ACTION AT SEA The Saga of the Sydney

by George H. Johnston ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 10, 1942

I don't think I had realized -- until this came along -- how concentratedly the war books of today have spotted air and, to a lesser degree, land activities, how little has been said of the war on the sea. The Sydney, lost late in 1941, was one of Australia's five cruisers, and in her seven months' participation in the 1940 Mediterranean campaign, she and other British ships played their vital roles. This account by an Australian journalist is based on eye-witness and fighting men's own stories, on official sources, inspired by some degree of hero worship with a worthy subject. Exciting, dramatic and important, in the light it throws on the Mediterranean action. Perhaps it is only a small segment of world warfare, but it is a tribute to gallant men and gallant ships, as it traces the early engagements, the action off Africa, Malta, the convoying and chases, the line of ships (battleships, aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, submarines, motor torpedo boats) --and the men aboard them. The scene includes more than just the Mediterranean, -- Dunkirk, the importance of Gibraltar, the loss of France and the French fleet, the relative Italian and British strength are described as the background for the Mediterranean action. The lessons learned -- and the Sydney's triumphal return home. Grand reading.

Pub Date: Feb. 10, 1942

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Houghton, Mifflin

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1942

Categories: NONFICTION