On 21 June 1919 the ships of the German High Seas Fleet - interned at Scapa Flow since the Armistice - began to founder, taking their British custodians completely by surprise. In breach of agreed terms, the fleet dramatically scuttled itself, in a well-planned operation that consigned nearly half a million tons, and 54 of 72 ships, to the bottom of the sheltered anchorage in a gesture of Wagnerian proportions. This much is well-known, but even a century after the Grand Scuttle' many questions remain. Was von Reuter, the fleet's commander, acting under orders or was it his own initiative? Why was 21 June chosen? Did the British connive in, or even encourage the action? Could more have been done to save the ships? Was it legally justified? And what were the international ramifications? This new book analyses all these issues, beginning with the fleet mutiny in the last months of the War that precipitated a social revolution in Germany and the eventual collapse of the will to fight. The Armistice terms imposed the humiliation of virtual surrender on the High Seas Fleet, and the conditions under which it was interned are described in detail. Meanwhile the victorious Allies wrangled over the fate of the ships, an issue that threatened the whole peace process. Using much new material from German sources and a host of eye-witness testimonies, the circumstances of the scuttling itself are meticulously reconstructed, while the aftermath for all parties is clearly laid out. The story concludes with the biggest salvage operation in history' and a chapter on the significance of the scuttling to the post-war balance of naval power. Published to coincide with the centenary, this book is an important reassessment of the last great action of the First World War.

Stalking the U-Boat is the first and only comprehensive study of U.S. naval aviation operations in Europe during WWI. The navy's experiences in this conflict laid the foundations for the later emergence of aviation as a crucial--sometimes dominant--element of fleet operations, yet those origins have been previously poorly understood and documented. Begun as antisubmarine operations, naval aviation posed enormous logistical, administrative, personnel, and operational problems. How the USN developed this capability--on foreign soil in the midst of desperate conflict--makes a fascinating tale sure to appeal to all military and naval historians.

Suhail Aziz was born in Sylhet, Bangladesh. He joined the Pakistan Navy and, after initial training in Pakistan, he entered the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, England, where, on completion of his training he was commissioned by the British Admiralty. While in Dartmouth, however, he met and fell in love with Ann, a British girl. Love brought tensions with the Navy and Pakistan government whose arbitrary restrictions meant Suhail was dismissed from the Pakistan Navy for his marriage to a foreign national. It was the first, but not the last time that he was to experience discrimination. After his dismissal, Suhail served in East Pakistan's Inland Water Transport Authority and as a personnel manager of Unilever Factory, Chittagong, in what was then East Pakistan, before returning to England in 1966 with his young family. Back in England, Suhail started out as a ticketing clerk at a rail station in an outer suburb of London before a change in jobs lead him to be awarded a direct-entry, permanent commission in the Royal Air Force. This was just the beginning of Suhail's UK career. After leaving the RAF, Suhail served at the Ford Motor Company, the Mars Group and as a Director at the Commission for Racial Equality. Breakthrough: Memoir of a British-Trained Bangladeshi is Suhail's story through love and prejudice; how he made it in England starting at the bottom and rising to the chairmanship of public bodies, gaining recognition along the way for his distinguished record of public service. Suhail Aziz's memoir is his life's experience, impressions and insights.