Angus Konstam, Royal Navy Grand Fleet 1914-48 (Osprey, 2025)
It is August 1914, and Britain has mustered the Grand Fleet, the largest and most modern fleet in the world. Its purpose was to bring the German navy to battle. The Grand Fleet had to wait until May 1916 off Jutland to fight the decisive battle, however, which left the Royal Navy the master of the North Sea, bringing about the strategic defeat of Germany.
Konstam begins with the launching of the battleship HMS Dreadnought, which revolutionised naval warfare. This inspired a naval arms race with Germany, but Britain was determined to retain superiority. That negated the various German strategies for defeating the Royal Navy and Jutland reaffirmed that. Konstam turns to the Grand Fleet’s ships, beginning with the mighty dreadnoughts and progressing through the cruisers and destroyers. He examines the main technical factors, i.e., the guns, armour, and propulsion, but also emerging weapons such as mines, torpedoes, and airpower. Turning to how the fleet operated, Konstam considers command, including a comparison between Jellicoe and Beatty, two very different admirals that worked well together, and an overview of the Admiralty. How the fleet was structured follows then an overview of how it operated from communications through logistics. Konstam argues that the common perception of the fleet as largely inactive during the War is inaccurate, and it was in fact quite busy. He also rejects the argument that the Royal Navy lost at Jutland. Konstam concludes that the Grand Fleet was instrumental in winning the War.
Royal Navy Grand Fleet is an excellent addition to Osprey’s Fleet series. Konstam packs a lot of information into such a slim volume, and he points readers wanting more to his brief but useful bibliography. Konstam also expresses strong opinions, unusual for this style of introductory overview, and this is an engaging facet of his writing. Osprey’s outstanding production values are on full display too, with many photographs and colour illustrations that provide a real sense of the power contained in this fleet. Students and casual readers alike will gain much from reading this book.
