku Yamamoto, Erich Raeder, Inigo Campioni, Louis Mountbatten, William Halsey, as well as the hundreds of thousands of seamen and officers of all nationalities whose live were imperiled and lost during the greatest naval conflicts in history, from small-scale assaults and amphibious operations to the largest armadas ever assembled. Many have argued that World War II was dominated by naval operations; few have shown and how and why this was the case. Symonds combines precision with story-telling verve, expertly illuminating not only the mechanics of large-scale warfare on (and below) the sea but offering wisdom into the nature of the war itself.

The U.S. Navy

The U.S. Navy PDF Author: Craig L. Symonds
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199394946
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 149

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Book Description
This brisk narrative charts the history of the United States Navy from its birth during the American Revolution through its emergence as a global power amid the world wars of the twentieth century and finally to its current role as a superpower in the twenty-first century.

The Battle of Midway

The Battle of Midway PDF Author: Craig L. Symonds
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199315981
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 465

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Book Description
A close-up look at the battle of Midway Island analyzes this crucial naval victory, which marked the turning point for the American fleet in the Pacific theater of World War II.