From the Dreadnought to Scapa Flow, Volume II: The War Years: To the Eve of Jutland, 1914-1916

From the Dreadnought to Scapa Flow: Royal Navy in the Fisher Era, #2

by Arthur J. Marder, Barry M. Gough (Introduction)

PROFESSOR MARDER'S first volume, 'The Road to War', dealt with the years when Fisher prepared the Navy for the great conflict which he foresaw; with this second volume comes the time of testing. There were initial set-backs: the escape of the German ship Goeben, the defeat at Coronel — avenged in the Falklands battle — the humiliation of the Dardanelles, the submarine menace; but over all hangs the great question of strategy: how was the German High Seas Fleet to be brought to a battle in which the Royal Navy could inflict that crushing blow which all British sailors believed it capable of dealing. While the viewpoint of the admirals like Beatty and Jellicoe, and other serving officers, is not overlooked, and the principal operations are vividly outlined, all is related to the policy-making level of the Cabinet and the inner councils of the Admiralty. Besides published accounts, official and unofficial, unpublished papers from many sources have been used to make a historical narrative which is complete and authoritative, while a momentous story is skillfully told.

Genres: World War I, Naval History, Military History, Nonfiction, History

496 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1965

About the author

The son of Maxwell J. Marder and Ida Greenstein, Arthur Jacob Marder was raised in Boston, Massachusetts. He attended Harvard University, where he obtained his Bachelor's degree in 1931, his master's degree in 1934, and his Ph.D. in 1936 with a study of British naval policy 1880-1905.

Reviews

[Geevee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr Marder's second volume of his 4 book history of the Royal Navy in World War One is nearly 50 years old and is still a fine read. He says in the introduction that he has not written a full history but concentrated on key events and the background, build and aftermath of those. That said that whilst those looking for descriptions of battles should look elsewhere, as although mention is made, the volume is very thorough and is more the high command and the decisions taken or not that concerns the author.

In this he is thorough quoting from direct sources from key particpants' papers and garnering information to provide the reader with a full understanding of the conduct of the war. He covers the German aspects well too, although with not as much detail, but this is essentially a book focussed on the Royal Navy and the men who commanded and directed her.

The topics will not be new to students of WWI but his coverage of the Daradanelles/Gallipoi, The Falklands area, the submarine war, the Zepplins and the constant cat and mouse game with the German High Seas fleet is very well done. He is also strong on war production, the various qualities and comparisons of ships and boats of the navies, and also on HM Government policy; plus the German submarine strategy and policy including the aftermath of torpedoing the RMS Lusitania, SS Sussex and RMS Arabia.

Mr Marder does not stint in his opinions nor his criticism of politicians, admirals and the high-command. Churchill, Fisher, Jellicoe, Beatty alongside Sturdee and Kitchener and many others, are all dealt with fairly to my mind but with consideration to their positions and the events surrounding them, and judgements on what was done well and what was not. The same for the politicians too: Asquith, Lloyd-George, Balfour and Hankey.

I was fortunate that my library held a first edition copy (published Oxford University 1965) so I benefited from maps of a good standard that helped with the various chapters.

All in all this is a fine detailed account of the Royal Navy to the eve of Jutland.

At the time of writing this review (October 2013) the publishers Seaforth has reissued Mr Marder's books and so they can be acquired relatively easily and not too much expense. Volumes 1 and 2 were made available in May 2013 and Volumes 3 and 4 are due out in March 2014.

[Emmanuel Gustin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book of naval history, combining the great sweep of tragic historic events with careful analysis of the people who ultimately carried the responsibility for initiating them, and with some but not overwhelming technical detail.

The most important chapters of this book are devoted to the battle of Gallipoli, how the operation was conceived, how it failed, and what the strategic and personal consequences are. It is as much an account of (bad) decision making as of warfare, and might as well be required reading for managers as well as for historians. The author is, on the whole, surprisingly positive about it.

The qualities that professor Marder sought in an effective leader are, paraphrasing, the ability to inspire others, a fertile intelligence, and the ability and willingness to use the brainpower of others. Against these standards, he measures the personalities of this period carefully but swiftly. For many pages of this book, Winston Churchill as First Lord and Admiral Fisher as First Sea Lord were the power duo at the Admiralty, and even a hundred years later these characters continue to fascinate.

This work is perhaps, a bit dated, for Marder was not allowed to make full use of the archives at his disposal, as he was writing close enough to the time of events that they were still controversial. But it retains its value.

[Urey Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Volume Two of a monumental history of the Royal Navy in WWI, covering thirst two years of the war, skirmishes at sea, the Dardanelles; fleet policies, strategies and tactics; the new and expanding issue of submarine warfare and the evolving defensive means attempted... Marder gives the reader an intimate insider's window into the Admiralty, the personalities and conflicts, the to and fro of policies and priorities. He was given unprecedented and unrestricted access to Admiralty records, memos, diaries and has produced a remarkable historical work. This is strictly a Royal Navy history, so for example the narrative of the Dardanelles campaign is thorough, up until the Naval efforts subside in favor of the land campaign (Gallipoli) becoming a support function rather than an offensive one. It is a fascinating story, including the few (7) British submarines that actually did succeed in passing through the straits into the Sea of Marmora, and their huge influence on Turkish commerce and war logistics. Lacking resupply, one of the submarines actually took steps to recover and re-use torpedoes that missed. Fascinating.

The early development of ASW is another amazing story. In the days long before sonar, radar, homing torpedoes and assorted ASW weapons, the WWI ASW initiatives were crude and generally ineffective, at least in terms of the number of subs killed. Ship-mounted cable sweeps with explosive devices attached, mine fields with an electric sensor to signal a watch-stander to push a button to detonate the mines, the primitive and limited capabilities of depth charges.... it is another fascinating aspect of naval war of that era that presaged the critical nature of submarine warfare in WWII and on into modern times.

So much of the Royal Navy's war time operations (excepting perhaps Jutland), successes and failures, issues and problems, are overlooked or have been lost to the modern consciousness through the passage of time. Marder's work is both exhaustively comprehensive, revealing and revelatory, and extremely readable. It is focussed and specialized window into a seismic event of the century the set the stage for the traumatic decades that have followed and well worth the reading!

[Bobble Hat · Rating 5 out of 5]

All history is open to interpretation, but Marder is as detailed and balanced as you are likely to find.

[Michael Hobson · Rating 5 out of 5]

As with the first book, this is a clear, well-written account of the British Navy during World War 1. It details the early years of the war, the difficulties the navy faced as well as the choices it made, some good, some bad. The book ends with the build-up to the Battle of Jutland. If you are interested in Naval history, or World War 1 I recommend not just this book but the whole series as being one of the best evaluations of the British Navy before and during the Great War.