The Battle of Cape Matapan: The History of the Biggest Naval Battle in the Mediterranean during World War II
Written by Charles River Editors
Narrated by Steve Knupp
4.5/5
()
About this audiobook
Naval combat underwent a significant metamorphosis during World War II. Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan launched some of the most powerful battleships ever to sail the world's oceans, yet the conflict witnessed the emergence and triumph of the aircraft carrier as the 20th century's true monarch of the seas. Submarine warfare expanded and developed, while aircraft technology and doctrine experienced several revolutionary changes due to the unforgiving demands of the new combat environment.
While many large-scale naval engagements were fought in the Pacific at places like the Coral Sea, Midway, and the Philippines, engagements were rare in Europe. There were flurries of action as the German warships Admiral Graf Spee and Bismarck were hunted and destroyed in 1939 and 1941, and there was a constant battle between surface ships and German U-Boats that lasted throughout the war. But there was only one major naval engagement fought between battle fleets in Europe – at the Battle of Cape Matapan, the British Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy would square off with the Italian Regia Marina in early 1941.
Though it was the most decisive naval battle in the Mediterranean, the Battle of Cape Matapan has largely been forgotten today, even as military historians have recognized its significance and some have even compared it with the legendary Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Indeed, the battle shaped the remainder of the war in the Mediterranean, which would prove crucial when the Western Allies would use it to amphibiously invade Sicily in 1943, marking their return to the European continent.
More audiobooks from Charles River Editors
The Rape of Nanking: The History and Legacy of the Notorious Massacre during the Second Sino-Japanese War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ur: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Sumerian Capital Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gnosticism: The History and Legacy of the Mysterious Ancient Religion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The East India Company: The History of the British Empire's Most Famous Mercantile Company Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nineveh: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Assyrian Capital Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mysteries of the South: Ghosts, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena in Dixie Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Legends of the West: Deadwood, South Dakota Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Mossad: The History and Legacy of Israel’s National Intelligence Agency Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Project MK-Ultra: The History of the CIA’s Controversial Human Experimentation Program Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Life and Trial of Lizzie Borden: The History of 19th Century America's Most Famous Murder Case Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Arnold Rothstein and Meyer Lansky: The Lives and Legacies of the Gangsters Who Reformed Organized Crime in America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Mysterious Midwest: Mysteries, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena in America's Heartland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5J. Robert Oppenheimer: The Life and Legacy of the Father of the Atomic Bomb Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Battle of Hamburger Hill: The History and Legacy of One of the Vietnam War's Most Controversial Battles Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung: The Pioneering Lives and Works of History’s Most Influential Psychologists Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Denisovans: The History of the Extinct Archaic Humans Who Spread Across Asia during the Paleolithic Era Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to The Battle of Cape Matapan
Related audiobooks
Jutland: The Unfinished Battle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pacific Carrier War: Carrier Combat from Pearl Harbor to Okinawa Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Morning Star, Midnight Sun: The Early Guadalcanal-Solomons Campaign of World War II August–October 1942 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Silver State Dreadnought: The Remarkable Story of Battleship Nevada Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pacific Thunder: The US Navy's Central Pacific Campaign, August 1943–October 1944 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hunt the Bismarck: The Pursuit of Germany's Most Famous Battleship Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Clash of the Carriers: The True Story of the Marianas Turkey Shoot of World War II Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Longest Campaign: Britain's Maritime Struggle in the Atlantic and Northwest Europe, 1939–1945 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Biggest Battles of the Pacific Theater: The History of the Decisive Campaigns that Led to Victory Over Japan in World War II Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Imperial Japanese Navy in the Pacific War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Tank Killers: A History of America's World War II Tank Destroyer Force Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Battle of North Cape: The Death Ride of the Scharnhorst, 1943 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Measureless Peril: America in the Fight for the Atlantic, the Longest Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Whirlwind: The Air War Against Japan 1942-1945 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stuka Attack: The Dive Bombing Assault on England During the Battle of Britain Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTin Cans and Greyhounds: The Destroyers that Won Two World Wars Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5We March Against England: Operation Sea Lion, 1940–41 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Warship Builders: An Industrial History of U.S. Naval Shipbuilding 1922-1945 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The First Battle of Heligoland Bight: The History and Legacy of the Royal Navy's Greatest Victory in World War I Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Battle of Britain: A Captivating Guide to One of the Most Critical Battles of World War II Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sea of Thunder: Four Commanders and the Last Great Naval Campaign 1941-1945 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The United States Navy in World War II: From Pearl Harbor to Okinawa Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Six Victories: North Africa Malta and the Mediterranean Convoy War November 1941-March 1942 Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Eagle Against the Sun: The American War With Japan Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The War for the Seas: A Maritime History of World War II Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5No End Save Victory Volume 2: Perspectives on World War II Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Wars & Military For You
American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Book of Five Rings Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Shortest History of Israel and Palestine: From Zionism to Intifadas and the Struggle for Peace Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Killing the SS: The Hunt for the Worst War Criminals in History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5War Against All Puerto Ricans: Revolution and Terror in America's Colony Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5On Palestine Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Nazi Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel: Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War I Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ghosts of Honolulu: A Japanese Spy, A Japanese American Spy Hunter, and the Untold Story of Pearl Harbor Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Dirty Tricks Department: Stanley Lovell, the OSS, and the Masterminds of World War II Secret Warfare Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Watchmaker's Daughter: The True Story of World War II Heroine Corrie ten Boom Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Left of Bang: How the Marine Corps' Combat Hunter Program Can Save Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unbroken Bonds of Battle: A Modern Warriors Book of Heroism, Patriotism, and Friendship Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Korean War: A History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of September 11, 2001 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Kill Anything That Moves Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin - Book Summary: How U.S. Navy SEALS Lead And Win Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Diary of Anne Frank Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Kingdom Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Templars: The History and the Myth: From Solomon's Temple to the Freemasons Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5You're Stepping on My Cloak and Dagger Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5When I Come Home Again: 'A page-turning literary gem' THE TIMES, BEST BOOKS OF 2020 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/577 Days of February: Living and Dying in Ukraine, Told by the Nation’s Own Journalists Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related categories
Reviews for The Battle of Cape Matapan
3 ratings0 reviews