Customer Reviews

Hold the Narrow Sea: Naval Warfare in the English Channel 1939-1945

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Whenever I get a book written by Peter C. Smith, I know I am in for another treat. This author has the knack of finding a subject within the overall subject which is often overlooked by other serious historians and writers. From WW2, for example, many famous naval battles have been covered by far more writers than one might have thought possible - with not all of those accounts being factually correct. In this book, however, we learn how the Royal Navy defended a narrow but vital stretch of water throughout WW2. No, this is not where the Bismarck was sunk, nor was it the setting for epic encounters on a par with those fought during the latter stages of the War in the Pacific. It was, however, a "thin blue line" between a free Britain and a European continent under the domination of a cruel dictatorship. It was, therefore, a thin blue line that had to be defended at all costs. This is the story of that defence and of the men, ships and battles that took place.

In a carefully constructed work, Peter Smith takes the reader from those early Dover patrols at the beginning of 1939 during that period known as the Phoney War - largely because nothing seemed to be happening, through the famous Dunkirk evacuation, channel convoys, encounters with E Boats and U Boats, the raids on Dieppe and St. Nazaire, the escape of the German Battle Fleet, Normandy landings and finally the liberation of the Channel islands.

It is an enticing read full of new information of which I was previously unaware. The book includes a selection of 65 black and white images placed together in the middle which, collectively, add much to the work.

Altogether, I would suggest this is serious reading for those with an interest in the subject and written by one whose work you can trust.

NM