The Blue Water War: The Maritime Struggle in the Mediterranean and Middle East, 1940–1945

by Brian Walter

For three millennia the Mediterranean Sea served as the center of western civilization and the scene of many colossal wars and naval battles. In the early summer of 1940, this ancient body of water again played host to a new and extensive conflict as the Kingdom of Italy challenged Britain for dominance within the region. With France on the verge of collapse and Britain facing the prospect of imminent invasion, the Italians hoped to re-establish control over the Mediterranean. The only thing standing in their way was the heavily outnumbered British Mediterranean Fleet and the equally outnumbered British ground and air forces present in the region. Together, these forces would determine whether the Mediterranean reverted back to Italian control or whether the Allies would prevail and retain supremacy over this great body of water for themselves.

This book tells the story of this epic struggle. This was a prolonged and colossal conflict waged at differing times against the combined forces of Italy, Germany and Vichy France over a wide area stretching from the coastal waters of Southern Europe in the north to Madagascar in the south and Africa's Atlantic coast in the west to the Persian Gulf in the east. Utilizing a variety of weapons including surface warships, submarines, and aircraft along with sizable merchant fleets, the British and their subsequent American partners maintained vital seaborne lines of communication, conducted numerous amphibious landings, interdicted Axis supply activities and eventually eliminated all semblances of Axis maritime power within the theatre. In turn, these actions facilitated multiple Allied victories that helped secure the defeat of the European Axis.

Genres: Audiobook, Naval History, World War II, Nonfiction

336 pages, Hardcover

First published June 30, 2022

About the author

Brian E. Walter is a retired army officer from a combat arms branch with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Political Science and International Relations. A Distinguished Military Graduate and recipient of the Excellence in Military History Award from the U.S. Army Center for Military History and the Association of the United States Army, he has been a student of the British military during the Second World War for more than 30 years. He currently resides in his home state of Minnesota in the United States where he continues to write on a number of military and historical subjects.

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this well-researched book, the story of a worldly struggle unfolds. This conflict involved the combined forces of Italy, Germany, and Vichy France over a wide area stretching from the coastal waters of Southern Europe in the north to Madagascar in the south and Africa's Atlantic coast in the west to the Persian Gulf in the east. In the early summer of 1940, the Mediterranean again played host to a new and extensive conflict as the Kingdom of Italy challenged Britain for dominance within the region. With France on the verge of collapse and Britain facing the possibility of imminent invasion by the Germans, the Italians hoped to regain control over the Mediterranean Sea. Mr. Walter details what happened in this area of the world between 1940 - 1945 in an easy-to-follow method that makes this book well worth the read for historians everywhere.

[Shrike58 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having finished this book, the question I'm left with is just who was this work produced for. Seeing as it's mostly a chronicle rather than an analysis, the grad student and professional might find it a bit too shallow, whereas the real general reader might find it packed with a little too much detail. I suspect that there's a sweet spot there for a reader who knows a lot about the ships, but doesn't have a good sense of chronology and how the wider campaign ebbed and flowed; particularly since I don't sense anything wrong-headed or misleading here. This is after reading books that purportedly served as analysis and one came away with some doubts about whether the authors had a grasp of the nuts and bolts of their subject.

Given the option I could grant this book a 3.5.

[Paul S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very detailed, full of data, numbers and history. But the one thing it misses is that this was the Swan song of the British Empire. Missed completely

[Balazs · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dry, but balanced and very professional account of the operations in the Mediterranean Theatre, from the British point of view.

[Ulysse Colonna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uninspired and oddly jingoistic. To be avoided!

It’s only redeeming quality is the attention offered to some less-known operations such as the ill-fated British assault in the Aegean early in 1944.