Pritchard describes the domestic and international political circumstances in France that gave rise to the expedition, outlining strategy and politics in the context of colonial defence and continental ambition. He reconstructs the events that contributed to the failure of the expedition - human and institutional weakness, weather, spoiled provisions, disease, and the death of the commanding admiral. Anatomy of a Naval Disaster exposes the ambitions and frailties of men, the arbitrariness of success, and the limits of power in the eighteenth century.

A forensic investigation of the Battle of Savo Island where in August of 1942 Japanese strike forces snuck up on heavily guarded allied cruisers and destroyed four ships, sinking two of them. Loxton, wounded during the battle, exposes some of the myths surrounding this monumental defeat through an examination of American, Japanese, and Australian records, concluding with a "verdict" that cuts through naval misinformation and explains how such an event could have occurred. The writing conveys the single minded passion which the author follows to discover the truth of a military defeat which, because of his involvement, became a life obsession. Includes maps, diagrams, and illustrations. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

A compelling account of one of the most ambitious and catastrophic French naval expeditions in the eighteenth century.

Exhaustively researched account. Stalking the facts relentlessly in the official records of the United States and Australia, in unofficial reports and interviews, and in Japanese documents with the help of Commander Sadao Seno, the Warners have written what will remain for the foreseeable future the definitive history of the Battle of Savo Island.

A sweeping, in-depth examination of the legendary naval controversy which shook the Victorian Royal Navy and climaxed in the foundering of HMS Captain in 1870.

Intended as a riposte to the Anglo-American capture of Louisbourg in 1745, the so-called d'Enville expedition set out from France the following year to secure Canada, recapture Acadia and Louisbourg, and ravage the New England coast as far south as Boston. Many of the sixty-four French vessels involved did not return and estimates of the dead reached as high as eight thousand. Yet the enemy was never met in battle. James Pritchard's account of this naval fiasco sheds new light on the extent of the tragedy and raises questions about the role and effectiveness of naval power during the intercolonial wars of the mid-eighteenth century. Pritchard describes the domestic and international political circumstances in France that gave rise to the expedition, outlining strategy and politics in the context of colonial defence and continental ambition. He reconstructs the events that contributed to the failure of the expedition - human and institutional weakness, weather, spoiled provisions, disease, and the death of the commanding admiral.Anatomy of a Naval Disasterexposes the ambitions and frailties of men, the arbitrariness of success, and the limits of power in the eighteenth century.

Warfare at Sea, 1500-1650 is the first truly international study of warfare at sea in this period. Commencing in the late fifteenth century with the introduction of gunpowder in naval warfare and the rapid transformation of maritime trade, Warfare at Sea focuses on the scope and limitations of war before the advent of the big battle fleets from the middle of the seventeenth century. The book also compares the social history of seamen and the early officer corps in several European countries and includes discussion on Spain, Portugal, France, Venice, the Ottoman Empire and the Baltic states.

Louisbourg, France's impressive fortress on Cape Breton Island's foggy Atlantic coast, dominated access to the St. Lawrence and colonial New France for forty years in the mid-eighteenth century. In 1755, Great Britain and France stumbled into the French and Indian War, part of what (to Europe) became the Seven Years' War—only for British forces to suffer successive defeats. In 1758, Britain and France, as well as Indian nations caught in the rivalry, fought for high stakes: the future of colonial America. Hugh Boscawen describes how Britain's war minister William Pitt launched four fleets in a coordinated campaign to prevent France from reinforcing Louisbourg. As the author shows, the Royal Navy outfought its opponents before General Jeffery Amherst and Brigadier James Wolfe successfully led 14,000 British regulars, including American-born redcoats, rangers, and carpenters, in a hard-fought assault landing. Together they besieged the fortress, which surrendered after forty-nine days. The victory marked a turning point in British fortunes and precipitated the end of French rule in North America. Boscawen, an experienced soldier and sailor, and a direct descendant of Admiral the Hon. Edward Boscawen, who commanded the Royal Navy fleet at Louisbourg, examines the pivotal 1758 Louisbourg campaign from both the British and French perspectives. Drawing on myriad primary sources, including previously unpublished correspondence, Boscawen also answers the question "What did the soldiers and sailors who fought there do all day?" The result is the most comprehensive history of this strategically important campaign ever written.

This “impeccable, myth-busting study” of WWII maritime operations sheds new light on the conflict with sharp analysis and an international perspective (The Sunday Times, UK). Command of the oceans was crucial to winning World War II. By the start of 1942 Nazi Germany had conquered mainland Europe, and Imperial Japan had overrun Southeast Asia and much of the Pacific. How could Britain and distant America prevail in what had become a "war of continents"? In this definitive account, Evan Mawdsley traces events at sea from the first U-boat operations in 1939 to the surrender of Japan. He argues that the Allied counterattack involved not just decisive sea battles, but a long struggle to control shipping arteries and move armies across the sea. Covering all the major actions in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, as well as those in the narrow seas, this book interweaves for the first time the endeavors of the maritime forces of the British Empire, the United States, Germany, and Japan, as well as those of France, Italy, and Russia.