Naval warfare 1919-1945 : an operational history of the volatile war at sea

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. Book Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 4 Copyright......Page 5 Dedication......Page 6 Contents......Page 8 Abbreviations......Page 9 List of maps......Page 13 Preface......Page 14 Acknowledgements......Page 17 1 Neither one thing nor the other (1919–39)......Page 20 2 The opening gambit (1939)......Page 68 3 Much more than a phoney war (1940)......Page 85 4 Uncompromising hostilities (January–November 1941)......Page 119 5 From Pearl Harbor to Madagascar (December 1941–May 1942)......Page 154 6 Stalling the juggernaut in the early summer of 1942......Page 195 7 From defence to attack in the autumn of 1942......Page 242 8 A change in momentum (January–August 1943)......Page 276 9 Striking back (September–December 1943)......Page 310 10 Seizing the initiative (January–August 1944)......Page 343 11 Tightening the grip (September–December 1944)......Page 388 12 Stranglehold (1945)......Page 437 Conclusion: Rising to the challenge of fighting the war at sea......Page 480 Maps......Page 530 Appendix I: Allied convoy statistics......Page 549 Appendix II......Page 553 Glossary......Page 554 Select Bibliography......Page 567 Index......Page 606 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, Dr. Murfett has written an absorbing as well as comprehensive reference work that is not afraid to re-examine the naval past in a stimulating way, or to take