1914-1945 Sea War

Author: Bernard Ireland (UK)
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2005-12-01
Features: The interwar period was considered a revolutionary era in naval warfare. In 1914, battleships were the standard for measuring the strength of imperial navies. However, the mighty battleships gradually became obsolete as submarines and aircraft dominated the seas. The warring parties did not necessarily engage in combat within each other's sight. Operations to liberate Europe from German occupation and to conquer Japanese-occupied islands in the Pacific made amphibious warfare particularly important. Technological advancements altered the course of the Pacific War. New weapons made old tactics more effective. The combination of aircraft and submarines for blockading supply lines, as well as escort and offensive operations, became the fundamental principles of maritime power. This process of change was not smooth. International treaties and disarmament efforts forced new weapons and development systems to prioritize wartime reliability. Many opposed the military revolution, and the lack of sufficient funding and enthusiasm for developing potentially valuable new technologies slowed the process. This situation improved only after the war began. Bernard Ireland's work begins with the era of battleships and battlecruisers in 1914, encompassing the entire period of naval power transformation. The author narrates the naval warfare and battles from the outbreak of World War I to Japan's surrender in World War II in vivid language, analyzing the evolution of global naval power. Bernard Ireland's passion for the British Royal Navy and history stems from his time in Malta during the Abyssinian War. Later, he joined the Portsmouth Dockyard and proudly became a four-year student at the senior school of the British Royal Naval College. After graduating from university, he joined the technical department of the British Royal Navy and spent decades participating in the design and research of warships. He has a keen interest in shipbuilding technology and maritime history. He has also written many books on maritime themes. This is his twenty-fifth monograph. This book is part of the multi-volume series "Warfare in History" published by Cassell, which covers warfare from ancient times to the modern era. The series is written by historians from various fields, edited by John Keegan, one of the most distinguished military historians of our time. The maps in the book were drawn by Marcus Swindon and his team, who developed a series of unique and highly innovative cartographic techniques, providing a brilliant complement to the text.