The Royal Navy’s Revenge and other Episodes of the War at Sea: a collection of self-contained and fast-paced accounts of naval battles, previously published in national magazines and especially selected because they are fascinating, yet little known. The naval war of 1939-1945 was a long and bitter struggle fought in every ocean, on, below and above the sea. It resonates with famous names like Midway, Bismarck, Guadalcanal, and the Battle of the Atlantic. This collection of articles previously published in national magazines including World War II, Tin Can Sailor, and Pacific War explores some less famous episodes in the naval war including naval actions fought in the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean, the South China Sea, and the English Channel, between the naval forces of France, Thailand, Italy, Poland, Germany, Japan, and of course, the U.S. and Royal navies.
The Royal Navy’s Revenge includes the title action, the last surface battle of the war between British destroyers and a former nemesis of the Royal Navy, the Japanese heavy cruiser Haguro. The story of the U.S. Navy’s first surface action against the Japanese, a victory won off the coast of Borneo by four World War I era destroyers is included. The book also contains self-contained and fast-paced accounts of naval actions fought between Italy and Germany, France and Great Britain, and the Battle of Koh-Chang, between France and Thailand. It also has an account of a mystery battle between German and American destroyers that has escaped the notice of historians until recently, the story of the defiant German flotilla that held out in the English Channel until the very end of the war and the little known naval campaign fought off the coast of Syria between Vichy France and naval forces from Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand.
These fascinating and well researched episodes by the respected naval historian Vincent P. O'Hara will entertain and educate even the most well-studied World War II enthusiast.
