Lots of information packed into this not often told part of WW2. Sinkings and casualties were high but they literally, often at a little over 10 knots, to keep Britain and Russia in the fight against Germany. ( )

From September 1939 until May 1945, a battle raged in the North Atlantic. German U-boats attacked Allied shipping in a deadly attempt to stop the flow of material going to England. By the time the Americans entered the war, the Germans had developed their deadly wolf-pack offense, where instead of a single U-boat seeking targets of opportunity, U-boats were instructed to locate a convey, and wait until a sufficient number of submarines could be assemble for a devastating coordinated attack.

The Germans had early success with this tactic. The Allies had insufficient men and material to hold off the Germans, and allied shipping loses were becoming unacceptable and threatened to starve planned allied offensives.

The month of March 1943 was the worst month for the Allies, and the best month for the Germans. This book details the actions of the allies to stem the losses. Several factors developed: the Allied navies increased the number of escort ships assigned to convoys. Then the Allies were also able to triangulate German radio messages and locate U-boats before they could form up a wolf-pack. Also, the navies were finally able to persuade the Air Force to assign long-range aircraft to cover the convoys. The wolf-packs were primarily effective in the ‘Greenland gap’, an area where land-based planes were unable to fly. The introduction of long-range aircraft closed the ‘Greenland gap.’

By the final year of the war, the Allied convoys traveled with complete air protection.

This was a well written and exciting book that reads like fiction and I found it hard to put down. ( )

A riveting description of the Battle of the Atlantic told from both sides - the brave but doomed U-boat crews, the often helpless merchant mariners, and the over-worked and exhausted British, Canadian, and American Sailors. This was exceptionally read (I am reviewing the audiobook), and while it was a lengthy listen, I am glad it was not abridged. This book kept me transfixed to my car radio as I made several long-distance drives. That should not keep people from purchasing this version - it also does well in small chunks. ( )

Interesting read about the factors that led to the Allies gaining the upper hand in the battle of the North Atlantic. The author looks at the passage of a small number of convoys over a short period of time to demonstrate the impact that particular decisions and technical advances on the side of the Allies had on minimising the effectiveness of the Germans. The downside was that at times it felt like you were reading an omnibus of statistics, rather than seeing the human side of the War. ( )

This is an audio book I received instead of the paper copy, not what I had expected and never did listen too. I am not an audio book person so I cannot give an honest review of this book until I get the paper copy. ( )