Classic Sea Fights

11 October 1797: The Dutch (aka Batavian) fleet, now allied with Napoleonic France, once again poses an existential naval threat to Britain. The epochal Battle of Camperdown ensues.

Showdown Off Camperdown

Borne by the armies of Napoleon Bonaparte, the French revolutionary spirit spread like a virus across Europe in the late 18th century.

June 2024

The powerful Byzantine fleet unexpectedly meets its match at the Battle of the Masts in 655 AD.

Dhāt al-Ṣawārī: Clash of Civilizations at Sea

After the Battle of the Masts, the Islamic naval threat would loom over the Mediterranean for centuries.

Eric Mills

March 2024

8 December 1914: The Scharnhorst sinks with all hands after having staved off the inevitable for hours against a superior British force in the Battle of the Falkland Islands.

Action in the South Atlantic

They were the pride of the Imperial German Navy’s elite East Asia Squadron

December 2023

Perilous coast: Chinese pirate junks gang up on an unfortunate merchant ship.

Hunting the Pirate-Kings of the South China Coast

The South China Sea has emerged as one of today’s maritime trouble spots, but these were dangerous waters in times past as well. In the 1840s, the South China Sea ...

October 2023

The Battle of Malta: A Naval Genius Emerges

The annals of medieval warfare record a conflict of especial interest to those who love sea history—for every important clash in this war was a naval battle.

July 2023