The Shallow End of War: Accounts of the Royal Navy in the 'Sideshow' Theatres of the First World War, 1914-18

The Royal Navy's small vessels and armoured cars in the Great War

This book has been created by Leonaur's editors by bringing together historical accounts from Conrad Cato's two books, 'The Navy in Mesopotamia 1914-17' and 'The Navy Everywhere.' Cato was a serving officer in the Royal Navy in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) and drew on his own experiences for his first book which originally-and unusually-contained both non-fiction and fictional pieces. The fiction has been removed from this edition to allow the whole of the author's second book, about the actions of the Royal Navy at war in East Africa and in the Cameroons, to be included here. Cato describes the activities of the first 'kite-balloon' ship, 'HMS Manica,' at Gallipoli and in East Africa, before dealing with the Tangistani Raids in the Persian Gulf , the Red Sea patrol, the Aden patrol and the little known activities of the navy's armoured cars in Romania and in Serbia. Cato does not attempt to give a formal history, but instead informs us about these rarely reported campaigns through a series of related pieces, full of interesting information and laced with dialogue and anecdote, delivered in an entertaining, whimsical and occasionally humorous style. This is a unique Leonaur book about the naval war as it was fought by gunboats, sloops and other small vessels manned by small crews in exotic locations . The sailors of these vessels fought a war on rivers and lakes, they struggled through marshes and swamps or navigated inhospitable coasts in conflicts far removed from those experienced by the great battle fleets of the high seas. This book will be a pleasure to read for everyone interested in the period and is highly recommended. Includes useful maps to illustrate the text.