[WWI] J.R.'s Dreadnought Review

[Douglas Anderson]

High all. 
   
  I have read "Castles of Steel" and have to agree with Mr. Boyes' comments as this book is truly fascinating. The one thing that does come through is how short-sighted the British were in both deployment and developement, and the debacle of the battle-cruiser. I suppose one could say that the pinacle of that stupidity was the Hood. Another point that comes through is very controversial; namely that the Admiralty was scandalous in forcing many of their dated and incorrect or ven prejudicial ideas and fears onto the Royal Navy, notabley the lack of convoys in the face of the German submarine menace. It comes through in this book that it was the bravery of the British seamen, and the willingness of the Admiralty to deploy, as well as German concerns and fears that actually one the day for the Royal Navy. I won't spoil it by telling you who the chief culprit was, but I am sure you could all guess.
   
  One other book that I would definately recommend is "Naval Blunders" by Geoffrey Regan. In this case the author is less diplomatic, but does spell out the reason for each blunder. And in many of the examples of blunders dating from the Great War, he lays the blame firmly at the door of one individual, apart from Fisher who must take all the blame for the Battlecruiser, and that man is the same man in the previous paragraph.

"J.R. Boye" <hopeandmercy at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
            I just finished reading "Dreadnought" last week, Jan.
   I was actually sad to finish it because I wanted it to keep going. A part of my life for the summer was suddenly missing. I need to get a copy of "Castles of Steel". I don't care that it's not as excellent as "Dreadnought". I need more!
       Massie makes you understand the Kaiser and his personality, and how that was influenced by his family ties in England, by Bismarck and by Tirpitz.
You also come to know the Royal Navy and its traditions, and how Admiral Fisher's insight prepared it for the war to come. And now I know what made the Dreadnought different from every ship before it and what an advantage it had.
       Massie even makes the British politics interesting, and the parts played by Asquith, LLoyd George, Grey and Churchill are outstandingly clear.
       Finally I have a real grasp on why the war was inevitable and all the events that led to it are clearer. It is so distressing at the end of the story when a few heroic efforts are made to stop the mobilisation, with so many "if onlys" defeating those efforts.
        I've always been fascinated by the stories of people who seem to be put on the earth for a specific moment in history. They are there for a critical crossroads in time, and their lives are generally unremarkable otherwise. Some examples are George Patton, Reginald Mitchell and Abraham Lincoln. They usually have a spiritual side, a tremendous sense of purpose and often die or fade away after their task is complete. Churchill is obviously on the list, and I think Fischer can also be added.
       Plus the turn of the century is such a fascinating time in itself. I think I understand those people better than the people at the current turn of the century!

                                             J.R. Boye

     P.S. I'm waiting for the Von Trapp sub kit to arrive and am getting ready to dress up the Emden with those PE parts.

  ----- Original Message ----
From: Jan Vihonen <jan.vihonen at helsinki.fi>
To: World War I Modeling Mailing List <wwi at wwi-models.org>
Sent: Friday, September 21, 2007 1:52:27 AM
Subject: Re: [WWI] Dreadnought book?

  A big thank you to all who took time to answer my question. This list is 
really a great source of information.

Jan








       
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