Prologue to a war: The Navy's part in the Narvik Campaign - Hardcover

Ewart Brookes

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0727402404 ISBN 13: 9780727402400

Publisher: Publisher Not Specified, 1977

Synopsis

Authors note. This book deals primarily with the Royal Navy's tremendous part in the Norwegian campaign from April 9 to June 9, 1940. Where military operations are described they are so done because it would have been impossible to give the complete picture of events at sea. Mistakes there were, many, many mistakes; some because of faulty Intelligence and some at high level because of interference by the Admiralty (with the goad in the hands of the First Lord) two thousand miles away from the man on the spot. But the mistakes, manifold as they appear, were not made by the men of the small ships, the destroyers, the sloops, the trawlers, the submarines. Time and time again, as this book seeks to show, they were asked to do the improbable and went on to achieve the impossible. Escorting, fighting, landing troops, taking them off - turn where you will there is a story of a ship manned by supermen - officers and ratings - who questioned not the reason why but delved into their bottomless wells of endurance and courage, and went on to do - and in some instances to die. I make no apologies for lifting it from another context when I say that whenever or wherever Norway 1940 is mentioned the men of the Royal Navy's small ships can lift their heads proudly to say, 'I know. I was there.' Some of the small ships went to other battle areas - to the evacuation of Dunkirk, to the battle of Malta, to Crete, and to fight - and die - under a hot sun, their contribution to the ultimate fate of the little yellow men who would be conquerors. The motto of the small ships in the Norwegian campaign might easily have been 'You name it. We'll do it.' Because that is how they performed.

Edition details

• Publisher: Publisher Not Specified
• Publication date: 1977
• ISBN 10: 0727402404
• ISBN 13: 9780727402400
• Binding: Hardcover