ME Naval Non-Fiction - Battles

This is a blow by blow account of the naval war 1914-1916 written by the Admiral of the Grand Fleet John Jellicoe. It includes his detailed account of the battles of Heligoland Bight, Dogger Bank and Jutland, the sinking of the HMS Hampshire and the death of Lord Kitchener. Jellicoe gives an extensive account of the makeup of the fleet, the disposition of its vessels, and the challenges faced by one of the largest navies the world was ever to see and a mighty foe apparently bent on its destruction.

With an extensive introduction, commentary and annotations by Erik Empson relating to ship classes and armaments, historical context, disputes concerning Jellicoe’s accounts, and the contemporary discussion about this central episode in the first world war. The book includes topics such as early torpedo warfare, range finding, the navy’s early use of planes in combat and submarine warfare. As a reference work it is a essential guide to the ships of the Great War from the might super-dreadnought to the humble patrol boat as well as the commanders and men that fought and died in them.

The book is jam-packed with rare and unique period illustrations, and throughout period photographs of important vessels are supplied, including rare explanatory designs of vessel classes. It will be of great use to archivists, genealogists, family historians because the book is packed with details about the disposition and movements of many craft at different points, as well as many names of captains and the fates of their crew.

Jellicoe's stewardship of the Grand Fleet created much post-war controversy and this book and its challenging introduction shed much light upon the details of the matter. Most of all it will appeal to people who love nice big boats and can't get enough of well-considered political and military history.

In January 1916 Vizeadmiral Scheer took command of the High Sea Fleet. This aggressive and pugnacious leader embarked upon a vigorous offensive program which culminated in the greatest clash between dreadnought capital ships the world had seen. Although outnumbered almost two to one, Vizeadmiral Scheer conducted a provocative operation on 31 May 1916. Who would prevail: the massive preponderance of British heavy calibre cannon, or the aggressive tactics of the street fighter Scheer?

Manning the ships of both sides were the technically skilled and talented seamen who were prepared to carry out their duties loyally and courageously until the very end. Over 8,500 men perished in less than 10 hours of fighting, a horrendous loss, even by World War One standards. This book gives voice to many of the German Navy participants, from a German perspective, on this tumultuous battle fought over 100 years ago. These men gave their all and are gone now, but not forgotten.

One hundred years after Jutland, the first and largest engagement of Dreadnoughts in the twentieth century, historians are still fighting this controversial and misunderstood battle. What was in fact a strategic victory stands out starkly against the background of bitter public disappointment in the Royal Navy and decades of divisive acrimony and very public infighting between the camps supporting the two most senior commanders, Jellicoe and Beatty.

This book not only re-tells the story of the battle from both a British and German perspective based on the latest research, but it also helps clarify the context of Germany's inevitable naval clash. It then traces the bitter dispute that ensued in the years after the smoke of war had cleared right up to his death in 1935, Admiral Jellicoe was embroiled in what became known as the Jutland Controversy . Nick Jellicoe is uniquely placed to tell the story of Jutland. His naval connections are strong: his father, the second Earl served as First Lord of the Admiralty while his grandfather, Sir John Jellicoe commanded the Grand Fleet for the first two years on the war, from 1914 to 1916 famously described by Churchill as being the only man who could have lost the war in an afternoon .

The major naval powers -- Britain, America, Russia, and Japan -- have all played a part in the theater of war at sea over the last one hundred years. Naval fighting has always been a rapidly developing affair, and in no century have changes been so swift and fundamental. This book is a detailed account of the bloody and tragic battles that took place and of the shifting pattern in the status of the naval powers, sometimes masking its effect on our history today.

In 1905, when this book begins, the first major engagement between ironclad fleets -- the Battle of Tsu-Shima -- took place in the Far East and decided the outcome of the Russo-Japanese war in Japan's favor. What follows are the mighty sea battles of our century, graphically reconstructed for the reader. Victories, defeats, and mutinies at sea, from the battle with the Bismarck to the battles of Midway and Guadalcanal, are all recorded in sometimes horrific detail. This is a moving testament to battles the likes of which changed the world.

This is the story of the great men of war whose task it was to halt the Japanese military dominating the Pacific. As they battled the enemy, their greatest threat were the underwater torpedoes. Britain did not want to face the prospect of war at sea without five new battleships, regardless of their cost. That is how the Prince of Wales and her four sisters came to represent the British team in the new battleship race.

Force Z was the name given to these British warships, equipped with their own torpedoes that sailed to the Far East in the autumn of 1941, with the potential support of naval aircraft. They sailed, amid deliberate publicity, in an extraordinary attempt to stop the Japanese declaring war. But the Navy was hard-pressed and could only spare an untried battleship and an obsolete battle cruiser. The plan was to operate out of the range of attack from the air.

When the Repulse and the Prince of Wales arrived in Singapore on 2 December, they were seen as the saviours of the British Empire. But the attack on Pearl Harbour followed five days later ... and Force Z was left alone to face the appalling might of Japan. Here is the fantastic story of the ships hounded to their death by enemy aircraft. Hour by hour the vicious slaughter went on until finally, in full sunlight, the ships were remorselessly destroyed and hundreds of brave men died.

'The Hunting of Force Z' is the dramatic story of those battles.

Using a narrative approach, Jutland 1916 - Twelve Hours that Decided the Great War tells the story of the Battle of Jutland, the greatest naval clash of the First World War. Drawing on a wealth of first-hand accounts, some of which were previously unknown, it weaves a highly original narrative, which intertwines original research, into a fast-paced account of the fighting. This is the only book on the battle to use a narrative thread to tell the story from both the British and German perspectives and will provide a fresh perspective on this decisive battle.