The Ship That Changed the World: The Escape of the Goeben to the Dardanelles in 1914 [Paperback]

Dan Van Der Vat (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2001

The exploits of the German battle cruiser Goeben at the outbreak of World War I changed the early course of the war and had a decisive impact on subsequent world history. Virtually alone in the Mediterranean, the Goeben eluded the French and British fleets and joined with Turkish forces, influencing Turkey to enter the war on Germany's side. Ludendorff estimated that this prolonged World War I by two years.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Released in 1985 and 1983, respectively, these volumes recount two of Germany's most remarkable naval stories. Corsair reveals the story of the ship Emdeni, which was the scourge of the Indian Ocean during World War I. Three countries sent a combined force of 78 ships to sink the vessel. When the ship was finally scuttled, the remaining officers and crew incredibly managed to steal another boat and make a getaway across the Red Sea, eventually returning home to Germany. The Ship That Changed the World was the Goeben, whose captain managed to elude British and French forces in order to bring Turkey into the war.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 252 pages
• Publisher: Birlinn Publishers; Revised edition (March 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841580627
• ISBN-13: 978-1841580623
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,669,869 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nicely documented, but ..., September 13, 2009

By 

Weesel "TJ" (Balmer, MD) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Ship That Changed the World: The Escape of the Goeben to the Dardanelles in 1914 (Paperback)

Some of the author's points are garbled. For example, Goeben decided not to tangle with five Russian predreadnought battleships whose shooting was excellent. His parenthetical about Troubridge may have found it interesting that Souchon did not feel he could deal with more than two targets is a bit unfair. Troubridge had four armored cruisers never intended to face battleships as equals. The cruiser's armor and armament was decidedly inferior to tackling even a predreadnought. Souchon correctly assessed the situation with the Russians: built to take a licking and to keep on ticking with battleship-appropriate armament and protection. Troubridge would have provided interesting gunnery practice and cost GOEBEN her ammunition supplies in the event the British battlecruisers ever did catch her. Then given that the battlecruisers protection was of the same order as Troubridge's museum pieces... maybe it's a good thing neither task force met up with GOEBEN.

A good read. The politics and chutzpah is unbelievable. Extremely poor handling of the Turks' pride and sensibilities got the British just what they asked for. Gotta luv Fisher's comments.

5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT HISTORY, April 9, 2010

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C. Murphree "jazrobean" (Salem, MA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Ship That Changed the World: The Escape of the Goeben to the Dardanelles in 1914 (Paperback)

Most people never HEARD of this event. A major event in leading up to the war.

4.0 out of 5 stars positive, April 7, 2010

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Edward Sanders - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Ship That Changed the World: The Escape of the Goeben to the Dardanelles in 1914 (Paperback)

This is a good read but I still think the part about these ships in "the guns of august" sets the bar extremely high.