Clash of Fleets: Naval Battles of the Great War, 1914-18

by Vincent P. O'Hara, Leonard R. Heinz

'Clash of Fleets' is an operational history that records every naval engagement fought between major surface warships during World War I. Much more than a catalog of combat facts, 'Clash of Fleets' explores why battles occurred; how the different navies fought; and how combat advanced doctrine and affected the development and application of technology. The result is a holistic overview of the war at sea as it affected all nations and all theaters of war. A work of this scope is unprecedented.

Organized into seven chapters, the authors first introduce the technology, weapons, ships, and the doctrine that governed naval warfare in 1914. The next five chapters explore each year of the war and are subdivided into sections corresponding to major geographic areas. This arrangement allows the massive sweep of action to be presented in a structured and easy to follow format that includes engagements fought by the Austro-Hungarian, British, French, German, Ottoman, and Russian Navies in the Adriatic, Aegean, Baltic, Black, Mediterranean, and North Seas as well as the Atlantic, India, and Pacific Oceans. The role of surface combat in the Great War is analyzed and these actions are compared to major naval wars before and after.

In addition to providing detailed descriptions of actions in their historical perspectives, O’Hara and Heinz advance several themes, including the notion that World War I was a war of navies as much as a war of armies. They explain that surface combat had a major impact on all aspects of the naval war and on the course of the war in general.

Finally, 'Clash of Fleets' illustrates that systems developed in peace do not always work as expected in war, that some are not used as anticipated, and that others became unexpectedly important. There is much for today’s naval professional to consider in the naval conflict that occurred a century ago.

Genres: History

384 pages, Hardcover

Published April 15, 2017

About the author

Vincent P. O'Hara is a noted naval historian and the author, co-author, or editor of eight books and many articles that have appeared in publications like Naval War College Review, Warship, Seaforth Naval Review, and Military History Quarterly. O'Hara was a winner of the Shrout Short Contest awarded by the University of California, Berkeley. Ossa is his first published work of fiction.

Reviews

[Heinz Reinhardt · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent overview of the naval aspect of the Great War. As an introductory source for the naval history of the war, I have to say I wouldn't recommend it. It started out well, describing naval terminology, what the missions of a navy were, what naval doctrine was, and how Strategy as a concept differed for maritime forces as opposed to land ones.
All of that was exceptional for someone like myself who is still a relative neophyte when it comes to comprehension of naval affairs. A look at ship types, and their mission briefs, was also excellent.
And then the book got into the war itself. This was moderately disappointing for me as the way it was structured was unlike what I had expected. The war itself was broken down not into timeframe, but oceanic areas, as in the Adriatic, the Black Sea, the North Sea, etc... From there each individual action was described in it's own seperate section, much like an encyclopedia entry.
This got rather tiresome after a while, as so many of the actions were incredibly similar, namely a fleet or task force would run into the opposing side, who would be badly outnumbered, the opposing side would put on steam and get the hell out, with an ineffectual exchange of fire over ever lengthening distances.
Personally, I would have preferred more of a broader, seagulls eye view of the conflict, with telescoping in to view in detail the more important engagements, with the book focusing on analyzing the competing strategies and attempts at technological and doctrinal experimentations.
Granted, this is entirely subjective, others may find it rewarding. And that all said, the book is a keeper as it, quite literally, describes, at least in brief, every major, and the vast majority of the minor, actions of the war. And each is chronologically showcased by oceanic region.
Overall, this is a good, though not great, book. I can recommend it, though it might not be to everyone's taste.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

An original way to cover this topic. The author looks at all WW1 naval battles with a methodical approach focusing on the mission pursued by each navy. The final section of the book provides an analysis of the efficiency of each navy and provides tools and measurements to compare them. I wish the author had expanded that part because this where he shines and adds value to the debate surrounding naval performance. A good book but limited in its coverage of the geopolitical and strategic factors. 3 1/2 stars. .

[Nishant Pappireddi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful account of sea battles during WW1.