Macintyre, Donald, — THE BATTLE FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN.

Batsford, London, 1964, 1st edn., half tone photo frontis, 216pp inc.22pp half tone photo ills., maps in text, blue cloth lettered and ruled in gilt at spine, decorative headband, upper edge coloured, coloured pictorial dustwrapper, from May 1940 to June 1943 the Royal Navy battled to control the Mediterranean, and attempt to deny the Italian army and then the Afrika Korps their lifeline of suppiy to North Africa from across the Mediterranean. Against this background the author relates the Royal Navy's support for Greece and Crete until their evacuation, continuing support for the last remaining British base of Malta in the face of horrendous losses in ships and aircraft (including Operations Vigorous and Pedestal), individual actions including the surface fleet action of the Battle of Cape Matapan, the Fleet Air Arm raid on Taranto, the successful attack by Italian human torpedos at Alexandria, etc., lightly rubbed at tips, edges tanned and faintly foxed, light foxing to endpapers and prelims., dustwrapper: a little rubbed at extrems., light foxing mainly to reverse, a few small marks, very good in a good plus dustwrapper,