Beachhead Assault-  The Story of the Royal Naval Commandos in World War II

Beachhead Assault- The Story of the Royal Naval Commandos in World War II

Jellicoes War - The U-Boat Threat in World War I... - PRE ORDER

Jellicoes War - The U-Boat Threat in World War I... - PRE ORDER

The Royal Navy in the Cold War Years, 1966–1990 - Retreat and Revival

Edward Hampshire

During the period covered by this new book the Royal Navy faced some of its greatest challenges, both at sea confronting the increasingly capable and impressive Soviet Navy, and on shore when it faced policy crises that threatened the survival of much of the fleet. Elegantly written for a wide audience, it will be a very significant volume for professional and enthusiast alike.
£35.00
Availability: In stock
During the period covered by this new book the Royal Navy faced some of its greatest challenges, both at sea confronting the increasingly capable and impressive Soviet Navy, and on shore when it faced policy crises that threatened the survival of much of the fleet. During this remarkable period, the Navy had rarely been so focussed on a single theatre of war – the Eastern Atlantic – but also rarely so politically vulnerable. The author sets out to analyse shadowing operations and confrontations at sea with Soviet ships and submarines; the Navy’s role in the enormous NATO and Warsaw Pact naval exercises that acted out potential war scenarios; individual operations from the Falklands and the 1990–91 Gulf War to the Beira and Armilla patrols; the development of advanced naval technologies to counter Soviet capabilities; policy-making controversies as the three services fought for resources – including the controversial 1981 Nott defence review; and what life was like in the Cold War navy for ratings and officers. The book, the first to cover this subject in depth for more than thirty years, will make use of the full range of archival sources that have been publicly available over the last two decades, but of which little use has been made by historians. This work is destined to become a definitive naval history of the period, and also provide a fascinating and gripping narrative of a navy under threat from many directions but which survived and eventually prospered, winning a remarkable victory in the far South Atlantic more than 7,000 miles from its expected battleground in the North Atlantic. Elegantly written for a wide audience, it will be a very significant volume for professional and enthusiast alike.

ISBN: 9781399041225
Format: Hardback
Author(s): Edward Hampshire
First Publishment Date: 05 July 2024
More Information
Coming Soon No
Author(s) Edward Hampshire
Customer Reviews
  1. If you are interested in our recent naval history, this book is a must for your Santa list.
    It is now possible for the entire Cold War Period to be assessed more objectively and informatively than ever before. Until recently, as far as the Royal Navy was concerned, the narrative had concentrated almost exclusively on decline amidst the final dismantling of Britain’s once vast empire. However, this book’s strapline, ‘Retreat and Revival’ implies that the years under scrutiny, 1966-1990, did not witness a terminal reduction in capability but rather a re- adjustment to a much-changed, post-war world. Edward Hampshire makes best use of the experience and knowledge he gained by working for a number of years at the National Archives at Kew and currently at the Ministry of Defence’s Naval Historical Branch. It is now over thirty years since the end of the period covered in his book, meaning that the Government and MoD files of the time are open for public scrutiny. His ability to utilise a vast amount of information and to interpret it in an accessible form for the reader is possibly the most remarkable achievement of this fine work. The book starts with arguably the darkest moment, at least in modern Royal Navy history, the cancelling of the aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth in 1966. The maintenance of the carrier strike force had long been the lynch-pin the RN relied upon to justify its large slice of the annual defence budget. However, the creation of the Ministry of Defence in 1964 had removed the Admiralty’s direct line to government and the Navy found itself faced with an increasingly sceptical succession of politicians and officials ready to question the relevance of the maritime dimension while ‘hell-bent’ on cost-cutting. Hampshire describes the effect on the RN during very difficult years in the 1970s from a wide perspective encompassing a range of issues – amongst them strategy, warship design, procurement, leadership and also personnel, recruitment and retention, service pay, dockyards, shore establishments and much more. Vitally, the Navy was forced to justify its existence in the face of calls for a diminishing defence budget to be spent primarily on a European, land-based strategy. A number of factors contributed to the way in which the RN was able to extricate itself and to formulate a more coherent strategy whilst painfully coming to terms with what was affordable. Following a nadir reached in 1981, the vagaries of history assisted through the unexpected intervention of the Falklands War and later the outcomes of the US Maritime Strategy which greatly favoured the RN. However, it is the fate of successive Royal Naval warship designs which rightly remain at the heart of this narrative, whether successful or not in procurement and successful or otherwise in service. The road to at least a semblance of revival was difficult and the legacy of that time is discernible to this day - as is evident in each issue of this magazine. If you are interested in our recent naval history, this book is a must for your Santa list.

    Review by

    Posted on

Write Your Own Review
You're reviewing:The Royal Navy in the Cold War Years, 1966–1990 - Retreat and Revival