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THE FLEET THAT HAD TO DIE First published by Hamish Hamilton, London November 1958 |
A green cloth bound book with gilt lettering to spine in VERY GOOD MINUS condition. A little shelf and use wear. £3.00 + P & P |
Author's preface
This is the story of a feet and the admiral who sailed it on one of the most heroic voyages in the history of the sea. The fleet was a collection of forty-two mainly old and all badly-equipped men-of-war; the admiral a frustrated and irascible aristocrat who placed duty to his country and his Emperor above all else.
It is the story of an 18,000-mile Odyssey, a tragi-comedy with a cast of 12,000 sailors, whose spirits and courage rose and fell like the tides of the oceans on which they sailed. For the man who led them, the voyage was a ceaseless struggle against the incompetence and perfidy of his subordinates, the corruption of his superiors, the antagonism and mockery of the world; culminating in the greatest sea battle of modern times. Yet even in the worst moments of agony and despair, neither the admiral nor his fleet could escape the twists of ironical farce which beset them on their voyage to meet the enemy at TsuShima—the Island of the Donkey's Ears.
This book is not primarily concerned with history, though it is a true story set in one of the most wretchedly useless wars ever fought. It is a book about men and ships: men taken from their homes and caught ludicrously unprepared for the rigours of a great journey and a great battle; and ships which should never have gone to sea.
November 1957 R.H.
Contents
I. THE PROMOTION OF THE CAPTAIN
II. PREPARATIONS FOR DEPARTURE
III. THE ADMIRAL BLUNDERS
IV. THE ADMIRAL IS UNREPENTANT
V. 'WITHDRAW YOUR FLEET AT ONCE'
VI. THE FLEET STAGNATES
VII. REINFORCEMENTS FROM HOME
VIII. 'BATTLE FLAGS ARE TO BE SENT UP'
IX. THE MEETING AT DONKEY'S EARS
X. THE ADMIRAL IS TRANSFERRED
XI. THE ADMIRAL REACHES HARBOUR
XII. THE ADMIRAL RETURNS HOME
Bibliography
List of Illustrations
- Vice-Admiral Zinovy Petrovitch Rozhestvensky
- The Russian battleship Oryol
- The Dogger Bank Incident
- Rear-Admiral Felkevzam
- Captain Nicholas Klado
- Battleships of the Suvoroff class at Nossi-Be, Madagascar
- The Fleet passes Singapore
- Rear-Admiral Nebogatoff, and a ship which sailed under his command
- Artist's impression of the Russian Fleet receiving first Japanese salvoes
- Japanese torpedo-boats press home attacks on the Oryol during the night action
- Upper deck of the Oryol after Tsu-Shima
- The Groznyi races off while the Bedovyi surrenders to the enemy
- Admiral Heihachiro Togo
- Admirals Togo and Rozhestvensky after the battle
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Airmail USA etc. |
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£4.09 |
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