World War II at Sea: A Global History

In the Author’s Note Craig Symonds says, “The Second World War was the single greatest cataclysm of violence in human history.” To fight that war the United States constructed the largest, most technologically advanced navy ever seen to that point in history. This book in part tells that story but the book is not just about America’s war at sea. The US also constructed the largest fleet of merchant shipping ever seen to support her allies and her own military in that terrible conflict. This book tells that story but it also addresses the Herculean ordeal of transporting critically needed supplies across thousands of miles of ocean to keep Britain, the Soviets, the Australians and New Zealanders, and China in the war. This book is also about the larger conflict. It attempts to examine all the important naval encounters of all the important belligerents and it succeeds.Professor Symonds organizes the narrative chronologically, dovetailing the events that took place at the same time but separated by great distances. Most authors cover the war geographically, telling the story of war in the Atlantic separately from the war in the Pacific. That is done for organizational convenience and because most authors focus on the United States. Craig Symonds covers all the navies of the major belligerents with a descriptive command that clearly illustrates the historical flow to the reader. Several episodes of the war not usually covered appear here. The Norwegian Campaign and the naval confrontations in the Mediterranean are typically not well covered but the author corrects that in this book. I found the story of the attempts to relieve the garrison on Malta gripping; I had never heard of Operation Pedestal before. Another important event covered by the author that is usually missed by others: the monumental importance of Congressman Carl Vinson and the Two Ocean Navy Act he pushed through the House.The author not only emphasizes the importance of merchant shipping to the war effort but focuses the reader on the significance of the amphibious ships and craft necessary to deliver the Allies to the beaches. In this discussion Symonds gets a chance to examine the competition for resources that resulted from attempting to quickly build not only the huge numbers of so many different types of vessels but also build airplanes, tanks, jeeps, trucks and artillery as well. This competition meant that one type of ship, the Landing Ship Tank, would be the limiting factor. The LST could not be replaced by any other vessel and Eisenhower very nearly did not have enough for the invasion of Northern Europe. The Allies had planned an invasion of Southern France, Operation Anvil, to be simultaneously launched with Overlord. The LST requirements for Anvil would limit the sealift for Overlord. Professor Symonds explains Eisenhower’s dilemma, “…while there would be enough LSTs for the first three tides, after that ‘we will have no repeat no LSTs reaching the beaches after the morning of D plus 1 until the morning of D plus 4.” (p 508) That is a long time to go without reinforcement or resupply. That is how critical the LST was. It did not help matters that the invasion of Saipan in the Pacific was planned to take place at nearly the same time as Overlord. The war in the Pacific accounted for the dearth of LSTs in Europe and the Mediterranean. The US did produce an overwhelming amount of war material. With plentiful natural resources, massive industrial and agricultural capacity the US still did experience critical shortages at critical times in the war. Anvil was postponed until August of 1944 and renamed Dragoon. The war in the Pacific continued unabated.Craig L Symonds is an outstanding author. He can translate the history of a single battle or a grand sweeping survey of a six year global war into gripping and enthralling literature. Professor Symonds currently is the Ernest J. King Professor of Maritime History at the US Naval War College after a long distinguished career as a professor of naval history at the US Naval Academy. He has won many awards to include the Samuel Eliot Morison Award for Naval Literature for his book Neptune: The Allied Invasion of Europe and the D-Day Landings. So, besides being a gifted author Professor Symonds is also a highly respected naval historian. I first discovered him through his book on the Battle of Midway and when Neptune came out I had to get it. Both are just fabulous examples of how to tell an engaging story, explain technological details while maintaining the reader’s interest and pass on the history of that time and place, and of the people involved, in a way that flows like a novel. Since Neptune was published I have been keeping an eye out for his next work. When I saw the topic of his new effort I was stunned. Yes, that is what I want. I want a single volume history of World War II at sea and I want it written by Craig Symonds! I am completely satisfied with the result.

As a retired US Army artillery LTC, Naval War College graduate, 50 year complex war gamer, and amateur war history buff I think “World War II at Sea” is the best narrative about how naval warfare impacted the entire war effort of both the Allies and the Axis. This is not a detailed narrative of every naval battle. But it includes most of the major battles, some maps, and many minor skirmishes so as to set the context for how these battles affected the war. There are some paragraphs and photos on the personalities and how those personalities effected the outcome. There are detailed reviews of submarine warfare and merchant shipping. I had no idea how important and scarce LSTs were. Very little on the technologies except as to how each came into the war and impacted the outcome. The book covers all theaters even including Japan’s foray into the Indian Ocean. It covers how the sea war impacted the land war. Nice review at end on what happened to the major personalities. I learned a lot. Excellent notes for this well researched book. This is a must read for anyone interested in WWII. And in my opinion, ought to be required reading at the Navy War College.

Great read, very detailed but easy to follow. Page turner especially for a nonfiction book on history. Would recommend to read

Intriguing that after WWI, "sixty-two nations ... outlawed war as an instrument of national policy" (p. xv) pursuant to the executed Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact (1928). Clearly, it failed.The author's adroit savvy discourse seamlessly integrates diverse locations/events/battles. Organized, eloquent, comprehensive. The subject matter incorporating WWII and the various navies, on a global scale, is challenging, yet the narrative is eloquently readable.Unfortunately, the author failed to relentlessly vett his conclusion (pp. 480-481) and footnote 17 with respect to General Douglas MacArthur. A discussion concerning the strategy of skipping entrenched Japanese bases -- the author asserts: "Several individuals have been credited with applying it to Cartwheel, including MacArthur, who claimed responsibility for it in his memoirs [sic] though in fact he initially opposed it and was a late convert to the idea" (pp. 480-481). No immediate reference is indicated, until a paragraph later, alluding to footnote 17 citing page 169 of MacArthur's expose. Firstly, the author incorrectly describes the plurality of "memoirs." In contravention, MacArthur wrote only one (1) singular memoir entitled "Reminiscences: General Of The Army." Secondly, in examining pages 163-164 of "Reminiscences," MacArthur did not credit himself with a novel maneuver. No direct or indirect responsibility was suggested by MacArthur. Hence, untrue. Gossip echoes. To wit, the same misinformation was erroneously perpetuated by Ian W. Toll's "The Conquering Tide: War In The Pacific Islands, 1942-1944" on page 232.Nonfiction demands rigorous impeccability. Personal subjective prejudices compromises the entire work affecting its pristine objectivity. Truth necessitates diligence.

Mr. Almonds does a great service to us, this book presents the world-wide naval conflict in a readable way. I learned things I had not before. The Tallboy bomb; the Regia Marina, the issues with lack of fuel once the subs really picked up sending tankers below the waves.

very well written. When describing a battle in the Pacific, Symonds also tells you what's happening at the same time in the Atlantic.

Just a brilliant book which over some 800 pages provides a fascinating overview of the naval actions of WW2. In particular I enjoyed the detail provided on the Vichy French and Italian navies as they tried to survive and progress their individual nations destinies in the war. The Pacific war with the two invasion strategies across the island chains under MacArthur and Nimitz was very concisely set out. A very powerful book.

Gute Übersicht und Zusammenfassung.

Ce livre décrit toutes les opérations navales de la seconde guerre mondiale de manière très précise, tout en donnant une vue d'ensemble des enjeux et stratégies à l'œuvre. Ca se lit presque comme un roman.

Craig Symonds "World War II at Sea" gives a well researched and thorough account of the Big Picture of the World wide naval conflicts in WW2.The book comes together of the War at Sea as a chronological account of the Naval warfare in both the Atlantic and Mediterranean theatres of the War against Nazi Germany and the war against Japan in the Pacific.Symonds has produced a highly readable and riveting account of 6 years of Maritime conflict with sufficient detail to leave the reader well informed without being bogged down in the minute details of the long sequence of naval engagements and actions . With a book with the scope of "World War II at Sea" Craig Symonds has skillfully struck the perfect balance.