Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Chapter · 30:37-32:01

A visual overview of Second World War naval battles

A picture-rich survey maps major Second World War naval actions while inviting readers to notice how battles and campaigns are selected and sequenced.

Arctic ConvoysBattle Of The North CapeBattle Of The River PlateBattles Of NarvikConvoy PQ 17German Battleship BismarckHMS GloriousNaval Battle Of CasablancaOperation HarpoonOperation PedestalOperation TorchOperation VigorousWorld War II Naval Battles
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Notes

Leo Marriott's Naval Battles of the Second World War is an accessible, picture-rich overview rather than a densely written operational history. It covers the River Plate, Narvik, HMS Glorious, the pursuit of Bismarck, PQ17, North Cape, Operations Harpoon, Vigorous, and Pedestal, and the naval battle of Casablanca during Operation Torch. The maps and image selection make it useful as a guide to the major theatres represented in the book. Its numbering of Narvik also raises a question: should the Norwegian-German action precede the two Royal Navy battles, or be treated as battle zero? That disagreement shows how even an introductory survey makes choices about which actions count and how a campaign is framed.