A01=Vincent O'Hara
afrika korps logistics
Author_Vincent O'Hara
axis supply lines
battleship fleet operations
british naval blockade
Category=JWCK
Category=NHW
Category=NHWR7
central mediterranean theater
convoy escort missions
decima mas commandos
eq_bestseller
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
Intelligence
italian cruiser forces
italian naval convoys
Logistics
malta strike force
maritime interdiction doctrine
Maritime Operations
maritime supply warfare
Mediterranean Convoy War
mediterranean convoy warfare
mediterranean naval warfare
naval air power mediterranean
naval campaign analysis
Naval Combat
naval intelligence warfare
naval interdiction operations
naval logistics warfare
naval mine warfare
naval war in the Mediterranean
north africa campaign 1941
raid on alexandria 1941
regia marina operations
royal navy mediterranean
sea control strategy
Sea Power
signals intelligence ww2
special operations naval
submarine warfare mediterranean
torpedo bomber operations
ultra intelligence operations
World War II
Product details
- ISBN 9781682479490
- Dimensions: 152 x 228mm
- Publication Date: 28 Mar 2024
- Publisher: Naval Institute Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
Secure
checkout
Fast Shipping
Easy returns
Six Victories examines one of the most interesting and instructive naval campaigns of World War II: the war on traffic in the Mediterranean during the fall and winter of 1941-42. It is a cautionary tale of how sea power was practiced, and how it shifted 180 degrees overnight. Based on British and Italian archival sources, the book emphasizes strategic context, the role of intelligence, and the campaign's logistics.
In October 1941 the British Admiralty based a surface strike force in Malta to attack Axis sea lanes between Italy and Africa. Aided by Ultra intelligence, submarines, and bombers based in Malta, this force dominated the Central Mediterranean. From the end of October through the middle of December 1941, less than a third of the supplies shipped from Italian ports arrived in Libya. Shortages of ammunition and fuel finally compelled the Afrika Korps to retreat four hundred miles. Then, in the space of thirty hours, this all changed. First, Italian naval forces broke the blockade by fighting through a major convoy that arrived in time to blunt the British advance; next, the strike force plowed into a minefield laid by Italian cruisers; and finally, in a daring attack, Italian commandos crippled the Mediterranean Fleet's battleships in port. The swing in fortune was immediate and dramatic.
Six Victories breaks new ground in the historiography of World War II. A compelling story, it relates lessons that are relevant today and should be required reading for all who practice the art of power at sea and for those who want to understand the intricate and interrelated factors that are the foundations of military success.
In October 1941 the British Admiralty based a surface strike force in Malta to attack Axis sea lanes between Italy and Africa. Aided by Ultra intelligence, submarines, and bombers based in Malta, this force dominated the Central Mediterranean. From the end of October through the middle of December 1941, less than a third of the supplies shipped from Italian ports arrived in Libya. Shortages of ammunition and fuel finally compelled the Afrika Korps to retreat four hundred miles. Then, in the space of thirty hours, this all changed. First, Italian naval forces broke the blockade by fighting through a major convoy that arrived in time to blunt the British advance; next, the strike force plowed into a minefield laid by Italian cruisers; and finally, in a daring attack, Italian commandos crippled the Mediterranean Fleet's battleships in port. The swing in fortune was immediate and dramatic.
Six Victories breaks new ground in the historiography of World War II. A compelling story, it relates lessons that are relevant today and should be required reading for all who practice the art of power at sea and for those who want to understand the intricate and interrelated factors that are the foundations of military success.
Vincent P. O'Hara is an independent scholar and the author of eleven works, most recently, Torch and Clash of Fleets. He holds a history degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and lives in Chula Vista, California.
