Contact -- Chase and escape I: speed and performance -- Chase and escape II: the tactics of chasing -- Station keeping -- Communication -- Unwritten rules -- Command -- The weather gage -- Fleet tactics -- Fighting tactics -- Damage -- Conclusion -- Appendix: Fleet battles -- Glossary of nautical terms
Summary
In a series of thematic chapters, following the rough chronology of a sea fight from initial contact to damage repair, the author offers a dramatic interpretation of fighting at sea in the eighteenth century, and explains in greater depth than ever before how and why sea battles (including Trafalgar) were won and lost in the great Age of Sail. He explains in detail how two ships or fleets identified each other to be enemies; how and why they manoeuvred for battle; how a commander communicated his ideas, and how and why his subordinates acted in the way that they did. --from publisher description
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 227-241) and index
