This book marks the first comprehensive history of Britain's naval bulwark, the Home Fleet. It illuminates the vital role that fleet played in preserving Britain as a base of operations against Hitler. We see portrayed the hard days of blockade, patrol, and battle that encompassed the Home Fleet's war. And we see how that war was made harder by weaknesses at the Admiralty and by the damaging interference of the Minister of Defence - Winston Churchill.

Autorentext

JAMES LEVY earned his PhD from the University of Wales, Swansea, and has published articles in The Mariner's Mirror, The Naval War College Review and The Journal of Strategic Studies. He lives on Long Island and teaches History at Hofstra University and SUNY Farmingdale.

Zusammenfassung
If Hitler was to be defeated, 'fortress Britain; would have to hold out. Only Britain could act as a launching pad for the Bomber Offensive, cover the dispatch of supplies to the Red Army, and act as a springboard for US troops to assault Nazi-dominated Europe. Key to Britain's survival was the Home Fleet. Yet this vital command has not, until now, enjoyed a history of her own. This book tells how the Home Fleet served as the ultimate guarantor of Britain's sealanes and of her very survival. Despite severe handicaps, the Home Fleet preserved control of the 'narrow seas', ensuring that the US would fully participate in the war against Hitler, that the convoys to Murmansk would get through, and that the Third Reich would be doomed. Despite nagging interference from Churchill and the Admiralty, the Home Fleet accomplished a crucial mission and helped win World War II.

Inhalt

List of Illustrations List of Tables Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Introduction The Royal Navy and the Home Fleet: Men, Material and Strategy; 1919-1939 The Home Fleet at the Outset of War Cat and Mouse: German Initiatives, British Reactions, October 1939 - March 1940 Norway: A Man-Made Disaster; April - June 1940 Thin Grey Line: The Home Fleet in the Defence of Great Britain, June 1940 - June 1941 The Germans Roll the Dice: April - June 1941 The Hard Road to Murmansk: June 1941 - May 1945 The Path to Victory: May 1943 - May 1945 Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index