1
of
1
French Navy 1939–42
The Marine nationale in World War II
Series: Fleet
Brief Description
An authoritative, illustrated analysis of the official French Navy in World War II, under the command of the Third Republic and of Vichy. At the outbreak of World War II, the Marine nationale was the most powerful navy in continental Europe, unified in its purpose of...
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$3299
Unit price
/
Unavailable
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER
Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks
Found a better price? Request a price match
French Navy 1939–42
$3299
Unit price
/
Unavailable
An authoritative, illustrated analysis of the official French Navy in World War II, under the command of the Third Republic and of Vichy.
An authoritative, illustrated analysis of the official French Navy in World War II, under the command of the Third Republic and of Vichy.
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
An authoritative, illustrated analysis of the official French Navy in World War II, under the command of the Third Republic and of Vichy.
At the outbreak of World War II, the Marine nationale was the most powerful navy in continental Europe, unified in its purpose of defending the nation and the colonial empire. It was the product of the unique 1920s–30s French naval doctrine and armaments development, as a continental power with worldwide interests.
The fall of France shattered this unity, as the fleet split between loyalty to Vichy and Free France. In French Navy 1939–42, Hugues Canuel presents a sharp, focused operational study of the official French Navy in World War II, from action alongside its British allies in 1939–40 to the fiery end of the Vichy fleet in Toulon harbour in 1942.
Based on a wealth of French, British, and American archive material and drawing on the author's years of research, it explores France's warships and their capabilities, the roles the fleet was structured to perform, and the combat they saw – including operations off Norway and tackling German raiders in the Atlantic, operations in Indochina, and the battle with the Allies in Operation Torch.
Illustrated throughout with rare photos, spectacular battlescenes, 3D diagrams of engagements and fleet formations, and a map of France’s naval responsibilities, this book is an essential guide to one of the least-known major navies of World War II.
Series: Fleet
View all-
D-Day Fleet 1944, American Sector
D-Day Fleet 1944, American Sector by Brian Lane Herder is a fully illustrated study of how the US-led half of the Normandy invasion fleet was composed, commanded, and fought, from D-Day until the fall of Cherbourg. The D-Day landings and their aftermath were among the most complex and important naval operations in history. With the target beaches divided into two...Paperback$4499Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Kriegsmarine Atlantic Command 1939–42
Germany’s legendary Atlantic surface war was fought by Naval Group West. Superbly illustrated, this unpacks the details of how it operated and fought. Having spent the 1930s on an ambitious but confused bid to build a new battle fleet, Germany began World War II woefully unprepared. Under Marinegruppenkommando West, its heavy ships and raiders were tasked with challenging Allied dominance...Paperback$6999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
US Navy Pacific Fleet 1941
US Navy Pacific Fleet 1941 by Mark Lardas is the first book to examine the battleship-led 1941 Pacific Fleet as it was intended to fight. Packed with illustrations, this study explains how the US Navy saw the approaching war unfolding. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the Pacific Fleet was the most powerful in the US Navy. Although dominated by...Paperback$3499Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Royal Navy Grand Fleet 1914–18
World War I was Britain’s last moment as the world’s naval superpower, and its Grand Fleet was the most powerful ever seen. Fully illustrated, this explores its fighting power. At the start of World War I, the Royal Navy’s forces were amalgamated into a single entity, the Grand Fleet, and stationed in Scapa Flow, Orkney. The Grand Fleet was the...Paperback$6999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Royal Navy Home Fleet 1939–41
Packed with illustrations, this is a new history and analysis of how the Royal Navy's most important fleet operated and fought the German Navy in the crucial first years of World War II. Throughout its history, the Royal Navy's most powerful fleet has been the one guarding home waters. In this book, naval historian Angus Konstam explores the fighting power,...Paperback$4499Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
US Seventh Fleet, Korea 1950–53
Naval dominance was crucial to the defence of South Korea, and this illustrated study explains how the US Navy brought its war-winning fleet to bear in a complex campaign. Fought just five years after the US Navy’s carrier-led forces swept into Tokyo Bay, the naval campaign in Korea was a very different war, and one that set the trend for...Paperback$6999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Royal Navy Force H 1940–42
Formed to project British naval power from Gibraltar, Force H was the Royal Navy's unique strategic task force. This fully illustrated study explains its roles, organisation, and history. In June 1940, the fall of France and its powerful fleet completely changed the naval balance in both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. To counter this, the Admiralty formed Force H, a...Paperback$4299Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Kriegsmarine North Sea Command 1939–42
An authoritative, illustrated history of how Germany fought to dominate the North Sea in early World War II, and take the naval war to Britain's coasts. Britain’s war economy relied not only on the Atlantic Convoys, but also on superiority in coastal waters. Six days out of seven, convoys left Scotland and northern England, laden chiefly with the coal that...Paperback$3699Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Italian Adriatic Fleet 1915–18
Fiercely fought with all the latest weaponry of World War I, Italy’s Adriatic campaign is the forgotten war of the dreadnought era. Fully illustrated, this is its first history in English. Fought across the narrowest naval frontline of World War I, with almost daily combat, the Adriatic Sea was perhaps the war’s most active coastal naval campaign, yet it is...Paperback$3699Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
French Navy 1939–42
An authoritative, illustrated analysis of the official French Navy in World War II, under the command of the Third Republic and of Vichy. At the outbreak of World War II, the Marine nationale was the most powerful navy in continental Europe, unified in its purpose of defending the nation and the colonial empire. It was the product of the unique...Paperback$3299Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Pre-order
D-Day Fleet 1944, British Sector
This illustrated study explores the detail of the Royal Navy’s huge operation on D-Day and in the weeks after, as the fleet went into action to support history’s biggest amphibious landings. Although D-Day is perhaps the most written-about event in military history, little has been published on the detail of the sea power that Overlord relied upon. In D-Day Fleet...Paperback$3999Unit price /UnavailableOut 4 Aug 2026Pre-order
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781472865908
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 26 February 2026
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Osprey Publishing
Illustration: Illustrated throughout with 40 archive photos and 15 pages of original colour illustrations
Contributors:
- Illustrated by Adam Tooby
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 8.0mm
Width: 184.0mm
Height: 248.0mm
Weight: 261g
Pages: 80
About the Author
Captain Hugues Canuel, RCN, PhD is a career naval officer who currently serves as Defence Advisor at the High Commission of Canada in Singapore, and previously as Defence Attaché in Tokyo 2018-22. He earned his PhD in War Studies at the Royal Military College of Canada, where he was appointed Adjunct Associate Professor of History in 2021. Naval Institute Press has published his doctoral thesis as The Fall and Rise of French Seapower.
Adam Tooby is a renowned digital modeller and illustrator.
More from History & Military
View all-
Saving Elli
One child. Two years in hiding. Three lives in mortal danger. In Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, near Anne Frank's house, another Jewish girl is hidden. Her name is Elli. Her father has been executed at Mauthausen concentration camp. Her mother is fleeing for her life. Elli is next. To save her, resistance couple Frits and Jo Hakkens must risk everything, concealing her...Paperback$3299Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Spy and the Traitor
The Spy and the Traitor by Ben Macintyre is a spellbinding Cold War thriller that unravels the true story of Oleg Gordievsky, a KGB double agent who risked everything to aid the British in the battle against Soviet oppression. In meticulously researched detail, Macintyre paints a vivid portrait of espionage, double-crossing, and unparalleled bravery, giving readers a riveting glimpse into...Paperback$2100Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseSuicidal Empathy
The bestselling author of The Parasitic Mind shows why empathy in politics leads to civilizational collapse. What happens when a society elevates victimhood to a virtue and decides that punishment is cruel? You get the disease Dr. Gad Saad calls suicidal empathy. And the West may be terminally infected. In his new book, Suicidal Empathy, Saad unleashes a blistering critique...Paperback$3099Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Man's Search For Meaning
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl is a profound, thought-provoking memoir and psychological exploration that delves into the harrowing experiences of life in Nazi concentration camps, intertwined with the author’s groundbreaking theories on existential psychology. The book is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, offering a beacon of hope and a roadmap for finding purpose...Paperback$1800Elsewhere:$2100Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Betrayal
‘Tom Bower is the Inspector Morse of investigative biographers, a fluent, phlegmatic storyteller and a master of intricacies.’ Sunday Times The British Crown is in crisis, with constitutional threats at home and abroad. At a landmark moment in royal history, can King Charles overcome the scandals that blight the Royal family? Can the broken bonds between the Houses of Sussex...Paperback$3499Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Chief and the Empire
The Chief and the Empire uncovers the extraordinary true tale of Te Tai Tokerau rangatira Te Pahi - the first influential Māori leader to cross the Tasman - whose curiosity about the Pākehā world forged alliances, saved lives, and ultimately cost him his own. On a visit to Sydney in 1805, Te Pahi was feted as a celebrity, building close...Paperback$3200Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Discipline
Silence is complicity, but how do we confront the cost of speaking up? Sydney, May 2021. Ashraf is an academic whose career and personal life are in freefall. Hannah is a young journalist struggling to honour the voices of her community. When a Year 12 Al-Bayinnah College student is arrested for protesting a university's ties to an Israeli weapons manufacturer,...Paperback$4000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Shattered Lands
'A sparkling debut by an outstanding young historian' – PETER FRANKOPAN 'This book is a revelation … both original and important' – MISHAL HUSAIN A history of modern South Asia told through five partitions that reshaped it. As recently as 1928, a vast swathe of Asia – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal, Bhutan, Yemen, Oman, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and...Paperback$3699Elsewhere:$4500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Goliath’s Curse
Goliath’s Curse by Luke Kemp offers a radical retelling of human history through the lens of collapse, delving into what this means for our uncertain future. This narrative spans from the dawn of our species to the urgent existential threats of the twenty-first century and beyond. It's grounded in the latest research and a comprehensive database of more than 440...Paperback$2999Elsewhere:$4000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseThe Good Settler
‘Where once I saw a view as I drove around the Taranaki coast along State Highway 45, I now see confiscated land from an invasion road. The creation story I used to subscribe to, the one in which hard-working people came here and settled the land, now jars. Weirdly, even the lawn looks different. The form of things just won’t...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Banjara
A powerful literary debut from an astonishing new Kiwi voice, focusing on the Indo-Fijian indenture system and how it affected generations across the Pacific.Rajasthan 1888: Avani Rathod, a nomad of the Banjara community, is summoned to teach a blue-eyed colonial officer the trees of her region, but instead is misled into indenture to the sugarcane plantations of Fiji. While on...Paperback$3099Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
This Way Up
The debut book from the YouTube sensation and all-round cartographical nerds, The Map Men! In their long-awaited debut, YouTube’s Map Men bring their highly infectious enthusiasm for everything map-related to the printed page for the very first time, in a brilliantly entertaining and eye-catching tome. Packed with humour and fascinating facts, This Way Up takes a deep dive into the...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow
Why buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
