Naval forces and warfare Books

Book SynopsisExamines how the Channel Islands have been crucial to Britain's successful maritime superiority in the English Channel. The Channel Islands have played a key role in both naval warfare and Anglo-French diplomacy, but this has not always been highlighted sufficiently even though Britain and France were at war for most of the period 1689-1815. This book considers a wide range of maritime subjects where the role of the Channel Islands has been significant, such as intelligence gathering, piracy and privateering, and naval strategy and control of the Channel. It also examines topics in relation to the Channel Islands specifically, such as surveying and hydrography, fortifications, trade and Channel Islands societies. It charts changes over time, including the impact of technological changes, from the wars of Louis XIV and William III, through the many Anglo-French wars of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and includes planning for wars which were anticipated but avoided. Throughout the issues are discussed from the perspectives of Britain, France and the Channel Islands themselves, equal weight being given to all three perspectives. Andrew Lambert is Professor of War Studies at King's College, London and one of Britain's foremost maritime and naval historians. Colin Partridge is a former consultant to the States of Guernsey's 'Fortress Guernsey' programme for the restoration and interpretation of Guernsey's fortifications. Jean de Préneuf is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Lille and Head of the Research, Teaching and Studies Unit at the Historical Branch of the French Ministry of Defence at Vincennes.Table of ContentsList of illustrations List of contributors Preface Introduction: 'The Ehrenbreitstein of the English Channel', Andrew Lambert Part 1: Corsairs: the Ancien régime and French Wars from 1689 1. Granville's Privateers and Anglo-French Conflict in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries,Michel Aumont 2. 'Fire No Guns, Shed No Tears': Channel Island Privateers, British Strategic Thinking, and the Politics of Neutrality During the Seven Years War,Anna Brinkman-Schwartz Part 2: The Islands - French and British intelligence from the Seven Years War to 1815 3. The Channel Islands in Anglo-French Strategy, 1756-82, Richard Harding Part 3: Territorial Waters - The Land and Sea Interface from 17th to 20th centuries 4. Channel Islands Territorialisation: A challenge between Local, National, and International Law (XVII° - XIX°), Frédéric Saffroy 5. Surveying the Islands: Captain Martin White RN and the Hydrography of the Islands, Michael Barritt: Part 4: Engineering strategic change. 6. The development and fate of the Channel Harbours of Refuge, William Allsop Part 5: Alderney and the Channel Islands - Naval Strategy from 1815 to 1905 7. French Naval Strategy and the Anglo-Norman Islands 1815-to 1914, Jean de Préneuf: 8. Commanding the Channel: The Channel Islands in British Grand Strategy, 1814 -1914,Andrew Lambert Part 6: Civil Societies and Anglo-French Naval Rivalry - the 19th century to WWI 9. Hydrographic and nautical knowledge in French coastal defence strategy: the case of Channel Islands area,Isabelle Delumeau: 10. Alderney: The Impact of National Defence, Colin Partridge Part 7: Trade War - the protection of Channel Islands shipping in the Great War 11. The Channel Islands in French Naval Strategy during the First World War, Thomas Vaisset 12. Royal Navy Trade Defence in the English Channel during the First World War, Alexander Howlett Afterword: Alderney, The Channel Islands, and the Study of History, Alan James Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisEconomic Warfare and the Sea examines the relationship between trade, maritime warfare, and strategic thought between the early modern period and the late-twentieth century. Featuring contributions from renown historians and rising scholars, this volume forwards an international perspective upon the intersection of maritime history, strategy, and diplomacy. Core themes include the role of ‘economic warfare’ in maritime strategic thought, prevalence of economic competition below the threshold of open conflict, and the role non-state actors have played in the prosecution of economic warfare. Using unique material from 18 different archives across six countries, this volume explores critical moments in the development of economic warfare, naval technology, and international law, including the Anglo-Dutch Wars, the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, the First World War, and the Second World War. Distinct chapters also analyse the role of economic warfare in theories of maritime strategy, and what the future holds for the changing role of navies in the floating global economy of the twenty-first century.Trade Review‘This volume furnishes a timely, eye-opening, and persuasive assessment of both its strengths and its limitations.’ John Beeler, Journal of Military History

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Book SynopsisEconomic Warfare and the Sea examines the relationship between trade, maritime warfare, and strategic thought between the early modern period and the late-twentieth century. Featuring contributions from renown historians and rising scholars, this volume forwards an international perspective upon the intersection of maritime history, strategy, and diplomacy. Core themes include the role of ‘economic warfare’ in maritime strategic thought, prevalence of economic competition below the threshold of open conflict, and the role non-state actors have played in the prosecution of economic warfare. Using unique material from 18 different archives across six countries, this volume explores critical moments in the development of economic warfare, naval technology, and international law, including the Anglo-Dutch Wars, the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, the First World War, and the Second World War. Distinct chapters also analyse the role of economic warfare in theories of maritime strategy, and what the future holds for the changing role of navies in the floating global economy of the twenty-first century.Trade Review‘This volume furnishes a timely, eye-opening, and persuasive assessment of both its strengths and its limitations.’ John Beeler, Journal of Military History

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Book SynopsisA detailed analysis of the limitations of the system which relied on intermediaries and private suppliers to finance, build and maintain the French navy. Although Louis XIV's navy did not "win" in any recognisable sense during the wars of the later seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, it was nevertheless one of the largest military institutions of the entire early modern world at a key moment in the evolution of the modern state and modern warfare. This book examines how Louis XIV's navy was financed, arguing that the way the state spends money, and the relative efficiency and accountability of that spending, is fundamental to understanding the effectiveness of a military system. It outlines how the French crown depended on fiscal intermediaries and private suppliers, explores how its failure to control the spending and activities of its contractors fundamentally limited France's strategic possibilities at sea, and discusses how these structural problems were progressively and disastrously exposed as the state's financial situation deteriorated. The book sets the activities of the French navy in the wider context of the wars of the period, showing that France necessarily had to give precedence to the funding of its army. Overall, the book highlights the limitations of the contractor state, demonstrating that early modern navies were both too complex and investment-heavy to be entirely outsourced.Table of ContentsGeneral Introduction PART I: THE STRATEGIC AND FISCAL CONTEXT Introduction 1. French Naval Policy in the Nine Years' War 2. The Spanish Succession and the Shift in French Naval Strategy 3. Revenue-Raising and Credit Operations under Louis XIV PART II: THE FINANCING OF NAVAL EXPENDITURE Introduction 4. The Navy's Fiscal Intermediaries 5. The Costs, Risks, and Rewards of Office PART III: PAYMASTER ACCOUNTABILITY AND THE LIMITATIONS OF THE STATE Introduction 6. Accounting Regulations and Financial Reporting Structures in the Navy 7. Financial Intelligence Gathering in War 8. Private Interest, Misappropriation, and Fraud in the Naval Treasury PART IV: THE DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF THE NAVAL TREASURY Introduction 9. Organisational Expedients and Securing Access to Credit, 1628-1688 10. Reforms and the Fiscal Challenges of War, 1688-1701 PART V: FISCAL OVEREXTENSION AND OPERATIONAL PARALYSIS IN THE ERA OF THE SPANISH SUCCESSION Introduction 11. Funding Shortfalls and Financial Pressures, 1701-1707 12. The Collapse of French Naval Power, 1707-1709 Conclusion Appendices Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisReassesses the role of the British Naval Staff during the First World War, challenging many widely-held views, and casting much new light on controversial issues and individuals. Winner of the Society for Nautical Research's prestigious Anderson Medal, 2010. Nicholas Black examines the role of the Naval Staff of the Admiralty in the 1914-18 war, reassessing both the calibre of the Staff and the function and structure of the Staff. He challenges historians such as Arthur Marder and naval figures such as Captains Herbert Richmond and Kenneth Dewar who were influential in creating the largely bad press that the Staff has receivedsubsequently, showing that their influence has, at times, been both unhealthy and misinformed. The way in which the Staff developed during the war from a small, overstretched and often manipulated body, to a much more highly specialised and successful one is also examined, reassessing the roles of key individuals such as Jellicoe and Geddes, and suggesting that the structure of the Staff has been misunderstood and that it was a rather more sophisticated body than historians have traditionally appreciated. Black also looks at how the Staff performed in various major naval issues of the war: the role of the Grand Fleet, the war against the U-boat, the Dardanelles Operation and the implementation of the economic blockade against Germany. Overall, the book complements, and at times challenges, both operational histories of the war and biographies of the leading individuals involved. NICHOLAS BLACK is Head of History at Dulwich College.Trade ReviewTruly an agenda-setting work. It is also valuable for its extensive references to primary sources. * WARSHIP *Not only revises our understanding of the Naval Staff's qualifications and competence: it provides an important reassessment of many aspects of the Admiralty's conduct of the naval war, one that challenges conventional wisdom on several counts. [...] This is a fine piece of scholarship, recommended especially to those who focus on operational history to the exclusion of policy, planning, implementation, and logistics. * JOURNAL OF BRITISH STUDIES *A superb study that should grace the bookshelf of any serious scholar of the Royal Navy of the period. [...] Essential to any scholar working in the field. * THE NORTHERN MARINER *Black has blown aside some of the fog of history and shed light on the accomplishments of a group of mostly overlooked and underestimated men. * NAUTICAL RESEARCH JOURNAL *Black's excellent book demonstrates that the staff was larger, more professional and more important. Ultimately an effective, if not always efficient, staff was essential to the successful prosecution of total war in the twentieth century. * ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW *[An] elegantly written and well-researched volume. [...] This is an illuminating study that will have a major impact on histories of the First World War. * HISTORY *A first-class study of a major subject, whose findings challenge all standard accounts. [...] Black's monograph is the product of a rare combination of diligent and original research in primary sources, a comprehensive and accurate reading of the existing scholarly literature on his subject, a sophisticated historical sensibility, and a writer's gift for clear and engaging exposition. It replaces the existing interpretation of the history of Britain's naval staff during the First World War with one that is much more complete and satisfying. [It] is an exemplar of the power of serious scholarly inquiry. * INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MARITIME HISTORY *For Naval enthusiasts it's essential stuff [which] rescues from oblivion a fine and unjustly traduced body of men. * THE MAIL ON SUNDAY *Table of ContentsForeword Preface Introduction The Admiralty War Staff, 1912-1918: An Analysis of the Personnel The Establishment of the War Staff and its Work before the Outbreak of War in August 1914 The Churchill-Battenberg Regime, August - October 1914 The Churchill-Fisher Regime, October 1914 - May 1915 The Balfour-Jackson Regime, May 1915 - November 1916 The Jellicoe Era, November 1916 - December 1917 The Geddes-Wemyss Regime, December 1917 - November 1918 Conclusion Appendix A: Senior Admiralty and Staff Officials Appendix B: The Admiralty Telephone Directories, 1914 - 1918 Appendix C: Administrative Development of the Admiralty War Staff, 1912 - 1918 Bibliography

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Book SynopsisDetails Thomas Trotter's important contributions, as a naval surgeon and after, to the eradication of scurvy and typhus, to the study of addiction, and to improved health and safety in mines. Thomas Trotter, after studying medicine at Edinburgh, began his naval career as a surgeon's mate in 1779 and saw continuous service up to the peace of 1802, rising as a result of great abilities and the right patronage to become Physician to the Channel Fleet, and being present at the great battles of Dogger Bank in 1781 and the Glorious First of June in 1794. As Physician to the Channel Fleet, he was a major player in the conquest of scurvy and the control of typhus and smallpox in the navy. After the peace he settled in Newcastle where he produced pioneering work on alcoholism and neurosis, as a result of which he is regarded as one of the founders of the field of addiction studies. This book provides an intimate account of naval life in the great age of sail from the perspective of a surgeon, describing the impact of Enlightenment ideas and new medical techniques, and showing how improved health was a crucial factor in making possible the British fleet's great victories in this period. BRIAN VALE is a maritime historian, whose books include Independence or Death: British sailors and Brazilian Independence (Tauris 1996), A Frigate of King George, Life and Duty on a British Man-of-War (Tauris 2001) and The Audacious Admiral Cochrane (Conway 2004). GRIFFITH EDWARDS, Emeritus Professor at King's College, London, is one of the country's leading experts on addiction. His publications include Alchohol: the Ambiguous Molecule (Penguin 2000) and Matters of Substance (Penguin 2005).Trade ReviewAs expected from Boydell, the book is well-produced and illustrated. * ANNUAL BULLETIN OF HISTORICAL LITERATURE *The authors' evident enthusiasms and meticulous scholarship will surely encourage maritime historians, particularly those interested in naval medicine, to search out this book. * INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MARITIME HISTORY *A well-written and well-paced book that is essential reading for any historian of Nelson's Navy. * MEDICAL HISTORY *A commendable history. * JOURNAL OF THE HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND ALLIED SCIENCES *[The authors] must be commended for their excellent contribution to furthering our understanding of this period. Their well-written and superbly researched biography will be welcomed by scholars and students of naval history, medical history, slavery and the Atlantic World. * THE NORTHERN MARINER *A core addition to any history collection with a focus on medicine or military. * THE MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW *Table of ContentsThe Edinburgh Experience Medicine at Sea HMS Berwick Surgeon of a Slaver Northumbrian Interlude Recalled to the Colours The Royal Hospital, Haslar Physician to the Channel Fleet The Conquest of Scurvy Shore-based in Plymouth Honours and Half Pay Married Life and Civilian Practice An Essay on Drunkenness A War of Pamphlets A View of the Nervous Temperament Physician as Poet and Playwright Thomas Trotter and the Great Theatre of Life

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Book SynopsisThe story of the war at sea in the reign of Edward III, including the important sea battles, and an analysis of the development of the English navy in the period. This book describes naval warfare during the opening phase of the Hundred Years War, a vital period in the development of the early Royal Navy, in which Edward III's government struggled to harness English naval power in a dramatic battle for supremacy with their French and Spanish adversaries. It shows how the escalating demands of Edward's astonishing military ambitions led to an intense period of evolution in the English navy and the growth of a cultureof naval specialism and professionalism. It addresses how this in turn affected the livelihoods of England's mariners and coastal communities. The book covers in detail the most important sea battles of Edward III's reign -Sluys, Winchelsea and La Rochelle - as well as raids and naval blockades. It highlights the systems by which ships were brought into service and mariners recruited, and explores how these were resisted by mariners and coastal communities. It also tells the story of the range of personalities, heroes and villains who influenced the development of the navy in the reign of Edward III. GRAHAM CUSHWAY holds a PhD in Maritime History from the University of Exeter.Trade ReviewThere is much interesting and valuable information here. * ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW *Provides valuable information, based on intensive archival research in government records, regarding the organization and administration of Edward III's navy. The study is greatly aided by the author putting naval activities in context with political, strategic, and military affairs [and] adds much to our knowledge of the Hundred Years War. * INTERNATIONAL HISTORY *A detailed survey. [...] It will be of interest to general readers and of use to those more involved in the minutiae of maritime history for whom it offers a useful catalogue of the source material. * INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MARITIME HISTORY *Explores an important topic. Recommended. * CHOICE *A clear, authoritative and scholarly narrative. * MEDIEVAL WARFARE *A very useful and highly detailed account of maritime activity, ranging from logistical support, and victualling, to participation in war fleets. [...] it is a volume which will be very useful to those working in this period. * INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY *Table of ContentsIntroduction Edward II and Mortimer's invasion (1307-27) The King's Navy Mortimer, the Admirals and Scotland (1327-31) Edward III, the Navy and the Disinherited (1331-35) The King's ships: Logistics and Structure England, France, Scotland and the War at Sea (1336) Walter Manny, Cadzand and Antwerp (1337-39) Merchant Shipping in English Fleets Tactics, Strategy and the Battle of Sluys (1340) The Organisation of Impressed Fleets Brittany and the War at Sea (1340-42) The Crecy Campaign and Calais (1342-47) Mastery of The Channel (1347-50) The Battle of Winchelsea (1350) Barges and Truces (1353-57) Edward III and Resistance to the Navy The Fleet of 1359 and the Winchelsea Raid (1357-60) Years of Peace, Years of Decay (1360-69) The Decline of the Fleet in the Final Years of Edward III Failure and Fiasco: Knolles and La Rochelle (1369-73) Edward III's Final Years (1373-77)

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Book SynopsisA reassessment of the naval mutinies of 1797, arguing that the mutinies were more industrial dispute than expression of French revolution inspired political radicalism. The naval mutinies of 1797 were unprecedented in scale and impressive in their level of organisation. Under threat of French invasion, crews in the Royal Navy's home fleet, after making clear demands, refused to sail until their demands were met. Subsequent mutinies affected the crews of more than one hundred ships in at least five home anchorages, replicated in the Mediterranean, Atlantic and Indian Ocean. Channel Fleet seamen pursued their grievances of pay and conditions by traditional petitions to their commanding officer, Admiral Richard Howe, but his flawed comprehension and communications were further exacerbated by the Admiralty. The Spithead mutiny became the seamen'slast resort. Ironically Howe acknowledged the justice of their position and was instrumental in resolving the Spithead mutiny, but this did not prevent occurrences at the Nore and elsewhere. The most extensive approach sinceConrad Gill's seminal and eponymous volume of 1913, The Naval Mutinies of 1797 focuses on new research, re-evaluating the causes, events, interpretations, discipline, relationships between officers and men, political inputs and affiliations and crucially, the rôle of the Irish and quota men. It poses new answers to old questions and suggests a new synthesis - self-determination - the seamen on their own terms. ANN VERONICA COATS is senior lecturer in the the School of Civil Engineering and Surveying at the University of Portsmouth and is Secretary of the Naval Dockyards Society. PHILIP MACDOUGALL is a writer and historian, author of seven books, with a doctorateon naval history from the University of Kent at Canterbury.Trade ReviewIn addition to its insightful and innovative research, this is a beautifully designed and illustrated volume. * INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MARITIME HISTORY *This volume delves into all aspects of the mutinies, from a variety of perspectives, and answers a host of questions while proposing new avenues for research or where further study is needed. The Naval Mutinies of 1797 is recommended for any student of the Royal Navy and for libraries with a particular interest in naval history. * PIRATES & PRIVATEERS *A handsome volume which advances our knowledge of the subject further and faster than it has moved in the whole of the past century. [...] In short, this important collection establishes the central importance of the 1797 naval mutinies and establishes the basic facts about them. -- N. A. M. Rodger * ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW *No-one interested in the navy in this 'classical' period should overlook this fascinating and well-produced book. * NAVY NEWS *Table of ContentsIntroduction, Analysis and Interpretation Spithead Mutiny: Introduction - Ann Coats and Philip MacDougall The Delegates: A Radical Tradition - Ann Coats What really happened aboard HMS London? - David W. London The Spirit of Kempenfeldt - David W. London Voices from the Lower Deck: Petitions on the Conduct of Naval Officers during the Great Mutinies - Kathrin Orth Crew Management and Mutiny: The Case of Minerve, 1796-1802 - Roger Morriss The 1797 Mutinies in the Channel Fleet: A Foreign-Inspired Revolutionary Movement? - Ann Coats The Nore Mutiny: Introduction - Philip MacDougall The East Coast Mutinies: May-June 1797 - Philip MacDougall Reporting the Mutinies in the Provincial Press - Philip MacDougall A Floating Republic? Conspiracy Theory and the Nore Mutiny of 1797 - Christopher Doorne Lower Deck Life in the Revolutionary Wars - Brian Lavery 'Launched into eternity': Admiralty Retribution or the Restoration of Discipline? - Ann Coats Discipline, Desertion and Death: HMS Trent 1796-1803 - Nick Slope, Commissioning Editor 'We went out with Admiral Duncan, we came back without him': Mutiny and the North Sea Squadron - Philip MacDougall The Influence of 1797 upon the Nereide Mutiny of 1809 - Jonathan Neale

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Book SynopsisConsiders naval leadership and management very widely, moving beyond a focus on leading admirals. Many works on naval history ascribe success to the special qualities of individual leaders, Nelson being the prime example. This book in contrast moves away from focusing on Nelson and other leading individuals to explore more fully how naval leadership worked in the context of a large, complex, globally-capable institution. It puts forward important original scholarship around four main themes: the place of the hero in naval leadership; organisational friction in matters of command; the role of management capability in the exercise of naval power; and the evolution of management and technical training in the Royal Navy. Besides providing much new, interesting material for naval and maritime historians, the book also offers important insights for management and leadership specialists more generally. HELEN DOE is a Fellow of the Centre for Maritime Historical Studies, University of Exeter and author of Enterprising Women and Shipping (Boydell, 2009). RICHARD HARDING is Professor of Organisational History at the University of Westminster and author of The Emergence of Britain's Global Naval Supremacy (Boydell, 2010), Amphibious Warfare in the Eighteenth Century (Royal Historical Society, 1991) and six other books. Contributors: GARETH COLE, MIKE FARQUHARSON-ROBERTS, MARY JONES, ROGER KNIGHT, ROGER MORRISS, ELINOR ROMANS, DAVID J. STARKEY, PETER WARD, OLIVER WALTON, BRITT ZERBE.Trade ReviewAn important collection of essays. * HISTORY *An excellent overview of the points of entry scholars may take in order to develop a wider view of the evolution of leadership and management in the Royal Navy in the 300 years leading up to World War II. * NAUTICAL RESEARCH JOURNAL *[An] excellent publication. * WARSHIPS *These essays are readable and provide a wealth of information for anyone interested in leadership and management studies, whether the reader's focus be the Royal Navy or a different path entirely. * PIRATES AND PRIVATEERS *Table of ContentsMichael Duffy: An Appreciation - Roger Knight Introduction - Richard Harding Admiral Rainier's Management Challenges, 1794-1805 - Neglect or Treason: Leadership Failure in the Mid-Eighteenth Century Royal Navy - Richard Harding Who has Command? The Royal Artillerymen aboard Royal Navy warships in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars - Gareth Cole 'The Marine Officer is a Raw Lad and therefore Troublesome': Royal Naval Officers and the Officers of the Marines, 1755-1797 - High Exertions and Difficult Cases: The Work of the Transport Agent at Portsmouth and Southampton, 1795-1797 - Roger Morriss Forgotten or Ignored, the Officers at Invergordon: 'We are doing this for you as well you know' - Mike Farquharson-Roberts 'To Excite the Whole Company to Courage and Bravery': The Incentivisation of British Privateering Crews, 1702-1815 - David J. Starkey New Kinds of Discipline: The Royal Navy in the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century - Oliver Walton Towards a Hierarchy of Management: The Victorian and Edwardian Navy, 1860-1918 - Mary Jones Leadership Training for Midshipmen, c.1919-1939 - Elinor Romans

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Book SynopsisShows how the system of supply was perfected during the later part of the Napoleonic Wars, enabling fleets to stay at sea on a permanent basis. After the Battle of Trafalgar, the navy continued to be the major arm of British strategy. Decades of practice and refinement had rendered it adept at executing operations - fighting battles, blockading and convoying - across theglobe. And yet, as late as 1807, fleets were forced from their stations due to an ineffective provisioning system. The Transformation of British Naval Strategy shows how sweeping administrative reforms enacted between 1808and 1812 established a highly-effective logistical system, changing an ineffective supply system into one which successfully enabled a fleet to remain on station for as long as was required. James Davey examines the logistical support provided for fleets sent to Northern Europe during the Napoleonic War and shows how this new supply system successfully transformed naval operations, enabling the navy to pursue crucial objectives of national importance, protect essential exports and imports and attack the economies of the Napoleonic Empire. The Transformation of British Naval Strategy is a detailed study of national policy, administrative and political reform and strategic viability. It delves into the nature of the British state, its relationship with the private sector and its ability to reform itself in a time of war. Bureaucratic restructuring represented the last stage in a century-long process of logistical improvement. As a result of the reforms, the navy was able to conduct operations beyond the realms of possibility even twenty years earlier and saw the reach of its power transformed. Military and Napoleonic historians will find this book invaluable. JAMES DAVEY is Research Curator at the National Maritime Museum and Visiting Lecturer at the University of Greenwich, where he teaches British naval history.Trade Review[A] fascinating book. * AUSMARINE *Military and naval historians will find this book very useful. * NAUTICAL RESEARCH JOURNAL *A valuable contribution to our understanding of British naval power in the Napoleonic period - what it was used for and how it was supported. * HISTORY OF WAR.ORG *This is an important contribution to the history of the Napoleonic War [and] is highly recommended. * INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MARITIME HISTORY *Table of ContentsIntroduction The Forgotten Theatre: Britain, Northern Europe and the Baltic Sea 'To Keep a Fleet above a Fortnight': The Evolution of Naval Logistics during the Eighteenth Century The Challenge of the Black Sea The Administration of Power Projection The First Year in the Baltic: 1808 The Escalation of Seapower: 1809 The Navy, Reform and the British State Logistics and Seapower: 1810-1812 Conclusion Appendix 1: Time taken to secure transport tonnage to the Baltic, 1808-1812 Appendix 2: Time taken to secure tonnage to the Mediterranean, 1800-1802 Appendix 3: Time taken to load victualling shipments, 1808-1810 Appendix 4: Time taken to deliver provisions to the Baltic, 1808-1809 Appendix 5: Efficiency of victualling deliveries: Bread Appendix 6: Efficiency of victualling deliveries: Spirits

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Book SynopsisPresents rich detail on captains' duties and everyday lives. We have always known who were the captains of the Seven Years' War, in the sense of having lists of their names. A few of them, who later became famous, we knew personally at least a little, but until now most of them have neverbeen more than names. The genius of this book is to bring them to life as individuals; to show their hopes and fears, their faults and virtues, and to fill in the details of their working lives. Far from the grand narrative of battles and campaigns, this book illuminates the everyday world and everyday thoughts of a generation of 18th-century naval officers.' N.A.M. RODGER, All Souls College, Oxford This book provides a detailed insight into the operations of the British Navy during the Seven Years' War by examining the experiences of the cohort of men promoted to the rank of captain in 1757. Byrne McLeod outlines their early careers, discusses how they were selected for promotion and examines the opportunities for making reputations and fortunes through action first against the French and then also the Spanish. She also demonstrates the iron control wielded by the Admiralty over its captains and shows that, although connections and interest assisted greatly with promotion, allegations of 'corruption' were misplaced. The navy in this period was highly effective: an extremely complex and efficient bureaucracy where meritwas most definitely rewarded. Based on extensive original research, this book explores the everyday minutiae of the captains' duties and responsibilities. The captains were well aware that every detail of their commands contributed to their effectiveness as fighting machines. From never-ending convoy protection to large-scale, world-wide amphibious operations, these men served in what has rightly been called the first global war. Maritime and eighteenth-century historians will find this book particularly rewarding. A.B. McLeod obtained her doctorate in naval history from the University of Exeter following careers as a teacher and in the City.Trade ReviewA very useful addition to the growing number of social studies on the Royal Navy. * MARINER'S MIRROR *This important and closely argued study exploits rich archival resources to render these captains as individuals, the better to comprehend the myriad and variant types of Royal Navy post-captain that existed at the apogee of Georgian glory. * AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW *Provides us with a new understanding of the relationship between the Admiralty and its officers.[It is] an enjoyable book that offers new knowledge of and insight into the eighteenth century Royal Navy. * FORUM NAVALE *A marvellous book, alive with appropriate detail, rich in evidence. * CANADIAN JOURNAL OF HISTORY *This important and closely argued study exploits rich archival resources to render these captains as individuals, the better to comprehend the myriad and variant types of Royal Navy post-captain that existed at the apogee of Georgian glory. * JOURNAL OF AMERICAN HISTORY *A well-written and comprehensive account of the mechanics of running and fighting a warship in the mid-eighteenth century. It would serve as an excellent primer for the subject, and every new naval history student would benefit from adding it to their reading list. * INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MARITIME HISTORY *Table of ContentsIntroduction 'Interest' and ability: the route to post captain The tools of the trade: a captain's duties regarding his ship's fabric and equipment, and her influence on his career 'The people': manning the navy during the war Expertise and courage: opportunities for individuals Management: the Admiralty and its captains Success or failure: the parameters Conclusion Appendix I: The cohort with essential dates and summary of correspondence Appendix II: Summary of careers of cohort Bibliography

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Book SynopsisAn analysis of how Britain developed a superb supply system for the navy, with beneficial consequences both for victory in war and for Britain's economic development. A very important analysis of British naval victualling, with wide implications for economic as well as naval history. N.A.M. RODGER, All Souls College, Oxford This book, by a leading French maritime historian, discusses how Britain's success in the Seven Years War (1756-63) was made possible by the creation of a superb victualling system for the British navy. It shows how this system had been developed over the preceding centuries, how it balanced carefully the advantages of state control with the flexibility of commercial contracting, and how the system was designed to mesh with and support British strategic ambitions. It provides rich detail on how the system worked,how it was administered, how key products were priced, bought, stored and transported, and how it compared, very favourably, to equivalent systems in France and elsewhere. The book shows how the increasing efficiency of theVictualling Board enabled the navy to take advantage of agricultural, commercial and financial advances in the British economy to supply its front line fighting forces over ever longer distances and ever longer periods. The Victualling Board was one of a number of interfaces between the demands of the State and the supply facilities of the economy, to their mutual benefit. As a major purchaser through competitive tender, the Board made a positive contribution to the entrepreneurial spirit of British society. The book goes beyond maritime history by discussing how naval supply provided a huge stimulus for British finance, agriculture, trade and manufacturing, and argues that all this together was one of the principal causes of Britain's later Industrial Revolution. CHRISTIAN BUCHET is Professor of Modern History and Director of the Centre d'Etudes de la Mer at the Institut Catholique de Paris. Besides comparative studies of the British and French navies 1688-1783, he has written extensively on maritime environmental issues and is Secretary General of the National Council of the French Archipelago.Trade ReviewImpressively grounded on extensive empirical research and provides a thorough explanation of English naval victualing during the first half of the eighteenth century. * HISTORY *A welcome addition to anyone's maritime history library. * NAUTICAL RESEARCH JOURNAL *Buchet's excellent and thoroughly empirical case study demonstrates how the Royal Navy came to spend a very significant percentage of the state's budget, actively anticipating the capitalist system, and 'was surely one of the major forces behind British economic development'. * FORUM NAVALE *Fascinating reading for anyone interested in the impact of the Royal Navy above and beyond the defence of the realm. -- JULIAN STOCKWIN, novelist and bloggerAn essential part of naval administrative historiography. . To have Buchet's work available in English will be a great boon to scholars. * H-WAR, September 2013 *Argues convincingly that the wartime requirements of the government compelled lasting changes in the British economy. * CHOICE *Table of ContentsForeword Introduction From an Empirically-Based Organisation to a Centrally Planned System: The Strengths and Weaknesses of the Victualling Board The Victualling Board and the Seven Years War Food Rations and their Evolution The Victualling Board's Principal Bases An Example of a Victualling Yard under the Jurisdiction of the Victualling Board: Plymouth, Satellite of British Logistical Power Victualling in the Secondary Home Ports and in the Overseas Stations An Example of Stations Managed by a Private Contractor in the Service of the Crown: The Caribbean Staging Posts Meat Cereals and Pulses The Remaining Sectors: Beverages, Butter and Cheese, Salt, Olive Oil and Raisins Conclusion Appendix I: Ordinary Charge of the Victualling Board in 1747 Appendix II: Commissioners of the Victualling Board, 1755-1763 Appendix III: The Structure of British Naval Administration Appendix IV: Itemised Distribution of Victualling Board Expenses Appendix V: List of Victuals on the Southsea Castle Leaving for the East Indies at the end of 1759 with a Crew of 130 Men Appendix VI: Process to be used in the Curing of Meat Appendix VII: Wage Totals, according to Activity, Paid to Victualling Personnel in the London Yard in the First Quarter of 1761 Appendix VIII: Supervisory Staff of the Victualling Board 1761 Sources and Bibliography

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Book SynopsisDiscusses the lessons which Britain learned in the war of 1739-48 which, when applied in later wars, brought about Britain's global naval supremacy. The British involvement in the war of 1739-1748 has been generally neglected. Standing between the great victories of Marlborough in the War of Spanish Succession [1701-1713] and the even greater victories of the Seven Years War[1756-1763], it has been dismissed as inconclusive and incompetently managed. For the first time this book brings together the political and operational conduct of the war to explore its contribution to a critical development in British history during the eighteenth century - the emergence of Britain as the paramount global naval power. The war posed a unique set of problems for British politicians, statesmen and servicemen. They had to overcome domestic and diplomatic crises, culminating in the rebellion of 1745 and the threat of French invasion. Yet, far from being incompetent, these people handled the crises and learned a great deal about the conduct of global warfare. Thechanges they made and decisions they took prepared Britain for the decisive Anglo-French clash of arms in the Seven Years War. In this misunderstood war lie some of the key factors that made Britain the greatest naval power for the next one hundred and fifty years. RICHARD HARDING is Professor of Organisational History at the University of Westminster. He is the author of numerous articles and books on naval history and editor, with Helen Doe,of Naval Leadership and Management, 1650-1950 (Boydell, 2012).Trade ReviewAn exciting and fascinating book. * AUSMARINE *Harding writes in his clear, easy style and makes a compelling case that some key lessons were learned from this forgotten war. * THE NAVY REVIEW *This major contribution to the rewriting of eighteenth-century British history bringing together the political and the operation conduct of the war is a must read for anyone interested in the history of the Royal Navy in the Age of Sail. * NORTHERN MARINER *A valuable contribution to the study of the 18th-century Royal Navy. Recommended. * CHOICE *

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Book SynopsisTraces the origins and early development of the Royal Marines, outlining their organisational structures, their recruitment and social background, the activities in which they were engaged, and how their distinctive identity was forged. The Royal Marines come from a long and proud tradition dating back to 1664. However, the first incarnation of the service, the Marine Regiments, was plagued by structural and operational difficulties. The formation of the BritishMarine Corps at the onset of the Seven Years War in 1755 was a defining moment, for this was the first time the government gave operational priority to the Navy. Following many trials and tribulations, in 1802 the British Marine Corps were made the Royal Marines, giving them official sanction and permanency that has continued to the present day. This book explores the long period between the Corps of Marines' inception and its Royal codification in 1802. Based on extensive original research, it charts the development of the marines' organisational structures and the Corps' rapid expansion and change. It examines the operations and tasks the marines were required to undertake, showing how special operational requirements and organisational structures combined to give rise to the Royal Marines' distinctive identity, quite separate from exclusively land-based or exclusively maritime-based forces. Amongst a great deal of fascinating detail, the book provides interesting information on how marines were recruited, from what social backgrounds they came, how they were trained, how they were paid, and how their key duties includedguarding against mutiny and desertion, and being available as an imperial "rapid reaction force". The book includes extensive material on the many, very varied actions in which the marines were involved, worldwide, including the famous, successful action against American rebels at Boston's Bunker Hill in 1775. BRITT ZERBE completed his doctorate in maritime history at the University of Exeter.Trade ReviewThis book is highly recommended. For those who study warfare in the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries, it should be mandatory reading. It is even more valuable for those who are interested in or study the development of military institutions, because it provides an excellent example of such a study, in addition to the analysis about the Royal Marines. * HISTORY *[T]his book should be the standard reference on the foundation, rise and existence of the Royal Marines. * NORTHERN MARINER *Very impressive. The detail on manpower, roles and responsibilities and administration is significant. * KEDGE ANCHOR *Offers a much-needed study into one of the most ignored and misunderstood of British eighteenth-century military institutions. ... For scholars of eighteenth-century military institutions, society and identity, this will be an important contribution to the existing literature. * INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MARITIME HISTORY *An excellent book...highly recommended. * THE NELSON DESPATCH *Informed and informative, [it] is a seminal work of impressive scholarship. * MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW, August 2013 *A valuable contribution to the history of the Royal Marines, and should be of interest to anyone interested in the history of the Marines or of British naval power. * WWW.HISTORYOFWAR.ORG *Table of ContentsIntroduction What Came Before Administration Marine Corps Manpower Policing Functions and Mutiny Operational Doctrine An Imperial Rapid Reaction Force Conclusion Appendices

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Book SynopsisShows how Rainier skillfully coped with the immense difficulties of maintaining British naval power in a huge area fraught with difficult circumstances. When war broke out with France in 1793, there immediately arose the threat of a renewed French challenge to British supremacy in India. This security problem was compounded in 1795 when the French overran the Netherlands and the extremely valuable Dutch trade routes and Dutch colonies, including the Cape of Good Hope and what is now Indonesia, fell under French control. The task of securing British interests in the East was a formidable one: the distanceswere huge, communication with London could take years, there were problems marshalling resources, and fine diplomatic skills were needed to keep independent rulers on the British side and to ensure full co-operation from the EastIndia Company. The person charged with overseeing this formidable task was Admiral Peter Rainier (1741-1808), commander of the Royal Navy in the Indian Ocean and the East from 1794 to 1805. This book discusses the enormous difficulties Rainier faced. It outlines his career, explaining how he carried out his role with exceptional skill; how he succeeded in securing British interests in the East - whilst avoiding the need to fight a major battle; how he enhanced Britain's commanding position at sea; and how, additionally, in co-operation with the Governor-General, Richard Wellesley, he further advanced Britain's position in India itself. Peter Ward completed a PhD in naval history at the University of Exeter after a career in international personnel management, working for Californian high technology companies in the United States, Hong Kong and Europe.Trade ReviewRescues Rainier from obscurity and makes an important contribution to our understanding of this period. * HISTORY *Table of ContentsIntroduction The Early Years Rainier and The Royal Navy Rainier, the East India Company, and the King's Civil Servants in India Communication and Intelligence - its Sources and Uses The Geography and Protection of Maritime Trade The Defence and Expansion of Britain's Eastern Empire Maintaining the Squadron at Sea Conclusion: 'Removing the Cloud' Epilogue Appendices Bibliography

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Book SynopsisShows how the rise of evangelical religion in the navy helped create a new kind of sailor, technologically trained and steeped in a higher set of values. This book examines how, as the nineteenth century progressed, religious piety, especially evangelical piety, was seen in the British navy less as eccentric and marginal and more as an essential ingredient of the character looked for in professional seamen. The book traces the complex interplay between formal religious observance, such as Sunday worship, and pockets of zealous piety, showing how evangelicalism gradually earned less grudging regard, until inthe 1860s and 1870s it became a dominant source of values and a force for moral reform. Religion in the British Navy explains this shift, outlining how Arctic expeditions showed the need for dependability and character, how Health Returns revealed the full extent of sexual licence and demonstrated the urgency of moral reform, and how manning difficulties in the Russian War of 1854-1856 showed that a modern fleet required a new type of sailor, technologically trained and steeped in a higher set of values. The book also discusses how the navy, with its newly awakened religious sensibilities, played a major role in the expansion of Protestant missions globally, in exploration,convict transportation, the expansion of imperial frontiers, and worldwide maritime policing operations. Fervent piety had an effect in all these areas - religion had helped develop a new kind of manliness where piety as well asdaring had a place. RICHARD BLAKE is the author of Evangelicals in the Royal Navy, 1775-1815 (Boydell 2008).Trade Review[A] very satisfying book - engaged and empathetic, thoroughly researched and constructed, and well-written and argued. * VICTORIAN STUDIES *Blake is greatly to be praised for bringing light to a topic that has received insufficient attention. [His] book is very valuable not only for those interested in religious and naval history, but also to those concerned with intellectual history and nineteenth-century reform. -- Jeremy Black * ARCHIVES *Based on a wide reading of sources and carefully argued, this book provides the religious dimension to naval transformation that occurred during the age of reform. * MARINER'S MIRROR *Deserves to be read not just by historians of religion or of the navy but by anyone interested in masculinity, missions, empire or global exchange. * ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW *Richard Blake provides an exceptionally well-written and well-researched volume on religion in the Royal Navy during much of the nineteenth century. . . . The work is a welcome addition to the history and readers will not be disappointed in this highly-recommended book. * NORTHERN MARINER *A useful work that conclusively demonstrates that further study of the role of religion in the institutional history of navies can yield new and valuable knowledge. * INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MARITIME HISTORY *Table of ContentsPreface Introduction: The Barham Bequest The First Decades of Peace The Persistence of Piety 1815-c.1845 Discipline, Rank and Command Health and Morals The Ordained Ministry and Established Church A Rising Tide of Fervent Piety Missionary Expansion Exploration and Survey Responsible Power Conclusion Glossary Bibliography

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Book SynopsisLetters of seamen below the rank of commissioned officer which tell us a great deal about shipboard life and about seamen's attitudes. Letters of seamen below the rank of commissioned officer are rare, both in original form and in print. This edited collection of 255 letters, written by seamen in the British Navy and their correspondents between 1793 and 1815, gives voice to a group of men whose lives and thoughts are otherwise mostly unknown. The letters are extremely valuable for the insights which they give into aspects of life below decks and the subjects close to the writers' hearts:money matters, ties with home and homesickness. They also provide eye-witness accounts of events during a tumultuous and important period of British and European history. One group of letters, included as a separate section, comprises the letters of seamen and their family and friends which were intercepted by the authorities during the mutinies of 1797. These letters shed a great deal of light on the extraordinary events of that year and of seamen's attitudes to the mutinies. The editors' introductory material, besides highlighting what the letters tell us about seamen's lives and attitudes, also discusses the extent of literacy amongst seamen, setting this into its wider contemporary popular context. The letters are supported by a substantial editorial apparatus and two detailed appendices containing biographies of seamen and information on select ships which took part in the mutinies of 1797. Helen Watt, a professional archivist and researcher, is currently Project Archivist with the Borthwick Institute for Archives, University of York, and has also worked on other research projects at The National Archives, Kew, theNational Library of Wales and the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies, Aberystwyth. Anne Hawkins, a retired civil servant, was Secretary of the Ships' Names and Badges Committee in the early 1990s and has family links with the Navy and Admiralty.Trade ReviewAn incredibly valuable addition to the existing primary literature on the subject. * ARCHIVES *Simultaneously and military and social history. Its principal value lies in its contribution to our knowledge of the lives of seamen below the rank of commissioned officer, their interests and concerns. * MARINER'S MIRROR *A veritable goldmine to be excavated....It is one of the most valuable publications to illuminate the lower deck life in Nelson's navy that has appeared in recent years....It cannot be highly recommended enough. * THE NELSON DESPATCH *[A] serious addition to the current literature on the lower deck. * INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MARITIME HISTORY *The triumph of this work is in the care taken to treat each seaman as a figure worthy of further study and research. This volume not only transcribes the letters of seamen but also provides rich biographical information cultivated through careful and detailed research in multiple archives and online databases. This brings added depth to the letters, complementing the useful historical and historiographical context of the introduction to each section. * H-NET REVIEWS *This collection of primary source documents is a welcome contribution to our historical understanding of the lives of British seamen during the Napoleonic Wars. * THE NORTHERN MARINER *An invaluable addition to the resources available for all those interested in the human elements of maritime history. It is undoubtedly a monumental pillar of scholarship but behind the words laid out, emerges picture after picture of the warmth, yearnings and hopes of the often unlettered men who laboured by mess-deck glims to reach out to their loved ones in the midst of the titanic struggle of the war at sea. * JULIAN STOCKWIN *Table of ContentsIntroduction 'Thus Dear Father passes the life of a Tar', Letters of Seamen, 1793-1815, Letters A1-194 'A great disturbance in the fleet', Letters, mostly intercepted, to and from Seamen during the Mutinies in the Royal Navy, 1797, Letters B1-61 Conclusion Appendix I: Biographies Appendix II: Select ships involved in the mutinies in the Royal Navy in 1797 Bibliography

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Book SynopsisA comprehensive overview of the activities of the British navy in the Baltic Sea from the earliest times until the twentieth century. This book presents a comprehensive overview of the activities of the British navy in the Baltic Sea from the earliest times until the twentieth century. It traces developments from Anglo-Saxon times, through the medieval period when there were frequent disputes between English kings and the Hanseatic League, the seventeenth-century wars with the Dutch, and Britain's involvement in the Northern Wars in the early years of the eighteenth century. It considersin detail the major period of British involvement in the Baltic during the Napoleonic Wars, when the British navy fought the Danes, Napoleon's allies, and was highly effective in ensuring Sweden's neutrality and Russia's change of allegiance. It goes on to discuss British naval actions in the Baltic during the Crimean War and in the First World War and its aftermath. Throughout, the book relates naval actions to patterns of trade, to wider internationalpolitics, and to geographical factors such as winter sea ice and the shallow nature of the Baltic Sea. John D. Grainger is the author of numerous books for a variety of publishers, including five previously published books for Boydell and Brewer, including Dictionary of British Naval Battles and The First Pacific War: Britain and Russia, 1854-56.Trade Review[A]n excellent introduction to the study of the Royal Navy. * NORTHERN MARINER/MARIN DU NORD *An excellent account of the Royal Navy's involvement in the Baltic that is well written, easy to read, carries the authority of an accomplished historian and gives food for thought for the strategic and tactical use of naval power. * THE NELSON DESPATCH *[N]aval historian John Grainger thoughtfully discusses the British naval history in this area in a way that joins military and diplomatic history, along with a thoughtful and nuanced view of naval and political strategy that should be of interest to astute readers of naval history with a personal or professional interest in Scandinavian history. * DE RE MILITARI *Recommended. * CHOICE *Table of ContentsPrologue: Ohthere, Wulfstan and King Knut, 800 - 1020 The Medieval Hansa Naval Stores, Cromwell and the Dutch, 1600 - 1700 The First Expedition against Copenhagen, 1700 Two Expeditions of Sir John Norris, 1715 - 1716 The Swedish War, 1717 - 1721 Armed Neutralities, 1722 - 1791 Nelson at Copenhagen, 1801 The Bombardment of Copenhagen, 1807 The First Expedition of Sir James Saumarez, 1808 The Domination of Saumarez, 1809 - 1815 The Russian War, 1854 - 1856 The Great War, 1914 - 1918 The Last Baltic Expedition, 1919 - 1921, and After Conclusion: The Navy and the Sea Bibliography

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Book SynopsisA generously illustrated survey of memorials to different kinds of seafarers, recounting the stories behind them. This book discusses memorials - stained glass windows, church, cemetery and public monuments - commemorating British seafarers, shipbuilders and victims of shipwreck from the sixteenth century to the present. Examples have been chosen mainly from Great Britain and Ireland with a few from wider afield. They include important works by major British artists as well as more modest productions by anonymous carvers. The book retells the dramatic stories behind them, illustrating significant social and cultural changes in Britain's relationship to the sea. Memorials vividly illustrate the hazards of seagoing life and the impact these had both upon the family of the deceased and the general public. The book has a cultural historical focus. Each chapter includes case studies of both high status and popular memorials, showing how iconography such as the depiction of the wrecked ship was widely transmitted. The book covers both naval and commercial aspects of seafaring and includes memorials to naval officers, merchants, explorers, fishermen, leisure sailors, victims of shipwrecks and lifesavers, with around 100 illustrations of memorials. Barbara Tomlinson was Curator of Antiquities at Royal Museums Greenwich (part of which is the National Maritime Museum) for over thirty-five years and is Hon. Secretary of the Church Monuments Society. Publishedin association with the National Maritime Museum, part of Royal Museums Greenwich.Trade ReviewThere is vast knowledge on show here, and much detailed description of the monuments themselves. * INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MARITIME HISTORY *Tomlinson's book triumphs [bringing] to the fore those lesser-known individuals by whose sacrifice our lives have been improved. * CHURCH MONUMENTS *The commemoration of the past in public sculpture seems to be continuing unabated, and this useful work will serve to draw the attention of readers to some of its most interesting and significant examples. * REFERENCE REVIEWS *This book not only fills a yawning gap in the literature, it is extremely interesting reading and highly recommended. * THE NELSON DESPATCH *Barbara Tomlinson...writes with authority and in a very readable way. I recommend this book as a good addition to anyone's library. * MAUSOLUS *Table of ContentsIntroduction Shifting loyalties: naval memorials 1628-1763 The age of heroes: naval memorials 1783-1815 Pax Britannica: naval memorials 1815-1914 Stormy weather: conflict and sacrifice in the twentieth century Commerce and philanthropy: mercantile commemoration Lost at Sea: maritime accidents Maritime explorers: Drake to Shackleton Inshore: fishermen, lifesavers and leisure Conclusion

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Book SynopsisDuring the first quarter of the 20th century, the major naval powers of the world built hundreds of Dreadnought-style battleships. Today there is only one. The battleship Texas was for a time the most powerful weapon on earth. When it was commissioned in 1914, the 14-inch guns were the largest in the world. This technological marvel of the time served with the British Grand Fleet in World War I and was the flagship of the entire U.S. Navy between the two World Wars. During the Second World War, an older Texas, past its prime, supported amphibious invasions in North Africa, Normandy, Southern France, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. The ship and her crew were preparing for the invasion of Japan when the war ended and the Texas came home. No longer needed to defend her country, the Texas was saved from the scrap yard to become our nation's first historic ship museum in 1948. Now lying peacefully in her berth at the San Jacinto State Park near Houston, the battleship Texas is still serving her country - teaching instead of fighting. The Texas is the only battleship remaining in the world today that served in World War I and the only ship remaining of any type that served in both World Wars. This is the story of the battleship Texas and the brave men who walked its decks.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book Synopsis

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisThis book, based on extensive work in Russian archives, investigates how strategy, organisational rivalry and cultural factors came to shape naval developments in the Soviet Union, up to the invasion of 1941. Focussing on the Baltic Fleet, the author shows how the perceived balance of power in northern Europe came to have a major influence on Soviet naval policy during the 1920s and 1930s. The operational environment of a narrow inland-sea like the Baltic would have required a joint approach to military planning, but the Soviet navy''s weak position among the armed services made such an approach hard to attain. The Soviet regime also struggled against the cultural heritage of the tsarist navy and the book describes how this was overcome. In a special Appendix dedicated to the purges of 1937-38, surviving party records from the Baltic Fleet Intelligence Section are used to illustrate the mechanisms of the Great Terror at local level.Table of Contents1. Preparing for War in the Baltic 2. Strategy 3. Organisational Rivalry 4. Culture 5. 'Mare Clausem' and the Prospects of War 6. The Meaning of 'Small Wars' 7. The Navy of the Military Specialists 8. The Era of Collective Security - and of Coastal Defence 9. Support for the Red Army 10. The Navy of the Red Commanders 11. Towards the Great Oceanic Navy 12. Ready for Offensive Operations? 13. The Navy of the Soviet Admirals 14. The Lessons of War and Peace 15. Appendix: The Great Terror in the Baltic Fleet

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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