The Battle of Trafalgar; 21 October 1805; remains one of the defining moments in naval history. The decisive nature of the engagement; the death of Nelson and the outpouring of national grief in the aftermath have inspired a wealth of literature on the battle and many narratives have retold this famous action. However; until now no work has attempted to provide an in depth history of each of the British; French and Spanish vessels that were at the engagement. Dividing the fleets into the relevant classes by their rating; the work then proceeds to provide a service history of each individual vessel; including specifications tables; list of commanders; casualty lists and refit histories. Each class of vessel is illustrated by original plans drawn specially by the author alongside contemporary and modern images of the ships.
#334494 in Books Thomas B Buell 2009-11-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.08 x 1.48 x 5.74l; 1.41 #File Name: 1591140854560 pagesThe Quiet Warrior A Biography of Admiral Raymond A Spruance
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Well written a good readBy buskermanI gave it 5 stars for it was a book that I made time to read.Gave a good insight to an Admiral who is largely misunderstood;and from other books I have read on WW2 Military Leadershe seems an after though. A lot of he could have or should have;he wins a battle but seem to bring out the negative. The authordid a good job of presenting Spruance as well as he couldunlocking the private life giving a good idea on how the Admiralthought.The authors Philippines election chastising I felt unnecessaryand tried to put the Admiral now then Ambassador in bad light.A good read with some obvious flaws.6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. The Invisible Admiral.By CustomerAdmiral Raymond Spruance was quiet self effacing; lacking in color; and he shied away from the spotlight. But that was his way of conducting naval operations. He was the opposite of Admiral Bill Halsey; who enjoyed the spotlight. Admiral Spruance was a planner; he left nothing to chance. He commanded a carrier force at Midway; and enjoyed success. He took on the jap carrier force at the Marianas Campaign; and achieved great success; over the doubts of his carrier admirals. He commanded at the Okinawa Campaign; and withstood the suicide planes. He succeeded without being flashy or showy; he never needed to shout about his accomplishments. He was the admirals chioce as admiral. JRV0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Aloof Admiral?By Warren DalzellAn adequate biography of Admiral Spruance; sitting as a harmonious complement alongside Toll's and Hornfischer's Pacific War histories. The contrast with Halsey is credible and kindly to both; but the postwar fallout with King and the Washington swamp dwellers is not tackled convincingly. Nor is the ascendancy of the aviators. News to me; Spruance's strength as Ambassador granted the Philippines a temporary respite from corrupt leadership. The book implies Spruance's Stateside endeavours and disappointments as Failure to Engage.
