Europe ruled the waves for most of the modern era and even when its navies were eclipsed in size by the US force, they continued to dominate world wars. In this unique history of Europe's naval forces, Larry Sondhaus charts the development of naval warfare from the transition to steam to recent actions in the Persian Gulf. Combining detailed technical information with an in-depth comparison of warfare and tactics across some of the key conflicts of the modern world, this is an absorbing account of European and British seapower, past and present.

European Navies and the Conduct of War considers the different contexts within which European navies operated over a period of 500 years culminating in World War Two, the greatest war ever fought at sea. Taking a predominantly continental point of view, the book moves away from the typically British-centric approach taken to naval history as it considers the role of European navies in the development of modern warfare, from its medieval origins to the large-scale, industrial, total war of the twentieth century. Along with this growth of navies as instruments of war, the book also explores the long rise of the political and popular appeal of navies, from the princes of late medieval Europe, to the enthusiastic crowds that greeted the modern fleets of the great powers, followed by their reassessment through their great trial by combat, firmly placing the development of modern navies into the broader history of the period. Chronological in structure, European Navies and the Conduct of War is an ideal resource for students and scholars of naval and military history.

This book seeks to identify and address gaps in our understanding of maritime security and the role of small navies in Europe. The majority of Europe’s navies are small, yet they are often called upon to address a complex array of traditional and non-traditional threats. This volume examines the role of small navies within the European security architecture, by discussing areas of commonality and difference between navies, and arguing that it is not possible to fully understand either maritime strategy or European security without taking into account the actions of small navies. It contains a number of case studies that provide an opportunity to explore how different European states view the current security environment and how naval policy has undergone significant changes within the lifetime of the existing naval assets. In addition, the book examines how maritime security and naval development in Europe might evolve, given that economic forecasts will likely limit the potential procurement of ‘larger’ naval assets in the future, which means that European states will increasingly have to do more with less in the maritime domain. This book will be of much interest to students of maritime strategy, naval power, strategic studies, European politics and international relations in general.

The purpose of this book is to describe and analyse the instrumental role European naval forces might play in developing and sustaining a future foreign and security policy for the community of European states. First, Europe's rapidly changing security environment is analysed with a keen eye for the possible development of a European `grand strategy' (foreign and security policy) for the near and longer term future. Derived from this analysis, the present context and possible future directions are established for a common European maritime strategy. Next, the theoretical challenges and the practical solutions are discussed vis-à-vis the primary tasks and capabilities of European naval forces, the execution of naval operations (including the provision of seapower) in defence of strategic European interests. Then, the issue of good governance at sea is addressed. The requirement for naval involvement in policing the seas and a concept for a European approach to `good governance at sea' are discussed. In conclusion, the relevance of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is scrutinized. Special attention is paid to the potential for a joint European-UNCLOS initiative and its associated instruments. The individual chapters are contributed by leading experts in the field of international and maritime security affairs. This book will be of interest to European policy makers, naval planners, officers- under-training in naval and defence academies and maritime institutes, and students in international relations and maritime law.

The Decline of European Naval Forces aims to provide insight into the evolution of Europe’s naval forces since the end of the Cold War. To illuminate the drastic changes many European navies have undergone over the last twenty-five years, Jeremy Stöhs analyzes the defense policies and naval strategies of eleven European states as well as the evolution, deployment, and capabilities of their respective naval forces. In these case studies, the development of Europe’s most important naval forces is assessed per the respective strategic framework in which they have operated over the past two decades. Stöhs describes not only the general composition of each force but also the range of their capabilities and their important technical features. His study shows that since the end of the Cold War, all but a few European navies have significantly decreased in size and, thus, have ceded important capabilities along the way. Based on the understanding of sea power as a prerequisite for political influence and economic health, the consequences of the geopolitical shift toward the Asian-Pacific region, and most importantly the general decline of Europe’s traditional naval capabilities, the author concludes that the ability of European states to influence events near and abroad by means of their naval forces has atrophied and will continue to be called into question in the future.

Originally published in 1989. Given the events of 1987 and 1988-the death of Admiral Sergei G. Gorshkov, who had served as Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Navy from 1956 to 1985 and was so influencial in the development of the current Soviet Navy, the Soviet policy of glasnost', the U .S.-Soviet arms negotiations, Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev's visit to Washington, President Ronald Reagan's visit to Moscow, and the treaty concerning intermediate-range nuclear weapons- a study of the Soviet naval threat to Europe is particularly timely. This study begins by examining Soviet military and naval strategy, which provides a view of how the Soviets intend to use their forces. Then the book explore Soviet naval capabilities and operations, because a full understanding of Soviet naval power provides an understanding of the isolation that Europeans often feel. In the fourth and fifth sections of the book we examine the threat to northern and southern Europe.

This first general survey of European naval and maritime history for theperiod from A.D. 300 to 1500 focuses on Western Europe, including the Baltic, NorthSea, and Atlantic traditions, and on the Mediterranean, particularly Byzantine andMoslem naval history. The authors survey a number of interconnected areas: the useof seapower in international and intercultural relations, commerce and trade routes, naval technology and design, military tactics, the physical features of seafaring, and the geography of the sea. They make accessible to the general reader verytechnical scholarship, and provide numerous maps and illustrations that explain thechanges in ship design and construction. The overall result is a powerful historicalsynthesis whiich gives students, teachers, and general readers a "feel" for theseafaring life and the place of the sea within medieval civilization.