English battleships erupt in flames as their big guns answer German bombardment in the opening moments of the Battle of Jutland.

British Royal Navy

Trafalgar in Reverse: The Battle of Jutland

By James Dunn

In the spring of 1916, as the result of intense international pressure, Vice Admiral Reinhard Scheer called in all his submarines after Germany announced an end to unrestricted underwater attacks on transatlantic merchant ships. Read more

British Royal Navy

Triumph of “The Nelson Touch”

By Jonas L. Goldstein

When the Treaty of Amiens was signed on April 1, 1802, bringing peace between France and Great Britain after nearly a decade of war, there was wild rejoicing in England. Read more

British commandos march through the ruins of the French town of Caen. An objective of the Allied D-Day landings that was supposed to have been captured on June 6, stiff German resistance prevented the city from being liberated until a month later.

British Royal Navy

Fleming, Ian Fleming

By Hervie Haufler

Some accounts of Ian Fleming’s life make it seem that only at the age of 44, as an antidote to the shock of finally agreeing to get married, did he suddenly commit himself to the unplanned task of creating his James Bond novels. Read more

British Royal Navy

Reckoning at Horseshoe Bend

By Christopher G. Marquis

In the late summer of 1813, some 550 men, women, and children took refuge within a small wilderness outpost and waited for the worst. Read more

British Royal Navy

Jacobite Victory at Prestonpans

By David A. Norris

Before dawn on September 21, 1745, the dragoons and infantry of King George II stood in line of battle in a freshly harvested wheat field. Read more

Captain James Lawrence was mortally wounded in the clash between frigates USS Chesapeake and HMS Shannon off Boston in June 1813. The American defeat left New Englanders, many of whom opposed the war, shocked and stunned.

British Royal Navy

Deadly Frigate Victory

By William E. Welsh

The late summer day began like many others on the Maine coast. Seagulls wheeled overhead, seals sunned on seaweed-covered ledges, and the ocean pounded rocky headlands. Read more

British Royal Navy

The USS England and the Invasion of the South Pacific

By William Lunderberg

From his naval base at Tawi Tawi in the southern Philippines, Japanese Admiral Soemu Toyoda anxiously perused intelligence reports that might provide a clue to the objective of the next seaborne South Pacific invasion by American military in the spring of 1944. Read more

British Royal Navy

The Forgotten Fleet

By Arnold Blumberg

British naval operations in the Far East in World War II started badly and went downhill from there. Read more

Horatio Nelson's decision to abandon his wife for Lady Hamilton has always tarnished his glory, but few others have ever sparked such admiration from the British people.

British Royal Navy

Horatio Nelson: Bravery in Battle

by Brooke C. Stoddard

Days before the impending Battle of Trafalgar, a sailor on Horatio Nelson’s flagship Victory was so busy ensuring that each man’s letters home were secured for dispatch on a vessel bound for England that he forgot until after the ship had sailed that he hadn’t included his own. Read more