“This outstanding book will be essential for future studies of naval policy in the period between la Gloire and the Great War.” —The Naval Review This boo

Between the wars the French produced some of the largest, and certainly the fastest, destroyers in the world. Known as Contre-Torpilleurs, these striking and in

“A superb book that will keep any reader happy for months as they discover stories and episodes in French naval destroyer design and history.”—Warship Wor

On September 1, 1910, France became the last great naval power to lay down a dreadnought battleship, the Courbet. The ensuing Courbet and Bretagne-class dreadno