Defiance at Sea

I read this book sometime ago, and have had a completed review for some time, but for some reason never got around to posting it. Defiance at Sea, by Jon Guttman, offers fourteen dramatic historic naval stories that cover naval action from the years 1591 to 1982. These are stories offer all the drama of real sea battles with “vivid and accurate accounts”.

The stories within this volume tell of captains and commanders, who under overwhelming odds; attack the enemy, knowing that their actions will put their ships in dire circumstance. But sometimes, no matter the odds, the outcome can be glorious.

There are stories that tell of ship captains that use their cunning to harass and outwit their enemies. These actions often provide time for their compatriots to flee and for their countries to plan counter-offensives.

This book offers scenes of determination, intellect, persistence and bravery not only from ship captains, but also from the ships crew.

I thought these stories might be good fonder for sea bourn war gaming activities and if nothing else would give the gamer a historic prospective of the battle being waged on the game board.
Side Note: One of the stories included in this volume was about the battle of Guadalcanal and the Solomon Islands. Just recently, I had the pleasure of watching “Jaws of the Enemy” a video that runs for about an hour, which describes this very decisive WWII battle.