Overview

""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 Two. Churchill's fears were well-placed-the casualty rate in the Atlantic was higher than in any other theater of the entire war. The enemy was always and constantly there and waiting, lying just over the horizon or lurking beneath the waves. In many ways, the Atlantic shipping lanes, where U-boats preyed on American ships, were the true front of the war. England's very survival depended on assistance from the United States, much of which was transported across the ocean by boat. The shipping lanes thus became the main target of German naval operations between 1940 and 1945. The Battle of the Atlantic and the men who fought it were therefore crucial to both sides. Had Germany succeeded in cutting off the supply of American ships, England might not have held out. Yet had Churchill siphoned reinforcements to the naval effort earlier, thousands of lives might have been preserved. The battle consisted of not one but hundreds of battles, ranging from hours to days in duration, and forcing both sides into constant innovation and nightmarish second-guessing, trying desperately to gain the advantage of every encounter. Any changes to the events of this series of battles, and the outcome of the war-as well as the future of Europe and the world-would have been dramatically different. Jonathan Dimbleby's The Battle of the Atlantic offers a detailed and immersive account of this 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 the longest battle of World War Two. This is the definitive account of the Battle of the Atlantic.

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9780190495855

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Reviews

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 Donitz, 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 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

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 D�nitz, 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 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 Donitz, 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 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 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 Max Hastings picked Jonathan Dimbleby's The Battle of the Atlantic as his non-fiction book of the year for BBC Radio 4's Front Row. 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 Donitz, 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 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 Donitz, 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 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 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 Donitz, 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

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 Donitz, 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

Author Information

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.

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