John Keegan's new book applies to maritime warfare the technique he put to such dazzling effect in his classic of war on land, The Face of Battle. His analysis concentrates on four key battles - Trafalgar, Jutland, Midway and the Battle of the Atlantic. The result not only illustrates the development of naval warfare through the sailing warship, the battleship, the aircraft carrier and the submarine, thereby giving a panoramic view, but takes the reader into the heart of the fighting, reminding us that the price of battle, whether on sea or land, is measuring in men's lives.
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Synopsis:
A study of warfare at sea. The author uses the same techniques that he employed in "The Face of Battle", to discover how men have fought at sea, and to explore the nature of the individual's experience of combat over changing times. The conflict Keegan has chosen to begin with is Trafalgar in 1805, a classic and well-documented example of ship-of-the-line battle. Next he turns to Jutland, posing very different problems for commander and seamen alike. Then to the Battle of Midway, where he examines the particular role played by the aircraft carrier, and its "two societies", that of the ship itself and that of the "air group" elite which supplied its raison d'etre. Finally he examines the Battle of the Atlantic, in which he recreates a picture both of everyday life and operational routine within the boat that saw the last great technical transformation of naval operations, and ultimately the most significant - the submarine.
About the Author:
John Keegan was for many years Senior Lecturer at Sandhurst and is now the Defence Editor of The Daily Telegraph. He is the author of many books on military history, including The Face of Battle, Six Armies in Normandy, The Mask of Command and his major study, The Second World War. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
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