- Paperback: 192 pages
- Publisher: The History Press Ltd (Mar 2011)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0752458299
- ISBN-13: 978-0752458298
- Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 15.4 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
171,118 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #18 in Books > History > Maritime History > Naval Battles
- #49 in Books > History > World History > World War II 1939-1945 > Naval Warfare > Britain
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Product Description
Product Description
In March 1941, the Royal Navy scored one of the greatest one-sided victories against the Italian Fleet the Regia Marina at Matapan. It brought to an end six months of remarkable success for the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean. When France fell and Italy declared war on Britain, Admiral Dudley Pound had wanted to evacuate the Mediterranean altogether and concentrate on home defence. Churchill overruled him, regarding such a move as the death knell of the British Empire. His decision made the Mediterranean theatre the focus of British land operations for four years, reliant on the Navy. In Admiral Andrew Cunningham, Churchill had a fleet commander in the Mediterranean who would miss no chance of hounding the enemy. Affectionately known as A.B.C. by his men, Cunningham was salty in his language, intolerant of fools and a master of tactics. In "The Battle of Matapan 1941: The Trafalgar of the Mediterranean", Mark Simmons explores the remarkable victories of Taranto and Matapan, as seen through the eyes of the men who manned the ships and flew the aircraft of the Mediterranean Fleet.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a very interesting revisiting of the battle of Cape Matapan. The author clearly places both navies in their contemporary contexts, and explains what they hoped and intended to achieve. He then slowly dissects the battle in handy blocks of time (including a section on the Taranto raid which sets much of the tone). Because Ultra is now no longer secret we can clearly see its fingerprints everywhere. There is an excellent sense of the element of Blind Man's Bluff that is found in naval warfare of this era.
My only complaint is that I'd have liked more maps.
My only complaint is that I'd have liked more maps.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a highly readable account of the travails and successes of the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean, before Pearl Harbour. Mark Simmons writes with clarity, pace and precision and after reading his account I understood the gains and losses as ground out by the Royal Navy in this vital theatre of war. I read an account once, which held that the Japanese had studied RN tactics in Taranto and Matapan for their assault on Pearl Harbour and this would not be surprising.
Not for the first time, do we see the courageous and determined fighting by the RN to secure advantage over the Italian fleet and of course the supply lines to North Africa, and this book nicely depicts the balance of power at that time. The book also gives a well-balanced account of the strengths and limitations of the Italian and German forces.
I was intrigued to discover that this was not the first battle which turned on the advantage wrought by a crew flying an obsolete Swordfish into a hail of enemy bullets, in order to press home their attack and disable a capital ship with a single torpedo. The cruisers that then wandered into the British 15 inch guns of the British battleships were directly as a result of the chain of events set off by this single event. The author also describes successes of the Italian "Sea Chariots", the damage wrought by both sides with submarines and dive bombers and I wonder if what was being demonstrated at that time was the vulnerability and eclipse of the "big gun" ship by more nimble and less costly weapons of war. This point effectively being underlined by Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbour and on Force "Z". So, in conclusion, an interesting and well-presented read of an eventful time for the Royal Navy.
Not for the first time, do we see the courageous and determined fighting by the RN to secure advantage over the Italian fleet and of course the supply lines to North Africa, and this book nicely depicts the balance of power at that time. The book also gives a well-balanced account of the strengths and limitations of the Italian and German forces.
I was intrigued to discover that this was not the first battle which turned on the advantage wrought by a crew flying an obsolete Swordfish into a hail of enemy bullets, in order to press home their attack and disable a capital ship with a single torpedo. The cruisers that then wandered into the British 15 inch guns of the British battleships were directly as a result of the chain of events set off by this single event. The author also describes successes of the Italian "Sea Chariots", the damage wrought by both sides with submarines and dive bombers and I wonder if what was being demonstrated at that time was the vulnerability and eclipse of the "big gun" ship by more nimble and less costly weapons of war. This point effectively being underlined by Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbour and on Force "Z". So, in conclusion, an interesting and well-presented read of an eventful time for the Royal Navy.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is the first book by Mr Simmons i have read,if he is going to write others to this standard i for one look forward to reading them,this book is detailed,fluid and very fair to both sides including a very good insight into the Italian naval forces,the final chapter is one of the most cogent i have read in any book,giving credible reasons for the failure of the Italian fleet to live up to expectations.The story behind the cover painting is fascinating,a very good set of photographs,a first class update of this battle and much more besides.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Matapan- another view
This is the third book I have read about Matapan after having read Harry Plevy's Battleship Sailors and Iain Ballantyne's Warspite. Read more
Published 2 months ago by G. Pharoah
The Royal Navy alone 1940-41 in the Mediterranean
A great read with references from other great books. The first half of the book gives the reader a build up to this battle which includes Taranto. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Trevor Walhen
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