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Title: The Battle of the Atlantic: September 1939-May 1943 (History of United States Naval Operations in World War Ii, 1) by Samuel Eliot Morison, Dudley Wright Knox ISBN: 0-7858-1302-0 Publisher: Book Sales Pub. Date: May, 2001 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3 (1 review)
Rating: 3
Summary: A slow start to a great series.
Comment: This is the first volume in Morison's monumental history of the U.S. Navy in World War II, but it is hardly the most interesting. It covers submarine warfare in the Atlantic for the first years of the war. American losses were terrible during much of this period. As we now know, most of the damage was done by a few German U Boats that were successful because of inept tactics by the Americans. While Morison is an honest historian, and this book was not edited by the Navy, he still (in my judgment) fails to criticize sufficiently the Navy for its failings during this period. After all, the Navy knew that the major danger posed by the German Navy was the latter's submarine fleet; most of its small surface fleet having been sunk by the British Navy in 1940. Moreover, the American Navy had the advantage of access to British experience in fighting U Boats. However, despite having identified the threat years before facing it, and being able to learn from the British successes and failures, the opening of the submarine war in the Atlantic was a disaster for the U.S. Navy. It seems to me that Morison goes too easy on the Chief of Naval Operations at the time, Ernest King, who was well know for his loathing of the British.
Another necessary aspect of this book that makes it less interesting than others in the series is that antisubmarine operations are necessarily small unit actions, unlike the great battles fought in the Pacific. It was a war of attrition, and was eventually won by improved tactics and equipment that caused the Germans to take unacceptable losses.
Having made these criticisms, Morison's series is essential for anyone interested in the details of the U.S. Navy's role in World War II. While later historians have questioned some of his judgments, no one will ever assemble so much so source material on the subject again.
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