Securing the Narrow Sea

"The Dover Patrol, 1914-1918"

By Steve R. Dunn
Hardcover $41.95
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Overview

The Dover Patrol, which brought together an assortment of vessels ranging from the modern to the antique and included cruisers, monitors, destroyers, trawlers, drifters, yachts, and airships, was commanded by a series of radical and polarizing personalities and increasingly manned by citizen volunteers. Between 1914 and 1918 the men of the Patrol sought to shut down German access to the Atlantic via the narrows of the English Channel, with the goal of preventing German-bound trade going in and U-boats, commerce raiders, and warships coming out. Their story has rarely been told, but it was the longest, and probably the most arduous, continuous naval campaign of the war, demanding much sacrifice of ships and men.

Using first-hand accounts of the participants, this book examines the wide-ranging exploits of the Dover Patrol—from shore bombardment, barrage building and maintenance, antisubmarine work, and escort duties to the protection of troops and supplies for the Western Front and ship-to-ship engagements with German forces. It also charts the in-fighting at the Admiralty which led to two changes of command and examines the personalities of the men involved.

About the Author

Steve Dunn

Steve Dunn has a special interest in the Royal Navy of the late Victorian, Edwardian, and World War I eras. His books include biographies of Admirals Cradock and Troubridge and the story of the first British battleship, Formidable, to be sunk by a torpedo. His most recent books, Blockade, and Securing the Narrow Sea, cover those other significant naval theatres in the great trade battles of World War I.

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Editorial Reviews

"Securing the Narrow Sea is highly recommended as a corrective to the land-centric Western Front versions of the First World War. It is an important addition to the bookshelf of anyone interested in the 1914-1918 war."  —Australian Naval Institute
"Published within months of one another, these two books describe important campaigns of the First World War in which naval reservists played notable parts." —Warships, as part of the publication's Naval Books of the Year
"Securing the Narrow Sea is interesting and different. It tells of a largely forgotten, yet vital, naval campaign of World War I."  —Naval Historical Foundation
"Steve Dunn focuses on the often overlooked service of the British naval forces stationed in the English Channel during the conflict....he explains the unglamorous yet frequently dangerous contribution the patrol made to Britain's victory over Germany in 1918..." —New Books Network