A detailed analysis of the Allied failure in Dakar against Vichy France in September 1940.Amidst the onslaught of the Blitz, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was desperate to take the fight to the enemy and so he set his eyes on the French West African port of Dakar. Emboldened by the recent defection of some of the Vichy colonies to the Free French movement, Churchill asked Charles de Gaulle if he could rally Dakar, and its potent naval force, to their cau...

A comprehensive, in-depth look at the warships of the Ottoman Navy of World War I, their specifications and operational history. The definitive English language work on the Aegean arms race.At the start of the 20th century the Ottoman Navy was a shadow of its former might. Years of defeat, nepotism, and neglect had left it with a mix of obsolete vessels, whilst the list of prospective enemies was ever-growing. Though it ordered two dreadnoughts - the ultimate naval...

A fascinating analysis of the World War II battle between Great Britain and France to ensure French ships were kept out of German hands during World War II.Following France's armistice with the Axis powers, Great Britain realized that if Germany or Italy insisted upon the transfer of battleships, cruisers, and destroyers from the French Navy to the control of their own navies, the balance in the Mediterranean would immediately swing in their favour. Churchill decid...

This fully illustrated study details Germany and Italy's failed development of World War II aircraft carriers, and the naval aviation ships that the two Axis powers sent into action in their place.The quest for a modern aircraft carrier was the ultimate symbol of the Axis powers' challenge to Allied naval might, but fully-fledged carriers proved either too difficult, expensive or politically unpopular for either to make operational. After the Anglo-German Naval Agr...

The history of how the Luftwaffe planned to knock out Holland, but instead suffered wounds against the Dutch that would come to haunt them in the Battle of Britain.The German invasion of the Netherlands was meant to be a lightning-fast surgical strike, aimed at shoring up the right flank of the assault on France and Belgium. With a bold plan based largely on Luftwaffe air power, air-landing troops, and the biggest airborne assault yet seen, a Dutch surrender was ex...

In the late 19th and early 20th century, a combination of coastal defence for the homeland and fleet defence for the East Indies became the established naval strategy for the Royal Dutch Navy and set the template for the world wars.Battleships were too expensive to build and maintain, so after World War I, there was significant investment in submarine development and construction. A handful of modern light cruisers and a new class of destroyers were also constructe...

On September 1, 1910, France became the last great naval power to lay down a dreadnought battleship, the Courbet.The ensuing Courbet and Bretagne-class dreadnoughts had a relatively quiet World War I, spending most of it at anchor off the entrance to the Adriatic, keeping watch over the Austro-Hungarian fleet. The constraints of the Washington Naval Treaty prevented new battleships being built until the 1930s, with the innovative Dunkerque-class and excell...

The primary purpose of Austria-Hungary's navy until the beginning of the twentieth century was the defense of its coastline.As its merchant marine dramatically grew, admirals believed that the navy should take a more proactive policy of defense. The 1890s saw the beginning of a series of naval building programs that would create a well-balanced modern fleet, including a force of modern battleships.In this illustrated history, Ryan Noppen examines how these ...

This is the story of Germany's commerce raiders of World War I, the surface ships that were supposed to starve the British Isles of the vast cargoes of vital resources being shipped from the furthest reaches of the Empire.To that end pre-war German naval strategists allocated a number of cruisers and armed, fast ocean liners, as well as a complex and globe-spanning supply network to support them – known as the Etappe network. This book, drawing on technical illustr...

Building upon his previous book on Austro-Hungarian battleships, Ryan Noppen examines their cruisers and destroyers in a fascinating study, ideal for those interested in naval history and World War I.At the outbreak of World War I Austria-Hungary had four modern light cruisers and twenty modern destroyers at their disposal, constructed in the early 20th century to defend their growing overseas interests. It was these fast light vessels, not the fleet's prized battl...

This is the story of Germany's commerce raiders of World War I, the surface ships that were supposed to starve the British Isles of the vast cargoes of vital resources being shipped from the furthest reaches of the Empire. To that end pre-war German naval strategists allocated a number of cruisers and armed, fast ocean liners, as well as a complex and globe-spanning supply network to support them – known as the Etappe network. This book, drawing on technical illustrations and the author's ...

A comprehensive, in-depth look at the warships of the Ottoman Navy of World War I, their specifications and operational history. The definitive English language work on the Aegean arms race.At the start of the 20th century the Ottoman Navy was a shadow of its former might. Years of defeat, nepotism, and neglect had left it with a mix of obsolete vessels, whilst the list of prospective enemies was ever-growing. Though it ordered two dreadnoughts - the ultimate naval...