Naval Warfare in the English Channel 1939 - 1945

From the year 1066 the English Channel has provided Great Britain with a natural defensive barrier, but never more than in the early days of World War Two.

This book relates how the Royal Navy defended that vital seaway throughout the war. From the early days of the Dover Patrols, through the traumas of the Dunkirk evacuation, the battles of the Channel convoys; the war against the E-boats and U-boats; the tragic raids at Dieppe and St Nazaire; the escape of the German battle-fleet; coastal convoys; the Normandy landings and the final liberation of the Channel Islands.

**A year-by-year examination of key WWI battles and how the ongoing advances in artillery shaped strategy, tactics, and oprations; includes battlefield maps!**

World War I is often said to have been an artillery war, yet the decisive role artillery played in shaping military decisions--and therefor the war itself--has rarely been examined. *Artillery in the Great War* traces the development of this all-important technology, the differing approaches to its use, the many innovations it underwent on both sides, and how those approaches and innovations in turn effected key battles such as the Battle of the Somme.

This highly readable and informative history is perfect for any reader interested in understanding the legacy of World War I, or the evolution of modern warfare.