The War for the Seas: A Maritime History of World War II

by Evan Mawdsley

Overview

A bold and authoritative maritime history of World War II which takes a fully international perspective and challenges our existing understanding

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780300254884
Publisher:	Yale University Press
Publication date:	08/25/2020
Pages:	600
Sales rank:	1,021,828
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.50(h) x 1.80(d)

About the Author

Historian Evan Mawdsley was Professor of International History at Glasgow University. He is the author of December 1941, a Sunday Telegraph Book of the Year.

Table of Contents

List of Plates, Maps and Tables ix

List of Technical Abbreviations xiii

Introduction xxxv

Part I Sea Power and the European War, September 1939-June 1940

1 The Twilight War, September 1939-April 1940 3

2 Norway: A Costly Victory 29

3 The Defence of the British Isles 47

4 The Bitter Fate of the French Navy, 1940-44 64

Part II The British Empire at Bay, June 1940-April 1942

5 The Battle of the Atlantic, Round One, June 1940-December 1941 83

6 The Struggle for the Mediterranean, July 1940-December 1941 111

7 Defending the Motherland: The Embattled Soviet Navy, June 1941-December 1944 135

8 An Undeclared Naval War: The Neutral US and the Axis Threat 154

9 Japan Attacks Britain and America, December 1941-April 1942 170

Part III Global War at Sea, April-December 1942

10 The Pacific in the Balance: From Carrier Raids to Midway 201

11 The South Pacific: The American Offensives at Guadalcanal, the Solomons and New Guinea, August 1942-May 1944 224

12 The Battle of the Atlantic, Round Two, January-December 1942 251

13 Britain and the Beginnings of Amphibious Operations in Europe, March 1941-December 1942 271

14 The Mediterranean: The British Regain the Initiative, January 1942-November 1942 286

Part IV Victory at Sea, January 1943-June 1944

15 The Battle of the Atlantic, Round Three, January 1943-May 1944 307

16 The Mediterranean: The Allies Gain Control, November 1942-August 1944 328

17 The Submarine War in the Pacific and Indian Oceans 350

18 The US Navy's Drive across the Central Pacific, November 1943-June 1944 370

Part V Commanding the Seas, Defeating the Axis, June 1944-August 1945

19 The Invasion of France and the Defeat of the Third Reich 419

20 The Philippines, Okinawa and the Defeat of Imperial Japan 439

Conclusion: The Commanded Sea 475

Endnotes 479

Bibliography 517

Index 533

Editorial Reviews

The great strength of The War for the Seas is the way in which Mawdsley, a former professor of international history at Glasgow University, treats his subject as an interconnected global story. . . . This innovative, well-written single-volume account will be invaluable for all who study the Second World War.”—Ben Wilson, Times (UK)

“An impeccable, myth-busting study.”—Max Hastings, Sunday Times

“For WWII enthusiasts, academics, and students, this book will provide a solid grounding in how the sea was used for strategic purpose and how victory was ultimately achieved by the Allied powers.”—Jennifer F. McKinnon, Canadian Journal of History

“Mastering an immense range of sources in diverse languages is only the start. Mawdsley’s real achievement is to link so many ships and fleets and armies together and in such a way as to make sense of what was going on, showing why things happened when they did, how each part affected all the rest.”—N. A. M. Rodger, London Review of Books

“Mawdsley’s book is all-embracing in content, sharp in analysis and crisp in style.”—Holger H. Herwig, Journal of Modern History

“A marvelous new single volume on the maritime conflict of World War II. . . . Carefully researched and incisive.”—Jerry Lenaburg, New York Journal of Books

“Evan Mawdsley’s magisterial work The War for the Seas brings clarity and a well-written sense of the full scale and ferocity that was the epic struggle of World War II at sea.”—Andrew G. Wilson, Naval History

“A complete, compact and comprehensible history of World War II’s naval phase. . . . The War for the Sea is recommended for everyone, those knowledgeable about World War II and those unfamiliar with it.”—Mark Lardas, Galveston Daily News

“An essential contribution to understanding how command of the sea was won and with what consequences. Rich in detail on the tactics and technology that mattered, and on the roller-coaster campaigns in the Atlantic and Pacific theatres, Mawdsley provides the first full, integrated account of a truly global dimension to the war.”—Richard Overy, author of The Bombing War: Europe, 1939–1945

“The beautifully crafted and deeply research maritime history of WWII that we have always needed. Few books deserve to be called ‘definitive’—this is one of them.”—Joseph Maiolo, author of Cry Havoc: How the Arms Race Drove the World to War 1931–1941

“Will be prized for its concision, clarity and sound judgement, all backed by impeccable scholarship.”—Simon Ball, The Bitter Sea: The Struggle for Mastery in the Mediterranean, 1935–1949

“This powerfully argued re-appraisal establishes Command of the Sea as the critical issue that shaped and defined the Second World War. By securing control of the Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean the Allies were able to operate together, including supplying the Soviet Union with essential aid. The same Command of the Sea kept the Axis powers apart, and they were defeated in detail by globally deployable air and land forces.”—Andrew Lambert, author of The Challenge: Britain Against America in the Naval War of 1812

“Accentuated by his highly readable style, this is an excellent introductory work.”—D. M. Hall, Lake Erie College

From the Publisher