Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #928894 in Books
• Published on: 2001-05-01
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 440 pages

Synopsis
Recounts the role of the United States in World War II at sea, from encounters in the Atlantic before the country entered the war to the surrender of Japan.

Customer Reviews

An Example of Morison's High Standard of Scholarship.
The introduction to THE BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC 1939-1943 gives a good account of the state of U.S. Navy preparedness between the two World Wars. The appendices help the reader to appreciate the relative strength of the combatants. It is important to realize that the Navy was already making its weight felt in various parts of the world before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The United States Navy was forced into this situation by the rapidly evolving predicament of Great Britain and her allies. The Nazis had overrun Greece and Crete and had put Russia deep in a hole. It appeared possible that Germany and Italy would soon control all three entrances to the Mediterranean - The Straits, The Dardanelles and the Suez Canal. Much of this book describes in great detail how the tide of war turned from this low beginning to a much brighter picture for the Allies by April 1943. By then Germany had lost the strategic initiative when it failed to capture Stalingrad. The German Black Sea fleet was fighting a losing battle and Germany was forced to evacuate its remaining troops from North Africa. In addition, the Allies were organizing an invasion of the European Continent while Japan was on the defensive in the Pacific.

The story is a wide-ranging one because the area involved in the Battle of the Atlantic is so vast. THE BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC 1939-1943 is a very detailed record in spite of the book's few shortcomings. My respect for Samuel Eliot Morison is increased by reading it and I highly recommend the volume to anyone interested in the history of World War II.