The Battle of the Narrow Seas

The Battle of the Narrow Seas PDF Author: Sir Peter Scott
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description

The Battle of the Narrow Seas

The Battle of the Narrow Seas PDF Author: Sir Peter Scott
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 228

Get Book Here

Book Description


The Battle of the Narrow Seas

The Battle of the Narrow Seas PDF Author: Peter Scott
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473812216
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 595

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Book Description
A WWII Royal Navy commander recounts the struggle to control the narrow seas between Britain and the rest of Europe throughout the war. A Motor Torpedo Boat Commander in the Second World War, Sir Peter Scott—the son of explorer Robert Scott—was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his bravery in battle. Combining his own experience with extensive military research, he tells the story of the wide-ranging naval conflict against the Germans, fought in the congested waters of the Channel and the southern North Sea. Actions against convoys and E-boats, often under the shadows of French cliffs; an impossible sortie against Scharnhorst and Gneisenau as they ran the gauntlet through the Straits in February 1942; the attack on St Nazaire; and the defensive and offensive roles taken on by MTBs during the D-Day landings are just some of the events covered in the book. The bravery of the crews of these small ships became legendary. As the War dragged on, their exploits helped to raise the morale of the nation.

Uncommon Courage

Uncommon Courage PDF Author: Julia Jones
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 147298708X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
'An extraordinary account of heroism and sacrifice. An unexpected and important story, rivetingly told. Rip roaring stuff. Get this into the paws of the sea dog in your life.' - Griff Rhys Jones 'A book that had to be written' - Let's Talk 'People ashore don't realise what a grim war we are waging at sea with the Germans. A cold-blooded war, in a way I think requiring the maximum of bravery from the men of both sides in the long run, as it is so ceaseless and intangible. You just don't know whether the next moment will be your last.' Robert Hichens, RNVSR Several years ago, Julia Jones was searching through long-forgotten items stored at her house and discovered some suitcases of old written material, which turned out to be accounts by her father of his experiences in the RNVSR (Royal Naval Volunteer Supplementary Reserve). She realised that as a child she'd met some of the people mentioned, and although she was too young to truly know them, these youthful impressions spurred her on to rediscovery and understanding. In this absorbing book Julia tells the compelling stories of the yachtsmen. Some were famous (such as Sir Peter Scott), others were wealthy (such as August Courtauld, who returned his pay to help with the war effort) but the majority were just 'ordinary' professionals such as publishers, lawyers and advertising agents, who signed up because they loved sailing. Few could ever have dreamed that they would end up acting in areas that were so far beyond their normal lives, as they found themselves commanding destroyers and submarines, and undertaking covert missions of sabotage. Some undertook the dangerous daily drudgery of minesweeping; others tackled unexploded bombs, engaged the enemy in high-speed attacks or played key roles in Ian Fleming's famous intelligence commandos. This varied crew of men were given tasks vital to the war effort, requiring endurance, extraordinary bravery, resourcefulness and quick thinking. Some died in the process, but for the ones who survived, Julia asks how their experiences changed them. Could their love of sailing and the sea survive the harsh realities of war?

Decision in the Atlantic

Decision in the Atlantic PDF Author: Marcus Faulkner
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
ISBN: 1949668029
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 323

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Book Description
The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest campaign of the Second World War. This volume highlights the scale and complexity of this bitterly contested campaign, one that encompassed far more than just attacks by German U-boats on Allied shipping. The team of leading scholars assembled in this study situates the German assault on seaborne trade within the wider Allied war effort and provides a new understanding of its place within the Second World War. Individual chapters offer original perspectives on a range of neglected or previously overlooked subjects: how Allied grand strategy shaped the war at sea; the choices facing Churchill and other Allied leaders and the tensions over the allocation of scarce resources between theaters; how the battle spread beyond the Atlantic Ocean in both military and economic terms; the management of Britain's merchant shipping repair yards; the defense of British coastal waters against German surface raiders; the contribution of air power to trade defense; antisubmarine escort training; the role of special intelligence; and the war against the U-boats in the Arctic and Pacific Oceans.

War at Sea

War at Sea PDF Author: Nathan Miller
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0195110382
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 614

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Book Description
From the sinking of the British passenger liner Athenia on September 3, 1939, by a German U-boat (against orders) to the Japanese surrender on board the Missouri on September 2, 1945, War at Sea covers every major naveal battle of World War II. "A first-rate work and the best history of its kind yet written".--Vice Admiral William P. Mack, U.S.N. (Ret.). 30 photos.

The Line Upon a Wind: The Great War at Sea, 1793-1815

The Line Upon a Wind: The Great War at Sea, 1793-1815 PDF Author: Noel Mostert
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393114015
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 800

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Book Description
The thrilling story of Britain's death-struggle with Revolutionary France, wherein Napoleon is checkmated by Nelson's brilliant naval exploits. In February 1793 France declared war on Britain, and for the next twenty-two years the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars raged. This was to be the longest, cruelest war ever fought at sea, comparable in scale only to the Second World War. New naval tactics were brought to bear, along with such unheard-of weapons as rockets, torpedoes, and submarines. The war on land saw the rise of the greatest soldier the world had ever known—Napoleon Bonaparte—whose vast ambition was thwarted by a genius he never met in person or in battle: Admiral Horatio Nelson. Noel Mostert's narrative ranges from the Mediterranean to the West Indies, Egypt to Scandinavia, showing how land versus sea was the key to the outcome of these wars. He provides details of ship construction, tactics, and life on board. Above all he shows us the extraordinary characters that were the raw material of Patrick O'Brian's and C. S. Forester's magnificent novels.

Fighting the Great War at Sea

Fighting the Great War at Sea PDF Author: Norman Friedman
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
ISBN: 1612519598
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 417

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Book Description
While the overriding image of the First World War is of the bloody stalemate on the Western Front, the overall shape of the war arose out of its maritime character. It was essentially a struggle about access to worldwide resources, most clearly seen in Germany’s desperate attempts to counter the American industrial threat, which ultimately drew the United States into the war. This radical new book concentrates on the way in which each side tried to use or deny the sea to the other, and in so doing describes rapid wartime changes not only in ship and weapons technology but also in the way naval warfare was envisaged and fought. Melding strategic, technical, and tactical aspects, Friedman approaches the First World War from a fresh perspective and demonstrates how its perceived lessons dominated the way navies prepared for the Second World War.

Information and Revolutions in Military Affairs

Information and Revolutions in Military Affairs PDF Author: Emily O. Goldman
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 113682779X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 215

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Book Description
Like the industrial revolution before it, the information technology revolution appears to be creating a new ruling class, a new economy and a new society. Information technology is also transforming military operations and warfare. A vast literature on the revolution in military affairs (or "RMA") cites the important (indeed, dominant) role of information technology in enabling a new military revolution. This volume challenges conventional wisdom not by claiming that information's impact on military operations is not "positive" or "transformative" but by claiming its impact is not "new". Previous periods of military revolution can also be characterized as information revolutions. Through the close examination of six case studies of military transformation during the industrial age, the contributors to this volume demonstrate how the employment of emerging information systems was critical to realizing a major boost in military effectiveness. The most successful adaptations to the new environment were made by the most skillful users of information. This volume draws upon the expertise of leading military historians, political scientists and defense practitioners to craft a set of original essays that provide the first retrospective examination of how information affects the process of military revolution. This book was previously published as a special issue of the Journal of Strategic Studies.

Naval Warfare 1919-45

Naval Warfare 1919-45 PDF Author: Malcolm H. Murfett
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134048130
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 648

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Book Description
Naval Warfare 1919–45 is a comprehensive history of the war at sea from the end of the Great War to the end of World War Two. Showing the bewildering nature and complexity of the war facing those charged with fighting it around the world, this book ranges far and wide: sweeping across all naval theatres and those powers performing major, as well as minor, roles within them. Armed with the latest material from an extensive set of sources, Malcolm H. Murfett has written an absorbing as well as a comprehensive reference work. He demonstrates that superior equipment and the best intelligence, ominous power and systematic planning, vast finance and suitable training are often simply not enough in themselves to guarantee the successful outcome of a particular encounter at sea. Sometimes the narrow difference between victory and defeat hinges on those infinite variables: the individual’s performance under acute pressure and sheer luck. Naval Warfare 1919–45 is an analytical and interpretive study which is an accessible and fascinating read both for students and for interested members of the general public.

Maritime Strategy and Sea Denial

Maritime Strategy and Sea Denial PDF Author: Milan Vego
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351047701
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 605

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Book Description
This book focuses on the theory and practice of maritime strategy and operations by the weaker powers at sea. Illustrated by examples from naval and military history, the book explains and analyzes the strategies of the weaker side at sea in both peacetime and wartime; in defense versus offense; the main prerequisites for disputing control of the sea; and the conceptual framework of disputing control of the sea. It also explains and analyzes in some detail the main methods of disputing sea control – avoiding/seeking decisive encounters, weakening enemy naval forces over time, counter-containment of enemy naval forces, destroying the enemy’s military-economic potential at sea, attacks on the enemy coast, defense of the coast, defense/capturing important positions/basing areas, and defense/capturing of a choke point. A majority of the world’s navies are currently of small or medium-size. In the case of a war with a much stronger opponent, they would be strategically on the defensive, and their main objective then would be to dispute control of the sea by a stronger side at sea. This book provides a practical guide to such a strategy. This book would be of much interest to students of naval power, maritime security, strategic studies and military/naval history.