With the call to action stations of August 1914, the Royal Navy faced its greatest test since the time of Nelson. Geoffrey Bennett's classic history of the Great War at sea combines graphic and stirring accounts of all the principal naval engagements - battles overseas, in home waters and, for the first time, under the sea - with analysis of the strategy and tactics of both sides. He brings these sea battles dramatically to life, and confirms the Allied navies' vital contribution to victory. In his words, Though the titanic struggle on the Western Front dominated the strategy of the Allies, it was their navies, of which the British was immeasurably the strongest, that in the end brought Germany to her knees. Illustrated with maps, plans and contemporary photographs, this detailed, immaculately-researched account is the authoritative history on an often overlooked but hugely important aspect of the First World War.