Category: Preparations for War

Although not strictly within the period of this bibliography, these two volumes are essential background reading.

BEEVOR, Antony. The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939. xxxii, [2], 526p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2006. ISBN: 9780297848321.

An excellent and comprehensive account of the civil war which pays some attention to the limited and neglected role of the Royal Navy.

SIMPSON, Michael. Anglo-American Naval Relations 1919-1939 (Publications of the Navy Records Society, Volume 155). xxiii, 320p., bibliog., index. Farnham: Ashgate for the Navy Records Society, 2010. ISBN: 140940093X.

A set of documents showing how relations evolved, with a useful introductory commentary.

ALPERT, Michael. The Spanish Civil War at Sea: Dark and Dangerous Waters. 256p., bibliog., illus., index. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Maritime, 2021. ISBN: 9781526764362.

The Royal Navy had a significant role on the fringes of the Spanish Civil War which has been much neglected. This is a good introduction to the experience gained in these difficult pre-war years.

BRITTS, Angus. A Ceaseless Watch: Australia's Third-Party Naval Defense 1919-1942 (Studies in Naval History and Sea Power). 336p., bibliog., illus., index. Annapolis, Md: Naval Institute Press, 2021. ISBN: 9781682475331.  

Studies Japanese, British, American and Australian naval planning in the years leading up to the outbreak war with Japan. Explores how a small navy interacted with major powers and how Australia shifted its reliance on the Royal Navy to forge a new relationship with the United States.

REYNOLDS, David. The Creation of the Anglo-American Alliance 1937-41: A Study in Competitive Co-operation. xiii, 397p., bibliog., index. London: Europa; Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1981. ISBN: 0905118685.

A cool and judicious review of the rivalry between the two powers in this critical period.

PELZ, Stephen E., Race to Pearl Harbor: The Failure of the Second London Naval Conference and the Onset of World War II (Harvard Studies in American-East Asian Relations, 5). vii, 268p., bibliog., illus., index. Cambridge, MA; Harvard University Press, 1974. ISBN: 0674745752.

 A full coverage of the Anglo-Japanese-American triangle and the inter-war attempts at arms control. Gives an excellent account of how and why they failed. Reprinted in 2014, ISBN: 0674863518.

JORDAN, John. Warships After London: The End of the Treaty Era in the Five Major Fleets, 1930-1936. 320p., bibliog., illus., index Barnsley: Seaforth, 2020. ISBN: 9781526777492.

A sequel to his earlier work on the Washington Treaty, this considers the impact on design of the quantitative limits on cruisers, destroyers and submarines, imposed by the London Treaty. Again arranged by warship type.

STERN, Robert C. The Modern Cruiser: The Evolution of the Ships that Fought the Second World War. 288p., bibliog., illus., index. Barnsley: Seaforth, 2020. ISBN: 9781526737915.

An excellent and sumptuously produced history of the cruiser in the twentieth century, which covers all the major fleets. At the core of the book is a view of the impact of the inter-war treaties which had a huge impact on cruiser design. This broadly chronological account is focused on design issues but also considers their performance in action.

HOBBS, D. A. The Dawn of Carrier Strike and the World of Lieutenant W. P. Lucy DSO RN. 400p., bibliog., illus., index. Barnsley: Seaforth, 2020. ISBN: 9781473879928.

Focused on the development of the FAA in the inter-war years despite a lack of resources. This excellent account is enlivened with descriptions of the growing career of Lucy at this time, including detailed accounts of his wartime missions, mainly in Norway, where he was killed in action.

HALPERN, Paul G. (ed.) The Mediterranean Fleet 1930-1939 (Publications of the Navy Records Society, 163). xxv, 589p., maps. Abingdon: Routledge, 2016. ISBN: 9781472475978.

 The usual collection of relevant documents, with a commentary by a major expert in the field.

Explores the development of the German plan to build a large well-balanced fleet by 1942. Then considers whether it was ever a realistic ambition.

A major essay links a large collection of official documents. Another excellent publication from the NRS.

The text of a lecture given in 1977 outlining Roskill's views, which are more fully expressed in the monograph of the same title.

Edited interviews with 30 sailors of the period. Particularly strong on the inter-war years.

A strategic overview of the background to the Empire's worst defeat.

Considers the interaction between naval policy and foreign policy in the Pacific. Eden is cast as an enthusiast for co-operation, with Chamberlain at best ambivalent.

Intended as the first of two volumes on relations between the two navies, the author died just as the first volume went to press. It is a full, scholarly account of the period to the sinking of Force Z.

A study of British Imperial naval strategy east of Suez from the end of WWI to the opening of the Pacific War. Good background.

A fascinating study showing the constancy of New Zealand policy over 30 years. The last quarter covers the European war years until the end of 1941 when Japan unceremoniously destroyed all the plans of the empire, which were based on holding Singapore.

A review of defense policy in the inter-war period.

The development of Anglo-American naval strategy.

A study of the role of Japan in British foreign and defence policy thinking in the thirties, leading to the disastrous denouement at Singapore in 1942. Good background material.

Considers the links between the Navy and the heavy armaments firms. Useful background.

From 1924 on, a strategic plan, War Memorandum (Eastern), was refined. This called for the Royal Navy, still the largest in the world even after the 1922 Washington Naval Treaties, to move eastwards to a defended base in Singapore and cut off Japan and force its battlefleet into a decisive battle.

A damning account of folly, ineptitude, and wishful thinking by all parties.

Although the period from 1939 is covered in only 20 pages, this is a full and interesting account of the quasi-war on the China Station, an often forgotten area of involvement for the Royal Navy.

A revisionist view from the first real study of the RN's war plans and in particular its strategy against Japan. Argues that the RN's approach was both sophisticated and flexible.