Tin-Pots and Pirate Ships : Canadian Naval Forces and German Sea Raiders 1880-1918

Hadley, Michael L.; Sarty, Roger

ISBN 10: 0773507787 / ISBN 13: 9780773507784

Published by Montreal, PQ, Canada: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1991, Montreal, PQ, Canada, 1991

About this Item

Very Good/Very Good(-). First Edition. 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall. 391 PP plus 16 pages with 2 maps & 19 b/w photos. Cloth cover, Naval operations and politics of Canada and Germany between 1880 and 1918. Pirates, i.e.: U-boats and commercial submarines/undersea cruisers, loading Canadian strategic metals from neutral USA. Bookseller Inventory # 002337

Bibliographic Details

Title: Tin-Pots and Pirate Ships : Canadian Naval ...

Publisher: Montreal, PQ, Canada: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1991, Montreal, PQ, Canada

Publication Date: 1991

Binding: Cloth

Book Condition:Very Good

Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good(-)

Edition: First Edition

About this title

Synopsis:

Michael Hadley and Roger Sarty shed new light on Canadian and German history -- and on Canada's naval defences in particular -- by exploring the naval operations and politics of both nations between 1880 and 1918. Beginning with Canada's feeling of "Splendid Isolation" and Germany's imperial ambitions against North America, the authors' intriguing and graphic account takes us from the early turmoil of federal politics in Canada to the conflict of the Great War and the eventual mothballing of the Canadian fleet. Having conducted an exhaustive study of Canadian, German, American, and British sources -- many of which have not been examined before -- Hadley and Sarty evaluate such major issues as policies and practice; intelligence schemes and spy scares; naval bills and the Dreadnought crisis; U-boats, commercial submarines, undersea cruisers, and surface raiders; and coastal patrols and convoy protection. Many factors that were believed to have been responsible for shaping -- and misshaping -- the Canadian Navy of 1939-45 are shown to have been in play during the First World War. Tin-Pots and Pirate Ships reveals the Canadian tradition of building a fleet only when needed, dismantling it once the conflict is over, and ultimately accepting terms dictated by alliance partners.

Review:

"Until now no thorough account of German naval operations off the Canadian east coast or Canadian operations to check them was available. Nothing of this scope has even been attempted before ... I am deeply impressed with the thoroughness and diligence of the research and scholarship ... It is also well and thoughtfully written, displaying a remarkable clarity of prose and a fast-paced and easy style." Marc Milner, Department of History, University of New Brunswick. "an important and unusual study in that [Hadley and Sarty] have so effectively pulled together many complex facets of Canadian and German (as well as relevant British and US) naval planning and policy ... The scholarship is not only sound but impressively so ... [The authors'] collaboration here has been very effective and especially so in terms of their critical but balanced and eminently intelligent handling of the materials they have uncovered." B. Hunt, Royal Military College, Kingston.