William N Still 
Victory Without Peace 
The United States Navy in European Waters, 1919-1924

Victory Without Peace concentrates on the U.S. Navy in European and Near Eastern waters during the post-World War I era. As participants in the Versailles peace negotiations, the Navy was charged with executing the naval terms of the Armistice as well as preserving stability and peace. U.S. warships were deploying into the Near East, Baltic, Adriatic, and Northern Europe, while simultaneously withdrawing its demobilized forces from European waters. This signifies the first time the U.S. Navy contributed to peacetime efforts, setting a precedent continues today. Conversely, Congressional appropriations handicapped this deployment by demobilization, general naval policy and postwar personnel, and operating funds reductions. Though reluctant to allocate postwar assets into seemingly unimportant European and Near Eastern waters, the Navy was pressured by the State Department and the American Relief Administration’s leader, Herbert Hoover, to deploy necessary forces. Most of these were withdrawn by 1924 and the European Station assumed the traditional policy of showing the flag.

About the author

William N. Still served in the U.S Navy and was director of the maritime studies program at East Carolina University. He has published several naval history books, including the award winning
Crisis at Sea: The United States in European Waters in World War One. He also served as the Secretary of the Navy’s scholar in naval history at the Naval History and Heritage Command. He is now retired.