Craig L. Symonds

"NEARLY FIFTY YEARS AGO, as a new assistant professor in the History Department at the U.S. Naval Academy, I shared an office suite with Elmer B. "Ned" Potter. Ned had taught at the Naval Academy since before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. He was also the co-editor with Chester Nimitz of the book Sea Power (1961), which we all used as a text in the required naval history course that I subsequently taught at the Academy for thirty years. Ned knew...

"On June 6, 1944, 160,000 Allied troops landed along 50 miles of French coastline to battle German forces on the beaches of Normandy. D-Day, as it would come to be known, would eventually lead to the liberation of Western Europe, and was a critical step in the road to victory in World War II. Yet the story begins long before the Higgins landing craft opened their doors and men spilled out onto the beaches to face a storm of German bullets. The invasion,...

"This fast-paced narrative traces the emergence of the United States Navy as a global power from its birth during the American Revolution through to its current superpower status. The story highlights iconic moments of great drama pivotal to the nation's fortunes: John Paul Jones' attacks on the British in the Revolution, the Barbary Wars, and the arduous conquest of Iwo Jima. The book illuminates the changes--technological, institutional, and functional--of...

Though the Vietnam War was largely a land war, the Navy played a distinct role in the conflict. Learn how US naval action with the North Vietnamese in the Gulf of Tonkin brought the United States formally into the war. Trace the Navy's key roles in the war, from tactical air support for ground troops to impeding enemy supply vessels along the coast and critical operations in the Mekong Delta.

The origins of the war predate December 7, 1941. In this opening episode, trace the events that led up to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Investigate Japan's interest in taking over China, and the strategic need for oil and other supplies threatened by the US-controlled Philippines.

Investigate the economic and political conflicts that led the United States to declare war on Britain in 1812. In the wake of the British blockade of the US coast, track the frigate duels that gave the United States its victories over the British. Then, study the most strategically significant naval battles of the war, on Lake Erie and Lake Champlain, and their impact on the war's outcome.

In 1942, the United States needed a morale boost, and the Doolittle Raid against Tokyo and other cities was a public relations coup. Here, as elsewhere, many of the operational decisions in the Pacific Theater revolved around logistics and supplies, such as how to equip planes with enough fuel to fly 650 miles over open sea while carrying 500-pound bombs.

Learn how control of the western rivers played a critical role in the Civil War. Begin with the Union's building of ironclad gunboats, and their assaults on Confederate river forts and role in the battle at Shiloh. Note how the Navy and Army worked together. Then, follow the Union naval conquest of Confederate defenses below New Orleans, and the capture of Vicksburg.

Follow the deployment of US aircraft carriers in the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor and see how these carriers became the dominant naval weapon of the war. Observe how carriers worked with other ships and the aircraft they hosted. Witness the key events of the Battle of the Coral Sea, the first fought entirely with carrier-based aircraft, the pivotal Battle of Midway, and more.

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a tactical success for Japan, in that it destroyed much of the US naval fleet. But it also proved to be one of the most reckless and irresponsible strategic decisions in the history of warfare. Witness the events that occurred on the day of "infamy," and reflect on how and why the US was caught off guard.