Rodney and the Breaking of the Line Review

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(More customer reviews)A hard superior and a difficult subordinate is how Rodney is described in this book. These were qualities, however, which were essential for those tasked with the job of fighting an enemy at sea in the 18th Century.

His, however, was not a conventional route to the top of his profession by any means. After the Seven Years War, the long years of peace meant that Rodney was placed on half-pay because very few officers were now required to man those ships deemed to be the essential minimum for the Royal Navy. Of all the places to which a British naval officer might seek refuge from his creditors, Rodney exiled himself in France and it was only because of the generosity of a French nobleman that he was able to return to England at all.
For the last two years of his active service, Rodney was Commander-in-Chief of the Leeward Islands station during the closing stages of the American War of Independence. Of the 21 enemy ships of the line captured during that war, Rodney captured 15. His final glorious battle was fought off Dominica on 12 April 1782 when he defeated the Comte de Grasse at the Battle of Saintes where he famously broke the French Line.
The text is well supported with a carefully chosen and relevant selection of portraits and other pictures which are found together in the middle of the book.
NM


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