Synopses & Reviews
Battle at Sea looks at every aspect of the story of warfare on, above, and under the sea, including classic naval engagements daring raids carried out on ships in harbor, and landing operations such as D-Day, where control of the sea was essential to transport land forces to new battlefronts. Special features within the book include: graphic and dramatic battle catalogs relating the stories of the men, ships, and organizations behind history’s greatest naval conflicts; spectacular 3D digital artworks following the crucial stages of key battles, step by step; profiles of naval crew — the captain, officers, gunners, quartermaster, surgeon, cooks, and boatswains — exploring their changing roles throughout history; eyewitness accounts recreatingthe experience of the opposing forces in key battles, whether preparing for conflict, in the heat of battle, or dealing with the aftermath of an engagement; photographic tours revealing the intricate details of surviving or reconstructed warships—from an Ancient Greek trireme to a nuclear-powered submarine; features on weapons and technology highlighting developments in naval warfare, from boarding equipment to sonar, cannons to missiles, and propulsion through steam to nuclear power. Battle at Sea is organized into five chapters that are arranged in chronological order. Ancient Wars covers the Egyptians, the Greeks, the Romans, and the great naval battles between warring Chinese dynasties; Medieval Battles charts the era from the fall of Rome to 1500CE; Gun, Sail, and Empire chronicles the European powers setting out on voyages of exploration and colonization; Iron Wars ends with World War II; Technology and Terrorism outlines how naval forces played a crucial role in the balance of terror during the Cold War and still have avital part to play in the uncertainties of the modern world.
Table of Contents
The age of galleys, 1200 BCE-1550 CE -- Overview -- Early naval battles and the rise of the Greeks -- The Persian Wars -- The Peloponnesian War -- Roman navel warfare -- The first Punic War -- Rome achieves mastery of the Mediterranean -- Naval warfare in Asia -- China, Japan, and Korea -- Battles for the Mediterranean -- Byzantine-Arab Wars -- The rise of the Italian Maritime Republics -- The war for Sicily -- The rise of sail -- The Vikings -- Sea battles in Northern Europe -- The Ottomans -- Christian navies against the Turks -- Gan, sail, and empire, 1550-1830 -- Overview -- Japan and Korea -- Japanese invasion of Korea -- Oceanic empires -- Spanish Wars -- After the Armada -- The rise of Dutch sea power -- Rivalry across the North Sea -- First Anglo-Dutch War -- Second Anglo-Dutch War -- Third Anglo-Dutch War -- The Sun King's Navy -- The French Wars -- Baltic conflicts -- Sweden fights for domination -- The Great Northern War -- The Russo-Swedish War -- Maintaining British Naval power -- Royal Navy battles -- Seven years war -- The American Revolutionary War -- The age of Nelson -- French Revolutionary Wars -- Napoleonic Wars -- Early 19th century battles -- The United States at War -- Wars of independence -- Later Ottoman battles -- Steam and steel, 1830-1918 -- Overview -- New Navies of Europe -- European Wars: from sail to steam -- Gunboat imperialism -- The Americas at war -- The American Civil War -- Spanish and Latin-American conflicts -- Rise of the Imperial Japanese Navy -- Japanese naval might -- The Russo-Japanese War -- World War I -- Warship battles, 1914-18 -- The U-Boat War, 1914-18 -- Carriers, submarines and missiles, 1918-present -- Overview -- Europe between the wars -- World War II: The West -- Warship battles 1939-45 -- The U-boat war 1939-45 -- Evacuations and landings -- War in the Mediterranean -- World War II: The Pacific -- The Japanese offensive -- The battle for Guadalcanal -- Drive to victory -- Postwar conflicts -- Cold war conflicts -- The Vietnam War -- The Falklands War -- Regional conflicts -- Middle East and Terrorism.