Mark Lardas’s Russian Battleships and Cruisers of the Russo-Japanese War (New Vanguard #275) delves into the little discussed Russo-Japanese War. In particular, the Imperial Russian capital ships that fought in the losing effort against an unexpectedly tough opponent in the first defeat of a European power by an Asian foe, with strong repercussions for all
Bouko de Groot’s Dutch Navies of the 80 Years War, 1568-1648 provides a thoughtful exploration into a lesser-known historical period, with insights into the critical years of formative Dutch history culminating in the breakaway from Spain and creation of the subsequent United Provinces of the Netherlands. As the title suggests, this work focuses on the
After WWII the Soviet Union found itself confronted with a new and largely unanticipated problem: the aircraft carriers of the US Navy. They were the chief defense of the sea lanes to our forces disputing the superior Red Army’s potential control of western Europe, as well as a force for “power projection,” capable of strategic
For more than two hundred years, from Louis XIV to the twentieth century, France had the second-greatest navy in the world. It was built to challenge England’s control of the seas and enabled the building of the world’s second-largest overseas colonial empire – and American independence into the bargain. France’s navy always built ships of
US Flush-Deck Destroyers 1916-45: Caldwell, Wickes and Clemson Classes (New Vanguard #259) By Mark Lardas, illustrated by Johnny Shumate & Julian Baker, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, (2018). Reviewed by Jeffrey Schultz Mark Lardas’s US Flush-Deck Destroyers 1916-45 sheds light on the typically overlooked story of the WWI-era US Navy distinctive four funnel (or “four-piper”) destroyers.
