The Battle of the Atlantic: How the Allies Won the War - Hardcover

Dimbleby, Jonathan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0190495855 ISBN 13: 9780190495855

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2016

Synopsis

"The only thing that ever really frightened me during the war was the U-boat peril," wrote Winston Churchill in his monumental history of World War II. His fear was shared by many. The North Atlantic was arguably the true front of the war for Europe, and the stakes there were terrifyingly high. Had Germany succeeded in cutting off the supply of American ships, England might not have held out. In a cable to Churchill in May 1941, Franklin Roosevelt put it plainly, "I believe the outcome of this struggle is going to be decided in the Atlantic and unless Hitler can win there he cannot win anywhere in the world in the end."

Hitler knew what was at stake. The shipping lanes of the Atlantic became the main target of the Kriegsmarine operations early in the war. Between 1940 and 1945 the death rate there was higher than in any other theater of the entire war, for both sides. The enemy was always and constantly there and waiting, lying just over the horizon or lurking beneath the waves. The conflict consisted of not one battle but hundreds, ranging from hours to days in duration, and forcing both sides into constant innovation and white-knuckled, nightmarish second-guessing, trying desperately to gain the advantage of every encounter. Some of this took place in treacherous seas with mountainous swells, in water so cold that survival in it could be counted in mere minutes.

Jonathan Dimbleby's The Battle of the Atlantic offers a detailed and immersive account of this massive and decisive campaign, placing it within the context of the war as a whole. Dimbleby delves into the politics on both sides of the Atlantic, revealing the role of Bletchley Park and the complex and dynamic relationship between America and England. He uses contemporary diaries and letters from leaders and sailors to chilling effect, evoking the lives and experiences of those who fought. This is the definitive account of the longest battle of World War II.

About this title

About the Author:

Jonathan Dimbleby is a writer, broadcaster and filmmaker. His books include Russia: A Journey to the Heart of a Land and its People, and the highly acclaimed Destiny in the Desert: The Road to El Alamein.

Review:

"Dimbleby makes a convincing case that of all the campaigns of WWII, the struggle for dominance over the North Atlantic was the most important...The history of the battle for the Atlantic is well documented, but Dimbleby's work, with its emphasis on the strategic importance of the battle, is an excellent addition to the story, and expert historians as well as general readers can enjoy this effort."--Publishers Weekly

"Recent historians...emphasize that the Allied supply line was never seriously in jeopardy, but Dimbleby sticks to the traditional cliffhanger version, delivering a gripping history overflowing with anecdotes and enough calamity, misery, explosions, and individual valor for a Hollywood disaster epic."--Kirkus Starred Review

"This is an exceptionally vivid account of one of the critical campaigns of the Second World War by a masterly writer."--Max Hastings

"Winston Churchill famously described the Battle of the Atlantic as 'a war of groping and drowning, a war of ambuscade and stratagem, a war of science and seamanship' and no book depicts all of those myriad aspects better than Jonathan Dimbleby's majestic overview. His judgments can sometimes be harsh and are bound to be controversial, but they are backed up with wide reading, diligent scholarship and cogent argument. This is a truly gripping account of a campaign that the author rightly puts epicentral to the Allied victory in the Second World War."--Andrew Roberts, author of Masters and Commanders

"A gripping read and a great contribution to the history of the Second World War. The author realizes his immense ambition of bringing out the human aspects of the drama at every level, from the heads of state to the crews in the Atlantic, while also bringing important nuances to received views on the struggle against the U-boats, and, indeed, on Churchill's war leadership. An epic account."--Peter Padfield, author of War Beneath the Sea: Submarine Conflict 1939-1945, and biographies of Dönitz, Himmler and Hess\

"The epic Battle of the Atlantic can only really be understood when set against the strategic context of the time. Jonathan Dimbleby's highly engaging history does this by combining gripping accounts of the tactics and operational fortunes of the Germans and the Allies in the bitterest of battles with an authoritative review of strategic thinking."--Professor Geoff Till, author of The Development of British Naval Thinking

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0190495855
• ISBN 13: 9780190495855
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 560