Author: Peter Padfield
Publisher: Thistle Publishing
ISBN: 9781909869400
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 422
Book Description
More than the story of the intense battleship-building competition between Great Britain and Imperial Germany before the First World War, this is a study in envy: Kaiser Wilhelm II, grandson of Queen Victoria, reflected Prusso-German resentment at Britain's world power, and longed for a fleet to rival the Royal Navy. It is a fact, disgracefully unrecognised by the historical establishment, that his admiral, Alfred Tirpitz, designed the German battlefleet from the start as an instrument to smash the British fleet. Britain's First Sea Lord, Admiral 'Jackie' Fisher, and Winston Churchill, when appointed First Lord of the Admiralty, reacted by laying down more, larger and better battleships. Tirpitz was forced to respond, but the escalating costs of the competition lost him the support of the Army and other interest groups. Almost alone, Wilhelm continued to back him, thereby ensuring that Britain would be an enemy when war came in 1914 - a war which Peter Padfield shows with irrefutable evidence from the German naval archives was provoked by Berlin. 'Mr Padfield is much more than a skilled populariser. He has his own specialised contribution to make on the development of the battleship, especially its gunnery equipment.' Times Literary Supplement 'Important, readable and scholarly new book... adds immeasurably to our understanding of the events which carried much of the civilised world into the war of 1914-18.' Texas Times 'A fascinating story, well told.' The Seafarer
The Great Naval Race
Author: Peter Padfield
Publisher: Thistle Publishing
ISBN: 9781909869400
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 422
Book Description
More than the story of the intense battleship-building competition between Great Britain and Imperial Germany before the First World War, this is a study in envy: Kaiser Wilhelm II, grandson of Queen Victoria, reflected Prusso-German resentment at Britain's world power, and longed for a fleet to rival the Royal Navy. It is a fact, disgracefully unrecognised by the historical establishment, that his admiral, Alfred Tirpitz, designed the German battlefleet from the start as an instrument to smash the British fleet. Britain's First Sea Lord, Admiral 'Jackie' Fisher, and Winston Churchill, when appointed First Lord of the Admiralty, reacted by laying down more, larger and better battleships. Tirpitz was forced to respond, but the escalating costs of the competition lost him the support of the Army and other interest groups. Almost alone, Wilhelm continued to back him, thereby ensuring that Britain would be an enemy when war came in 1914 - a war which Peter Padfield shows with irrefutable evidence from the German naval archives was provoked by Berlin. 'Mr Padfield is much more than a skilled populariser. He has his own specialised contribution to make on the development of the battleship, especially its gunnery equipment.' Times Literary Supplement 'Important, readable and scholarly new book... adds immeasurably to our understanding of the events which carried much of the civilised world into the war of 1914-18.' Texas Times 'A fascinating story, well told.' The Seafarer
Publisher: Thistle Publishing
ISBN: 9781909869400
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 422
Book Description
More than the story of the intense battleship-building competition between Great Britain and Imperial Germany before the First World War, this is a study in envy: Kaiser Wilhelm II, grandson of Queen Victoria, reflected Prusso-German resentment at Britain's world power, and longed for a fleet to rival the Royal Navy. It is a fact, disgracefully unrecognised by the historical establishment, that his admiral, Alfred Tirpitz, designed the German battlefleet from the start as an instrument to smash the British fleet. Britain's First Sea Lord, Admiral 'Jackie' Fisher, and Winston Churchill, when appointed First Lord of the Admiralty, reacted by laying down more, larger and better battleships. Tirpitz was forced to respond, but the escalating costs of the competition lost him the support of the Army and other interest groups. Almost alone, Wilhelm continued to back him, thereby ensuring that Britain would be an enemy when war came in 1914 - a war which Peter Padfield shows with irrefutable evidence from the German naval archives was provoked by Berlin. 'Mr Padfield is much more than a skilled populariser. He has his own specialised contribution to make on the development of the battleship, especially its gunnery equipment.' Times Literary Supplement 'Important, readable and scholarly new book... adds immeasurably to our understanding of the events which carried much of the civilised world into the war of 1914-18.' Texas Times 'A fascinating story, well told.' The Seafarer
Dreadnought
Author: Robert K. Massie
Publisher: Ballantine Books
ISBN: 0307819930
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 1076
Book Description
A gripping chronicle of the personal and national rivalries that led to the twentieth century’s first great arms race, from Pulitzer Prize winner Robert K. Massie With the biographer’s rare genius for expressing the essence of extraordinary lives, Massie brings to life a crowd of glittery figures: the single-minded Admiral von Tirpitz; the young, ambitious Winston Churchill; the ruthless, sycophantic Chancellor Bernhard von Bülow; Britain’s greatest twentieth-century foreign secretary, Sir Edward Grey; and Jacky Fisher, the eccentric admiral who revolutionized the British navy and brought forth the first true battleship, the H.M.S. Dreadnought. Their story, and the story of the era, filled with misunderstandings, missed opportunities, and events leading to unintended conclusions, unfolds like a Greek tragedy in this powerful narrative. Intimately human and dramatic, Dreadnought is history at its most riveting. Praise for Dreadnought “Dreadnought is history in the grand manner, as most people prefer it: how people shaped, or were shaped by, events.”—Time “A classic [that] covers superbly a whole era . . . engrossing in its glittering gallery of characters.”—Chicago Sun-Times “[Told] on a grand scale . . . Massie [is] a master of historical portraiture and anecdotage.”—The Wall Street Journal “Brilliant on everything he writes about ships and the sea. It is Massie’s eye for detail that makes his nautical set pieces so marvelously evocative.”—Los Angeles Times
Publisher: Ballantine Books
ISBN: 0307819930
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 1076
Book Description
A gripping chronicle of the personal and national rivalries that led to the twentieth century’s first great arms race, from Pulitzer Prize winner Robert K. Massie With the biographer’s rare genius for expressing the essence of extraordinary lives, Massie brings to life a crowd of glittery figures: the single-minded Admiral von Tirpitz; the young, ambitious Winston Churchill; the ruthless, sycophantic Chancellor Bernhard von Bülow; Britain’s greatest twentieth-century foreign secretary, Sir Edward Grey; and Jacky Fisher, the eccentric admiral who revolutionized the British navy and brought forth the first true battleship, the H.M.S. Dreadnought. Their story, and the story of the era, filled with misunderstandings, missed opportunities, and events leading to unintended conclusions, unfolds like a Greek tragedy in this powerful narrative. Intimately human and dramatic, Dreadnought is history at its most riveting. Praise for Dreadnought “Dreadnought is history in the grand manner, as most people prefer it: how people shaped, or were shaped by, events.”—Time “A classic [that] covers superbly a whole era . . . engrossing in its glittering gallery of characters.”—Chicago Sun-Times “[Told] on a grand scale . . . Massie [is] a master of historical portraiture and anecdotage.”—The Wall Street Journal “Brilliant on everything he writes about ships and the sea. It is Massie’s eye for detail that makes his nautical set pieces so marvelously evocative.”—Los Angeles Times
The Price of Admiralty
Author: John Keegan
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0140096507
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 401
Book Description
Military historian John Keegan’s gripping history of naval warfare’s evolution. In The Price of Admirality, leading military historian John Keegan illuminates the history of naval combat by expertly dissecting four landmark sea battles, each featuring a different type of warship: the Battle of Trafalgar, the Battle of Jutland in World War I, the Battle of Midway in World War II, and the long and arduous Battle of the Atlantic. “The best military historian of our generation.”—Tom Clancy “The Price of Admirality stands alongside Mr. Keegan’s earlier works in its power to impart both the big and little pictures of war.”—The New York Times
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0140096507
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 401
Book Description
Military historian John Keegan’s gripping history of naval warfare’s evolution. In The Price of Admirality, leading military historian John Keegan illuminates the history of naval combat by expertly dissecting four landmark sea battles, each featuring a different type of warship: the Battle of Trafalgar, the Battle of Jutland in World War I, the Battle of Midway in World War II, and the long and arduous Battle of the Atlantic. “The best military historian of our generation.”—Tom Clancy “The Price of Admirality stands alongside Mr. Keegan’s earlier works in its power to impart both the big and little pictures of war.”—The New York Times
A Great and Rising Nation
Author: Michael A. Verney
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226819922
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 309
Book Description
Jeremiah Reynolds and the empire of knowledge -- The United States exploring expedition as Jacksonian capitalism -- The United States exploring expedition in popular culture -- The Dead Sea expedition and the empire of faith -- Proslavery explorations of South America -- Arctic exploration and US-UK rapprochement.
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226819922
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 309
Book Description
Jeremiah Reynolds and the empire of knowledge -- The United States exploring expedition as Jacksonian capitalism -- The United States exploring expedition in popular culture -- The Dead Sea expedition and the empire of faith -- Proslavery explorations of South America -- Arctic exploration and US-UK rapprochement.
South American Battleships 1908–59
Author: Mark Lardas
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
ISBN: 1472825101
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 49
Book Description
In 1908 the most incredible naval arms race in history began. Flush with cash from rubber and coffee, Brazil decided to order three of the latest, greatest category of warship available--the dreadnought battleship. One Brazilian dreadnought by itself could defeat the combined gunnery of every other warship of all the other South American nations. Brazil's decision triggered its neighbor Argentina to order its own brace of dreadnoughts, which in turn forced Chile (which had fought boundary disputes with Argentina) to order some. In the process, the South American dreadnought mania drove the three participants nearly into insolvency, led to the bankruptcy of a major shipyard, and triggered a chain of events which led Turkey to declare war on Great Britain. It also produced several groundbreaking dreadnought designs and one of the world's first aircraft carriers.
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
ISBN: 1472825101
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 49
Book Description
In 1908 the most incredible naval arms race in history began. Flush with cash from rubber and coffee, Brazil decided to order three of the latest, greatest category of warship available--the dreadnought battleship. One Brazilian dreadnought by itself could defeat the combined gunnery of every other warship of all the other South American nations. Brazil's decision triggered its neighbor Argentina to order its own brace of dreadnoughts, which in turn forced Chile (which had fought boundary disputes with Argentina) to order some. In the process, the South American dreadnought mania drove the three participants nearly into insolvency, led to the bankruptcy of a major shipyard, and triggered a chain of events which led Turkey to declare war on Great Britain. It also produced several groundbreaking dreadnought designs and one of the world's first aircraft carriers.
The Rise And Fall of British Naval Mastery
Author: Paul Kennedy
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0141983833
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 592
Book Description
Paul Kennedy's classic naval history, now updated with a new introduction by the author This acclaimed book traces Britain's rise and fall as a sea power from the Tudors to the present day. Challenging the traditional view that the British are natural 'sons of the waves', he suggests instead that the country's fortunes as a significant maritime force have always been bound up with its economic growth. In doing so, he contributes significantly to the centuries-long debate between 'continental' and 'maritime' schools of strategy over Britain's policy in times of war. Setting British naval history within a framework of national, international, economic, political and strategic considerations, he offers a fresh approach to one of the central questions in British history. A new introduction extends his analysis into the twenty-first century and reflects on current American and Chinese ambitions for naval mastery. 'Excellent and stimulating' Correlli Barnett 'The first scholar to have set the sweep of British Naval history against the background of economic history' Michael Howard, Sunday Times 'By far the best study that has ever been done on the subject ... a sparkling and apt quotation on practically every page' Daniel A. Baugh, International History Review 'The best single-volume study of Britain and her naval past now available to us' Jon Sumida, Journal of Modern History
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0141983833
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 592
Book Description
Paul Kennedy's classic naval history, now updated with a new introduction by the author This acclaimed book traces Britain's rise and fall as a sea power from the Tudors to the present day. Challenging the traditional view that the British are natural 'sons of the waves', he suggests instead that the country's fortunes as a significant maritime force have always been bound up with its economic growth. In doing so, he contributes significantly to the centuries-long debate between 'continental' and 'maritime' schools of strategy over Britain's policy in times of war. Setting British naval history within a framework of national, international, economic, political and strategic considerations, he offers a fresh approach to one of the central questions in British history. A new introduction extends his analysis into the twenty-first century and reflects on current American and Chinese ambitions for naval mastery. 'Excellent and stimulating' Correlli Barnett 'The first scholar to have set the sweep of British Naval history against the background of economic history' Michael Howard, Sunday Times 'By far the best study that has ever been done on the subject ... a sparkling and apt quotation on practically every page' Daniel A. Baugh, International History Review 'The best single-volume study of Britain and her naval past now available to us' Jon Sumida, Journal of Modern History
The Late Victorian Navy
Author: Roger Parkinson
Publisher: Boydell Press
ISBN: 9781843833727
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 348
Book Description
A reappraisal of the late Victorian Navy, the so-called `Dark Ages', showing how the period was crucial to the emergence of new technology defined by steel and electricity. In purely naval terms, the period from 1889 to 1906 is often referred to (and indeed passed over) as the `pre-Dreadnought era', merely a prelude to the lead-up to the First World War, and thus of relatively little importance; it has therefore received little consideration from historians, a gap which this book remedies by reviewing the late Victorian Navy from a radically new perspective. It starts with the Great Near East crisis of 1878 and shows how itsaftermath in the Carnarvon Commission and its evidence produced a profound shift in strategic thinking, culminating in the Naval Defence Act of 1889; this evidence, from the ship owners, provides the definitive explanation of whythe Victorian Navy gave up on convoy as the primary means of trade protection in wartime, a fundamental question at the time. The book also overturns many assumptions about the era, especially the perception that the navy was weak, and clearly shows that the 1870s and early 1880s brought in crucial technological developments that made the Dreadnought possible.
Publisher: Boydell Press
ISBN: 9781843833727
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 348
Book Description
A reappraisal of the late Victorian Navy, the so-called `Dark Ages', showing how the period was crucial to the emergence of new technology defined by steel and electricity. In purely naval terms, the period from 1889 to 1906 is often referred to (and indeed passed over) as the `pre-Dreadnought era', merely a prelude to the lead-up to the First World War, and thus of relatively little importance; it has therefore received little consideration from historians, a gap which this book remedies by reviewing the late Victorian Navy from a radically new perspective. It starts with the Great Near East crisis of 1878 and shows how itsaftermath in the Carnarvon Commission and its evidence produced a profound shift in strategic thinking, culminating in the Naval Defence Act of 1889; this evidence, from the ship owners, provides the definitive explanation of whythe Victorian Navy gave up on convoy as the primary means of trade protection in wartime, a fundamental question at the time. The book also overturns many assumptions about the era, especially the perception that the navy was weak, and clearly shows that the 1870s and early 1880s brought in crucial technological developments that made the Dreadnought possible.
The Battle of Heligoland Bight
Author: Eric W. Osborne
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 0253111862
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 161
Book Description
The battle of Heligoland Bight was the first major action between the British and German fleets during World War I. The British orchestrated the battle as a warning to the German high command that any attempt to operate their naval forces in the North Sea would be met by strong British resistance. Heligoland Island guarded the entrance to the main German naval anchorage at Kiel. Fought on August 28, 1914, the engagement was complicated by dense fog, the piecemeal engagement of German forces, and the unexpected appearance in the area of additional British ships, which were hard to distinguish from foe. Initial British damage was significant; however, fearing that the protracted battle would allow the bulk of the German fleet to join the battle, the British brought in their battle cruiser reinforcements and won the day, inflicting heavy losses on the Germans. The battle was significant for its political and strategic ramifications for the two sides. The Germans became reluctant to engage large forces in an attempt to gain a decisive maritime victory. After this defeat, any plans for large-scale fleet operations had to be approved by the Kaiser, which hampered the German fleet's effectiveness. This left the North Sea to Great Britain for much of the war.
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 0253111862
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 161
Book Description
The battle of Heligoland Bight was the first major action between the British and German fleets during World War I. The British orchestrated the battle as a warning to the German high command that any attempt to operate their naval forces in the North Sea would be met by strong British resistance. Heligoland Island guarded the entrance to the main German naval anchorage at Kiel. Fought on August 28, 1914, the engagement was complicated by dense fog, the piecemeal engagement of German forces, and the unexpected appearance in the area of additional British ships, which were hard to distinguish from foe. Initial British damage was significant; however, fearing that the protracted battle would allow the bulk of the German fleet to join the battle, the British brought in their battle cruiser reinforcements and won the day, inflicting heavy losses on the Germans. The battle was significant for its political and strategic ramifications for the two sides. The Germans became reluctant to engage large forces in an attempt to gain a decisive maritime victory. After this defeat, any plans for large-scale fleet operations had to be approved by the Kaiser, which hampered the German fleet's effectiveness. This left the North Sea to Great Britain for much of the war.
The Naval War in the Baltic, 1939–1945
Author: Poul Grooss
Publisher: Seaforth Publishing
ISBN: 1526700026
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 385
Book Description
A military historian and naval warfare expert delivers a revealing history of the Baltic Sea Campaigns and their significance throughout WWII. From the Battle of Westerplatte on the Polish coast in 1939 to the thousands of German refugees lost at sea in 1945, the Baltic witnessed continuous fighting throughout the Second World War. This chronicle of naval warfare in the region merges such major events as the Siege of Leningrad, the Soviet campaign against Sweden, the three wars in Finland, the Soviet liberation of the Baltic states, the German evacuation of two million people from the East, and the Soviet race westwards in 1945. Naval historian Poul Grooss explains the political and military backgrounds of the war in this theatre while also detailing the ships, radar, artillery, mines and aircraft employed there. He also offers fascinating insights into Swedish cooperation with Nazi Germany, the Germans’ use of the Baltic as a training ground for the Battle of the Atlantic, the secret weapons trials in the remote area of Peenemunde, and the Royal Air Force mining campaign that reduced the threat of German submarine technology. A major contribution to the naval history of this era, Naval War in the Baltic demonstrates the extent to which the Baltic Sea Campaigns shaped the Second World War
Publisher: Seaforth Publishing
ISBN: 1526700026
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 385
Book Description
A military historian and naval warfare expert delivers a revealing history of the Baltic Sea Campaigns and their significance throughout WWII. From the Battle of Westerplatte on the Polish coast in 1939 to the thousands of German refugees lost at sea in 1945, the Baltic witnessed continuous fighting throughout the Second World War. This chronicle of naval warfare in the region merges such major events as the Siege of Leningrad, the Soviet campaign against Sweden, the three wars in Finland, the Soviet liberation of the Baltic states, the German evacuation of two million people from the East, and the Soviet race westwards in 1945. Naval historian Poul Grooss explains the political and military backgrounds of the war in this theatre while also detailing the ships, radar, artillery, mines and aircraft employed there. He also offers fascinating insights into Swedish cooperation with Nazi Germany, the Germans’ use of the Baltic as a training ground for the Battle of the Atlantic, the secret weapons trials in the remote area of Peenemunde, and the Royal Air Force mining campaign that reduced the threat of German submarine technology. A major contribution to the naval history of this era, Naval War in the Baltic demonstrates the extent to which the Baltic Sea Campaigns shaped the Second World War
The Great War at Sea
Author: Lawrence Sondhaus
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107036909
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 419
Book Description
New naval history of the First World War which reveals the contribution of the war at sea to Allied victory.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107036909
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 419
Book Description
New naval history of the First World War which reveals the contribution of the war at sea to Allied victory.