Bombardment - The Day the East Coast Bled, by Mark Marsay
Book published by Great Northern Publishing in 2000, 516 pages. Paperback (N5693PE)
From the rear side cover: Under the cover of darkness a powerful German naval battle group negotiated the hazardous minefields of the North Sea, hell-bent on destruction, its target the still slumbering north-east coastal towns of Scarborough and Hartlepool. By early morning the battle group had divided; three battle-cruisers steamed north, two battle-cruisers and a light cruiser steamed south. Sheltered from prying eyes by the velvet darkness they advanced unopposed.
As dawn broke the vessels, shrouded by a hell-sent bank of early morning mist - typical to the north-east coast - steamed to meet fate. Like harbingers of doom the ships, hulking masses of cold grey steel, silhouetted against the grey rolling mist, steamed southward, a mile off shore and parallel to it. As the bow of the leading vessel pierced the cloak of invisibility unwittingly supplied by mother nature, its Captain raised his field-glasses and surveyed the scenic tranquillity of the town's dual bays. High on the cliffs, north of the town, the attention of three workmen engaged on cottage renovations was caught by movement out at sea - the warships. The men were struck by the closeness of the vessels to the shore. As the light increased the ships moved stealthily southward, towards the town, the smaller vessel leading the way. The speed of the ships gradually increased, the smoke from their funnels passing from grey to black, a dense, heavy cloud trailing in their wake. Nothing stood between the German battleships and the gentle, hushed Yorkshire coast. Aboard the leading battle-cruiser the Captain of the 'Von der Tann', satisfied, lowered his field-glasses, turned slightly and barked an order to his battle-ready gun crews - Feuer Geben...
The giant naval guns opened fire with a thunderous broadside, their barrels erupting in great gouts of angry crimson flame. Several hundred yards away the order was repeated on the bridge of the 'Derfflinger' and a split second later her guns echoed that first thunderous broadside. The day was Wednesday. The date was the 16th of December 1914. The time was eight o'clock. The place was Scarborough, the 'Queen of the Yorkshire Coast', and death had come calling!
Illustrated with several maps, diagrams and black and white photographs, this book provides a fascinating and detailed account of the German Naval attacks on the East Coast towns of Scarborough, Whitby and Hartlepool during the First World War. The book is divided into five parts, including: The bombardment of Scarborough 1914, The bombardment of Whitby 1914, The bombardment of Hartlepool 1914, The 1917 submarine attack on Scarborough, and the Armistice and beyond.
The condition of the book is generally excellent. The covers are clean and bright, the spine is tight and intact, and all pages are clean, intact, unblemished and tightly bound. Please note there is an old price printed and a small price sticker on the rear side cover
| Condition | New |