Naval Forces

Blind Man's Bluff shows for the first time how the navy sent submarines wired with self-destruct charges into the heart of Soviet seas to tap crucial underwater telephone cables....

On May 1, 1915, with WWI entering its tenth month, a luxury ocean liner as richly appointed as an English country house sailed out of New York, bound for Liverpool, carrying a record number of children and infants....

The planning, the strategy, the sacrifices and heroics - on both sides - illuminating the greatest naval war in history....

In 1991, acting on a tip from a local fisherman, two scuba divers discovered a sunken German U-boat, complete with its crew of 60 men, not too far off the New Jersey coast....

Hawaii, 1941. War clouds with Japan are gathering and the islands of Hawaii have become battlegrounds of spies, intelligence agents, and military officials - with the island's residents caught between them....

With The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors and Ship of Ghosts, James D. Hornfischer created essential and enduring narratives about America’s World War II Navy....

This is an unforgettable narrative that captures the essence of heroism, the power of loyalty, and the way in which the unadorned truth is more stirring than legend itself....

The story begins in 1629, when the pride of the Dutch East India Company, the Batavia, is on its maiden voyage en route from Amsterdam to the Dutch East Indies, laden down with the greatest treasure to leave Holland....

Drawing on decades of experience, Gibbins reveals the riches beneath the waves and shows us how the treasures found there can be a porthole to the past that tell a new story about the world and its underwater secrets.

This is the little-known story of how a newly independent nation was challenged by four Muslim powers and what happened when America's third president decided to stand up....

In the early hours of February 25, 1968, a Russian submarine armed with three nuclear ballistic missiles set sail from its base in Siberia on a routine combat patrol to Hawaii. Then it vanished....

On July 30, 1945, the USS Indianapolis is sailing alone in the Philippine Sea when she is sunk by two Japanese torpedoes. For the next five nights, almost 300 miles from the nearest land, nearly 900 men battle injuries, sharks, dehydration, insanity, and eventually each other....

Thousands of miles from friendly ports, the US Navy had finally managed to complete the capture of Guadalcanal from the Japanese in early 1943. Now the Allies sought to keep the offensive momentum won at such a high cost...

Based on the author's exhaustive research, the incredible true story of the Greely Expedition, one of the most harrowing adventures in the annals of polar exploration....

Interweaving the stories of three survivors - the captain, the ship's doctor, and a young marine - journalist Doug Stanton has brought this astonishing human drama to life....

The extraordinary story of the World War II air, land, and sea campaign that brought the U.S. Navy to the apex of its strength and marked the rise of the United States as a global superpower....

A riveting and wide-ranging story, full of dramatic, unexpected turns, In the Hurricane's Eye reveals that the fate of the American Revolution depended, in the end, on Washington and the sea....

This landmark account of the US Navy in the Cold War, Who Can Hold the Sea combines narrative history with scenes of stirring adventure on—and under—the high seas. In 1945, at the end of World War II, the victorious Navy sends its sailors home....

World War II is usually seen as a titanic land battle, decided by mass armies, most importantly those on the Eastern Front. Phillips Payson O'Brien shows us the war in a completely different light....

On March 8, 1421, the largest fleet the world had ever seen set sail from China....

A stirring narrative of World War II's final major battle—the Pacific war's largest, bloodiest, most savagely fought campaign—the last of its kind....

Based on reams of confidential documents—including the blackmail files that Francis kept on Navy officers—Fat Leonard is the full, unvarnished story of a world-class con man and a captivating testament to the corrosive influence of greed within the ranks of the American military.

Bernard Cornwell combines his storytelling skills with a meticulously researched history to give a riveting chronicle of every dramatic moment from Napoleon's daring escape from Elba....

The remarkable true story of Dudley "Mush" Morton, the most admired—and feared—submarine commander of World War II....

The best-selling author of Black Flags, Blue Waters tells the story of a wild encounter between an American sealing vessel, a shipwrecked British brig, and a British warship in the Falkland Islands during the War of 1812....

In William N. Still’s essay, “A Naval Sieve: The Union Blockade in the Civil War,” he contended that the blockade “was not a major factor in the collapse of the Confederacy” (Still 72). Of the Union Navy’s primary tasks of maintaining control of Southern ports, supporting amphibious operations, and pursuing piratical cruisers, the effectiveness of the blockade remains the most hotly debated strategy. Did it strangle the Confederate economy and force the South to pursue peace? According to Still, the answer is no. The supporting evidence he cites, however, is inconclusive and can...

Through a study of history, Alfred Thayer Mahan concluded that six key factors influence a nation’s development as a sea power. Mahan also argued that command of the sea is valuable in both peace and war and that, during conflict, concentrating one’s fleet for decisive battle is key. Mahan’s ideas gained popularity among the major world powers in the late 19th century and continue to influence naval strategy today.

In 1864 the Union was at last prepared to implement a unified land strategy designed to achieve victory in the Civil War. The plan called for William Tecumseh Sherman to drive hard to Atlanta, while farther East, Ulysses S. Grant would engage Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. Sherman reasoned that an assault on Mobile would force the Confederates to send reinforcements, thus weakening their defense of Atlanta. Patrolling the blockade in the Gulf of Mexico, Admiral Farragut got word that he would finally receive the monitors necessary to capture the last major Southern port. To ...

"Anchors Aweigh" – a comprehensive guide to unfold the mysteries of naval life; a must-have resource for anyone who dreams of sailing the global shores or those who wish to understand the noble journey of a person in navy. This vibrant eBook sets the stage with a detailed introduction into the rich history and the fostering culture of the navy, while providing an enlightening insight into the opportunities it more than willingly offers. "Anchors Aweigh" seamlessly navigates you through the many career paths that one could choose within the navy, shedding light on job fields, specialty ...

Submarine drama, maritime tragedy, innovation, unique circumstances, resilience in adversity, leadership, teamwork, wisdom and personal growth-this book has it all. In May 1921 the submarine R-14 departs Pearl Harbor on an emergency mission to search for the US navy ship Conestoga, lost at sea with 56 souls aboard. But in a harsh twist of fate, the rescuers themselves fall into peril, stranded 140 miles from the nearest port with no fuel. Now young Annapolis grad Alexander "Dean" Douglas, the submarine's Acting CO, must rally his tired and discouraged crew to return safely to port. In a ...

On the evening of June 27, 1918, the Llandovery Castle—an unarmed, clearly marked hospital ship used by the Canadian military—was torpedoed off the Irish Coast by U-Boat 86, a German submarine. Sinking hospital ships violated international law. To conceal his actions, the U-86 commander had the submarine deck guns fire on survivors. One lifeboat escaped with witnesses to the atrocity. Global outrage over the attack ensued.

The book that Ramage fans have long awaited Between 1965 and 1989 the British author, Dudley Pope, wrote the 18-volume Ramage series of nautical fiction novels. With its publication Mr. Pope joined C.S. Forester and Patrick O’Brian as one of the giants of the nautical fiction genre. While companion books have been written for the Forester and O’Brian series, no one has yet written a companion book for Ramage… Until Now! Tom Grundner has created an indispensable guide for the Ramage fan. Written in a light and entertaining style, he provides snapshots of the people, places and events ...

Since we first set sail on the open sea, ships and their wrecks have been an inevitable part of human history. Archaeologists have made spectacular discoveries excavating these sunken ships, their protective underwater cocoon keeping evidence of past civilizations preserved. World renowned maritime archeologist David Gibbins ties together the stories of some of the most significant shipwrecks in time to form a single overarching narrative of world history.

The South found itself in an uneven struggle against the industrial might of the North. The odds were stacked against the southern agrarian states. And with only half the population of the North, southerners were at a disadvantage, having only a fraction of the manpower of the federal Army. As the conflict erupted, the North boasted a fleet of warships. The South was severely lacking. It was the age of ironclad vessels, but there was a scarcity of iron ore in the south. The odds seemed insurmountable. "The Confederate Navy" thrusts you headlong into the war's naval confrontations. It's a ...

The ability of the US Navy to fight and win a protracted war in the Pacific was not solely the result of technology, tactics, or leadership. Naval aviation maintenance played a major role in the US victory over Japan in WWII. The naval war against Japan did not achieve sustained success until enough aircraft technicians were available to support the high tempo of aviation operations that fast carrier task force doctrine demanded.

This nation's Cold War and Global War on Terror defense structures need an update. U.S. Naval Power in the 21st Century provides such a framework for the changed world we live in, offering a roadmap that shows how the U.S. can field a war-winning fleet that can also compete aggressively in peacetime against dangerous competitors.

Following the War of the Spanish Succession (1702-1713) a decade-long wave of sea-robbery plagued the Atlantic rim—often glamorized as the "Golden Age of Piracy". Boston-based laborer, Edward Low, left his mark on pirate history as the most vicious and sadistic raider of them all.

Set sail on a thrilling voyage into the mysterious and treacherous world of the notorious pirate, Blackbeard, in this riveting biography that unveils the man behind the legend. In Blackbeard, the high seas come alive as we chart the tumultuous life of Edward Teach, the infamous pirate who struck fear into the hearts of sailors and coastal communities alike.

Following the First World War, it was expected that the next war would be between Japan and the U.S. for control of the vast Pacific Ocean. Responsibility for conducting surveillance of the Pacific to detect attacks from Japan fell to the Navy. This was a problem for the Navy because surface ships were too slow and the Navy had too few of them, and airplanes lacked the range to conduct the needed reconnaissance.

On March 9, 1862, the USS Monitor and CSS Virginia met in the Battle of Hampton Roads—the first time ironclad vessels would engage each other in combat. For four hours the two ships pummeled one another as thousands of Union and Confederate soldiers and civilians watched from the shorelines. Although the battle ended in a draw, this engagement would change the nature of naval warfare by informing both vessel design and battle tactics.