An engrossing compendium of high-seas military disasters
From the days of the Spanish Armada to the modern age of aircraft carriers, battles have been bungled just as badly on water as they have been on land. Some blunders were the result of insufficient planning, overinflated egos, espionage, or miscalculations; others were caused by ideas that didn't hold water in the first place. In glorious detail, here are thirty-three of history's worst maritime mishaps, including:
The British Royal Navy's misguided attempts to play it safe during the American Revolution
The short life and death of the Imperial Japanese Navy
The scuttling of the
Graf Spee
by a far inferior force
The sinking of the Nazi megaship
Bismarck
"Remember the
Maine
!"—the lies that started the Spanish-American War
Admiral Nelson losing track of Napoleon but redeeming himself at the Nile
The ANZAC disaster at Gallipoli
Germany's failed WWII campaign in the North Atlantic
Kennedy's quarantine of Cuba
Chock-full of amazing facts and hilarious trivia,
How to Lose a War at Sea
is the most complete volume of nautical failures ever assembled.