The Price of Admiralty: The Evolution of Naval Warfare

While all 4 battles are famous examples of their type, Keegan seems to waffle between choosing battles that were decisive and those that were stalemates. Trafalgar was a decisive battle, but it was unusual in the Age of Sail that one navy enjoyed such a complete victory over its enemy. Alternatively, Jutland was a large battle, but the battle itself was a tactical draw in that both sides left the battle with their proportionate strengths intact. A far more decisive ironclad battle occurred at Tsushima Bay, so why didn't Keegan choose that (admitedly less famous) battle instead?

The remaining two battles are from WWII - Midway and the Battle of the Atlantic. Midway was a clear U.S. victory, and the purest example of carrier-based naval conflict. The Battle of the Atlantic was ultimately decisive as well, but due to the seesaw of technological advancess, the outcome was very much in doubt for 4 years. Although the submarines lost the Battle of the Atlantic, Keegan concludes submarines are the ultimate naval weapon available today, and points to the success of the U.S. submarine offensive against Japan. If that is his conclusion, why not give an account of the Japan-U.S. conflict instead of the Battle of the Atlantic?

This is nitpicking, however. The strength of the book is the masterful analysis of each individual battle. While I question the overall theme and choice of battles, each chapter in and of itself is fantastic. Therefore, it gets 4 stars, as it is inferior to Keegan's Face of Battle and Mask of Command in maintaining an overarching theme.


Engrossing,explores the dynamics of war at sea   October 1, 2001
 2 out of 3 found this review helpful

Naval campaigns analysed by the author represent three different epochs of war at sea.War in the age of sail involving woodenships ,the steam age when Dreadnoughts[ironclads]engaged in duels using long-range guns.Advances in the field of technology saw the emergenceof aircraft and submarine.Concurrently four major sea battles [Trafalgar,Jutland,Midwayand Atlantic campaign]each an apogee of its epoch has become the focus of author's study.Keegan then traces the origins of war at sea and says that it started when pirates started attacking seaborne commerce,a thesis indeed debatable.Of particular interest is author's narration of evolution of naval tactics which has had a chequered past.Ancient times it was galley warfare.Rival fleets rammed amidships.Bridges were thrown and soldiers would board.Outcome of such an engagement decided by brute force.The gunpowder revolution in the age of sail made cannons compact enough to be installed aboard ships. This brought about different modes of engagement.Ships came to fire broadsides.The admirals experimented with different forms of manoeuvre which helped to bring fire on the enemy line better.The Royal Navy deployed ships in 'line ahead' formation alongside the opposing fleet engaging the enemy downwind.However in Trafalgar it adopted a new manoeuvre 'breaking the line'French ships were enveloped and enfiladed from the wings.Experiences of men who saw combat in the seas have been documented.Equal stress has also been given on the impact of technology on naval warfare.The supersession of woodenship by ironclad and sail by steam transformed the nature of war at sea.Arm oured protection enhanced the seaworthiness of ships ,steam propulsion increased its speed.Outcome of battles now determined by the accuracy of long -range gunnery.With the coming of aircraft and submarine war at sea became complex and multidimensional.Naval actions can now be staged on surface ,air and subsurface.Hitherto aeroplane aboard ships have been used for scouting purposes , for directing gun fire.But a combination of bomb and torpedo made aircraft a lethal weapon.A new generation of naval leaders realised that planes operating from flight decks can be used for projecting fire power across vast ocean spaces.This idea made the 'big gun' philosophy obselete.Another powerful weapon , the submarine which can be used to deny the freedom of navigation in highseas posing a threat to the security of maritime nations.Both world wars the German U boats brought the Allied navies almost to the brink of defeat. In the final chapter Keegan predicts future prospects of war at sea.Seas will be devoid of capital ships and submarines would become the instruments of sea control.Using stealth , manoeuvrability,high underwater speed ; launching torpedoes and missiles from great depths it can whittle down the strengh of carrier battlegroups.Finally I may add,with spy satellites hanging overhead, keeping round- the- clock vigil, a pearl harbor type ambush is virtally ruled out.


Excellent introduction to Naval history   August 22, 2001
 3 out of 4 found this review helpful

John Keegan has once again succeeded in writing an exciting, informative, and readable history. As with "Face of Battle" and "Mask of Command", "The Price of Admiralty" covers a long period of time, approximately two centuries. His battle descriptions are unmatched, and his understanding of the subject material--admitedly out of his expertise--is still excellent.

Keegan describes the pivotal battles of the four great ages of naval warfare(though the last two occurred simultaneously): Wooden, Ironclad, Aircraft carrier, and Submarine. He charts how each advance revolutionized naval warfare, and concludes with a debate over the future of war at sea.

The book itself is very well written and follows a logical progression. The only drawback is Keegan's obvious British bias. Granted for most of the time period covered "Britania ruled the waves", but I felt he did not give due credit to other nation's contributions. All in all however, it is an excellent book and a must read for anyone interested in naval history or military history in general.