Synopses & Reviews
Charts the history of Europe's naval forces from the transition to steam to recent actions in the Persian Gulf
- Provides a combination of technical and strategic naval history
- Covers many of the key conflicts in WWI, WW2, the Franco-Prussian War, and the Crimean War
- Offers in depth coverage of naval warfare and breakthroughs in tactics.
Europe ruled the waves for most of the modern era and, even when its navies were eclipsed in size by the US force, they continued to dominate world wars. How did they compare? Whose was the biggest and the best? How did the British Royal Navy square up to its continental competitors? In this unique history of Europe's naval forces, Lawrence Sondhaus charts the development of naval warfare from the transition to steam to recent actions in the Persian Gulf. Combining detailed technical information such as, size, speed, weapons, torpedoes, and aircraft carrier design, with an in-depth comparison of warfare and tactics across some of the key conflicts of the modern world, Navies of Europe is an absorbing account of European seapower, past and present.
Lawrence Sondhaus has written several books including, Naval Warfare: 1815-1914, (Taylor & Francis Group, 2001), The Naval Policy of Austria-Hungary, 1867-1918 (1999, Purdue University Press)
Synopsis
Europe ruled the waves for most of the modern era and even when its navies were eclipsed in size by the US force, they continued to dominate world wars. In this unique history of Europe's naval forces, Larry Sondhaus charts the development of naval warfare from the transition to steam to recent actions in the Persian Gulf. Combining detailed technical information with an in-depth comparison of warfare and tactics across some of the key conflicts of the modern world, this is an absorbing account of European and British seapower, past and present.
Table of Contents
From sail to steam, 1815-40 -- Midcentury transitions, 1840-55 -- The emergence of the armored warship, 1855-78 -- Torpedo warfare, cruisers, and the Jeune âEcole, 1878-89 -- The battleship Renaissance, 1889-1906 -- The dreadnought era and first World War, 1906-22 -- The interwar period and second World War, 1922-45 -- European navies in the era of the Cold War, 1945-91 -- The present and future of European navies.