Product Description

A definitive work on the First World War at sea. The book covers many aspects of the naval war, and discusses the conflict from the viewpoints of "all" the participants rather than just the Anglo-German perspective. It represents a major

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #403464 in Books
• Published on: 1995-09-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 591 pages

From the Back Cover
This book aims to provide a definitive work on the First World War at sea. It aims to cover, in a single volume, many aspects of the naval war and to treat the conflict, from the viewpoints of "all" the participants rather than just the Anglo-German perspective.A Naval History of World War I represents a major contribution to our understanding of the operation, tactics and strategy of the First World War. The book covers the activities of the French and British in the Mediterranean, the Italians and Austrians in the Adriatic, and the Russians, Germans and Turks in the Baltic and Black Seas. Detailing the Royal Navy's campaign against the German raiders, the colonial campaigns and the major overseas expeditions, Professor Halpern examines not only naval operations, but leadership, policy, strategy, tactics and technology and relates these to the wider political, diplomatic and economic aspects of the war.; Covering lesser-known conflicts such as the Rumanian campaign and the Danube Flotillas, As Well As The Historic Battles Of Jutland, The Dardanelles and the anti-submarine warfare, the author presents a fully comprehensive and accessible treatment. The book is intended for all serious students of the First World War.

Customer Reviews

An excellent 1 volume maritime history of WWI
This is an outstanding book, which gives an excellent global overview of the War at Sea in WWI. The authour is an American historian who gives an objective view of the conflict. It is particularly good that "minor" campaigns, such as the Baltic, Black sea, Danube and Adriatic whichunfamiliar to most western readers are covered. This book however has little technical detail - I would recommend Conways fighting ships of WWI for that. There is also a good reference list for further reading

A truly magnificent naval history of the First World War
Traditionally studies of the naval battles of the First World War have focused primarily on the non-event of the confrontation between the British and German battle fleets in the North Sea. While relevant in the context of the tensions that led to war and important for several reasons, such predominance creates a distorted impression of the war at sea as being one that was mainly fought around the waters off Great Britain. In fact, the naval history of the First World War is one that well justifies the title of the conflict overall, as ships of the various sides fought each other in critical struggles across every part of the globe.

In this respect, Paul Halpern is the ideal person to write an overall history of the conflict at sea. A longtime naval historian of the era, he approaches the subject from his earlier work studying the First World War in the Mediterranean, a long-overlooked front that engaged many navies not traditionally covered in histories of the war. This equips him with a background and perspective that is perfectly suited for a broader study of the naval history of the war, one that he displays on nearly every page. Beginning with a short survey of the navies of the major powers, he goes on to discuss the exciting pursuits of the first months of the war before taking the reader on a tour of the many neglected fronts, from the Black Sea to the Danube River. To accomplish this, he draws upon his own considerable work as well as many of the often-neglected official histories and memoirs, many of which require the surmounting of numerous language barriers.

The war that emerges within these pages is not a staid affair of massive dreadnoughts glaring at each other from their respective ports, but a series of struggles of cruisers, destroyers, submarines, and river boats often characterized by dash and ingenuity. Though Halpern recounts many of these clashes, his focus is primarily strategic, as he explains how each of these battles and campaigns played a role in the broader effort by the various sides to win the war. His analysis is insightful, explaining why these oft-ignored struggles mattered in the grand scheme of conflict. Nor does he overlook the traditional subject of the stand-off between the Grand and High Sea Fleets, giving them due attention as a critical component of his topic.

All of this makes Halpern's book a truly impressive study of the First World War at sea. Encompassing as it does issues of geography, diplomacy, and society, it is indeed not just an account of battles and campaigns but a real naval history of the conflict. Such an inclusive scope can make it easy to quibble about minor errors such as typos, or about what was left out (my personal complaint is the lack of a concluding chapter examining some of the post-war consequences of the experiences he describes), but none of this should overshadow the magnificence of Halpern's achievement. Simply put, this is the single best history of the naval conflicts of the First World War, one that is an indispensable starting point for understanding the conflicts at sea and the role it played in the war overall.