Britain’s Amphibious Maven

Journalist Izzard, author of several books in naval history, has written a first new biography of Bertram Ramsay (1883-1945) in a good many years. The Royal Navy’s “amphibious man”, he distinguished himself during the Dunkirk evacuation, on D-Day, and on other occasions, but died in an air accident early in 1945.

Following a successful career in the Royal Navy, Ramsay was retired in the 1930s, but given a stand-by assignment as Commander-in-Chief Dover, which became a critical post on the outbreak of the Hitlerian War. Thus, by default, as it were, after the Allied debacle in France and Belgium in May 1940, he was tasked with the evacuation of British and French troops from the beaches at Dunkirk (May 26-June 4, 1940), which he accomplished with remarkable success despite amazing handicaps.

While Ramsay later ably directed the naval preparations to repel a German invasion of Britain, and then conducted the landings in North Africa, Sicily, and Normandy, Izzard’s treatment concentrates on the Dunkirk operation. He devoted about a third of his text to the evacuation, covering the events literally on a day-to-day basis, in considerable detail. While shorter, his treatment of Ramsay’s subsequent career is adequate.

A good read for anyone interested in naval history in the era of the world wars, Mastermind of Dunkirk and D-Day is particularly useful for those interested in amphibious operations, the Allied disaster in 1940, or naval leadership.

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Note: Mastermind of Dunkirk and D-Day is also available in several e-editions.

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