"The Struggle for Sea Power: The Royal Navy vs..." Topic

… the World, 1775-1782

"In 1775 thirteen isolated colonies, without a navy or an army, began a war with Britain to win their independence from the greatest naval and military power on earth. The American Revolution was a naval war of immense scope and variety, including no fewer than twenty-two navies fighting on five oceans – to say nothing of rivers and lakes. Not until the Second World War would any nation actively fight in so many different theatres. Using original logs, reports, diaries and archaeological discoveries, The Struggle for Sea Power traces every key military event in the path to American Independence from a naval perspective. This is the gripping tale of the birth of the New World."

Main page
link

Amicalement
Armand

That is very odd. On Amazon in the US, Sam Willis has a book titled, "The Struggle for Sea Power: A Naval History of the American Revolution, 1st ed." It was published in Feb. 2016. I wonder if it is the same book re-branded for a different audience.

To add to the weirdness, the cover of the US book has 9-10 ships of the line, not a ship I would have thought to see on a book about the American Revolution.

Without seeing the US cover, it is likely to depict one of the many actions between the British and the French fleets supporting the Revolution. Plenty of SOL battles there, and much better balanced for gaming than the later battles.
Mark Barker.
The Inshore Squadron

Yup, this is a painting of Ushant 1778. I too like the AWI for wargaming. Lots of fleet actions and, as Mark said, generally more balanced, at least at the beginning of French envolvement.

Book however, is not one of Sam's best, though he is one of my favorite maritime authors. Unlike his other books, he uses little primary research. He references a lot of secondary sources and therefore offers few new insights. In his other books I always come away with something new. Also, I agree with his general thesis, that this was a maritime war, but one or two of his proofs are a bit of a stretch.

Thanks!.

Amicalement
Armand

If you want an actual campaign to recreate, then what would be better than Suffren versus Hughes in 1782? Balanced and commanders being constraints from being too gung ho about things.