The story of the most revolutionary period in naval history - the first iron-hulled, steam-powered warships, their first battles at sea, and the great arms race that followed.

From the launching of La Gloire to the emergence of modern turreted battleships in 1875, this book offers a fascinating insight into Continental Europe's innovative and powerful ironclads.

In November 1859, the French "ironclad" La Gloire was launched in Toulon. She was the world's first seagoing ironclad--a warship built from wood, but whose hull was clad in a protective layer of iron plate. While history best remembers the ironclads of the American Civil War, these warships were mere toys compared to the iron-plated leviathans in contemporary European navies. Other European powers, not wanting to be outdone, launched their own ironclads, then the most powerful warships in the world. Together they embodied the startling technological advances of the late 19th century, and the spirit of this new age of steam, iron, and firepower.