Author: Jack GreenePublisher:
ISBN:
Category : World War, 1939-1945
Languages : en
Pages : 376
Book Description
The Naval War in the Mediterranean, 1940-1943
Author: Jack GreenePublisher:
ISBN:
Category : World War, 1939-1945
Languages : en
Pages : 376
Book Description
The Naval War in the Mediterranean, 1940–1943
Author: The Naval War in the Mediterranean, 1940-1943
Author: Jack Greene; Alessandro MassignaniPublisher: Copyright © Jack Greene and Alessandro Massignani 2002
ISBN: 1805000713
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 606
Book Description
This book is essential reading for all those interested in one of the major naval theaters of the Second World War.
War in the Mediterranean 1940-1943
Author: Bernard IrelandPublisher:
ISBN: 9781551250472
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 224
Book Description
The Naval War in the Mediterranean
Author: Paul G. HalpernPublisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317391861
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 632
Book Description
This volume, originally published in 1987, fills a gap in a neglected area. Looking at the entire war in the Mediterrean, the volume examines the war from the viewpoint of all the important participants, making full use of archives and manuscript collections in Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Austria and the United States. A fascinating mosaic of campaigns emerges in the Adriatic, Straits of Otranto and the Eastern Aegean. The German assistance to the tribes of Libya, the threat that Germany would get her hands on the Russian Black Sea Fleet and use it in the Mediterreanean, and the appearance and influence of the Americans in 1918 all took place against a background of rivalry between the Allies which frustrated the appointment of Jellicoe in 1918 as supreme command at sea in a role similar to that of Foch on land.
A Midshipman's War
Author: Frank WadePublisher: Trafford Publishing
ISBN: 1412239362
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 262
Book Description
"Frank Wade was born in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada in October 1921. He was sent to England to train for the navy in the schoolship HMS Conway in Liverpool and the Dartmouth (Devon) Royal Navy College from 1936 to December 1940. Then in May 1941 he was appointed to the staff of the Commander-in Chief of the Mediterranean fleet, Admiral A.B. Cunningham, doing most secret cipher messages. At this time the navy had evacuated the British army from Greece and Crete with great losses from German bombers- we had no air coverage. Two cruisers were lost with a 1.000 men drowned or killed. Another cruiser was severely damaged with 250 killed. Other smaller ships were also lost. Our desert army had been driven back to the Egyptian border but Tobruk had not been taken. It was under siege for 9 months from April to December 1941 putting more strain on our fleet. Wade was in battleship HMS Queen Elizabeth when the battleship HMS Barham was sunk by U331 on 25 November 1941 with 862 men lost and 495 saved. A strange attack was made on Alexandria Harbour on the night of 15 December 1941 by Italian frog men; severely damaging two battleships. These two ships were given light repairs and sent to the USA for long refits. The cruiser HMS Neptune leading a squadron from Malta to attack an enemy convoy ran into an unknown mine field and was sunk with only one survivor out of 750. The island of Malta located in the middle of the Mediterranean was never taken by the enemy and it played a vital part in winning the naval war. It was under siege for nearly three years from June 1940 to May 1943. Thirty convoys were sent from Gibraltar and Alexandria. These convoys were hard-fought with many of our merchant ships and warships being sunk. One fully loaded merchant ship was needed by the island every month to prevent starvation. Malta was the most bombed place anywhere. The islanders were awarded the George Cross and a special citation awarded by the US president to Buz Buerling, the Canadian air ace who shot down 26 enemy planes over Malta. The Canadian motor torpedo and gun boats fought many sea battles and were awarded bravery medals. The turning point of the Middle East war came when a renewed 8th Army under General Montgomery achieved a stunning land victory at El Alamein 60 miles west of Alexandria on 4th November 1942. Tunis was taken in May 1943 and landings in Sicily took place on the night of 9/10 July 1943 and Messina fell on 14 August.
War in the Mediterranean
Author: Bernard IrelandPublisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 184415047X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 231
Book Description
Much has been written about the conduct of the land battles and the commanders who faced each other yet, as the main protagonists realised at the time, success or failure rested on the effectiveness of their seaborne supply chain. Control of the Mediterranean was therefore absolutely crucial. In the final analysis it was the Allies' ability to dominate the Mediterranean that bought them victory but there is no denying that it was a 'damned close run thing'. In this authoritative study, Bernard Ireland brings a fresh clarity to the complexities and factors at play during this critical period.
Dark Navy
Author: Vincent O'HaraPublisher:
ISBN: 9781608880775
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 108
Book Description
In July 1943 Benito Mussolini, Italy's warlord and the father of fascism fell from power in a hastily arranged plot, the details of which even today remain controversial. A cabal of generals took the nation's reins and bungled their way toward an accommodation with the Allies. When General Eisenhower announced an armistice with Italy on the evening of 8 September he believed he had struck a deal that included Italian military cooperation against the Germans. In fact, the generals had promised more than they could deliver and Germany's terrible, swift reprisal shattered Italy's confused air force and army. The armistice likewise caught the navy by surprise, with its battleships raising steam to attack the Allied fleet landing at Salerno. Nonetheless, the Regia Marina obeyed its government's orders and honored the pact the generals had negotiated. Rather than evaporating like Italy's other services, however, it proceeded to fight a three-week campaign against Germany, without Allied support, and in the process retained complete control of its ships, regardless of the ports necessity forced them to seek refuge in. This is the story of the Regia Marina and the Italian armistice of September 1943. It is a deeply-researched and highly readable exploration of this confusing and fascinating corner of history. It refutes the conventional notion that Italy's fleet abjectly surrendered to Allied power. It shows how the navy paved Italy's path from enemy to co-belligerent with the blood and unconquered spirit of its men. Despite German and Allied intentions to secure Italy's fleet for their own uses, it remained Italian to the end: a dark navy - not victorious, but undefeated. Vincent P. O'Hara and Enrico Cernuschi have collaborated for publications including Warship, World War II Magazine, World War II Quarterly, and the new Seaforth Naval Review. Mr. O'Hara has written several books including Struggle for the Middle Sea: the Great Navies at War in the Mediterranean 1939-1945 (Annapolis, 2009). Mr. Cernuschi is a regular contributor to Rivista Marittima and Storia Militare. He has published a dozen books including Le navi da guerra italiane 1940-1945 (Parma, 2003) and Domenico Cavagnari: Storia di un Ammiraglio (Rome, 2001) About DARK NAVY The huge tragedy suffered by the Italian navy and nation has been reduced, until today, to a brief mention in the very few books available abroad about the Regia Marina's war between 1940 and 1945. It is thus quite important that a new essay directed toward English speaking readers is dedicated, at last, to these events, allowing them to sortie beyond the confines of Italian naval historiography--which has long debated these themes--and beyond the scanty circulation abroad of the Italian language.--Erminio Bagnasco, editor of STORIA Militare DARK NAVY is a masterful account of the Regia Marina's role in the Armistice of September 1943. The authors are to be commended for overturning the propagandist mythology which has often marred English-language histories of this difficult period in Italian history. A riveting story.--John Jordan, editor of WARSHIP DARK NAVY gives an excellent overview of the naval, air, and land impact on the Italian military at the time of the 8 September 1943 Armistice. It clearly shows the hesitancy of various leaders, on both sides, as they grappled with "what to do?" in this radically changed wartime environment and gives solid detail on the actions that resulted.--Jack Greene, author (with Alessandro Massigiani) of NAVAL WAR IN THE MEDITERRANEAN 1940-1943.
East of Malta, West of Suez
Author: Great Britain. AdmiraltyPublisher:
ISBN:
Category : Great Britain
Languages : en
Pages : 72
Book Description
The War at Sea in the Mediterranean, 1940–1944
Author: John GrehanPublisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473837367
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 423
Book Description
Despatches in this volume include those covering the Battle of Matapan in 1941, Fleet Air Arm operations in 1940, the Battle of Sirte in 1942, the action with the Italian Fleet off Calabria (Central Mediterranean) in 1940, the engagement between British and Italian forces off Cape Spartivento (Central Mediterranean) in 1940, the Mediterranean convoys between January 1941 and August 1942 which includes the famous Operation Pedestal, operations in the Aegean in 1943, the engagement with an Italian convoy in 1941, and the despatch covering Coastal Force actions, including those in the Mediterranean.This unique collection of original documents will prove to be an invaluable resource for historians, students and all those interested in what was one of the most significant periods in British military history.The Coastal Forces despatch also includes those vessels assigned to the Levant, Dover and Nore stations i.e. outside of the Mediterranean theatre.