num_pages: 360
description: It was probably the most important battle of the Second World War. The German attempt to stem the vital trans-Atlantic flow of men and supplies to Britain would cost the Allies more than 2600 merchant ships 30000 merchant seamens lives 5000 aircrew and about 2500 aircraft. The battle ranged across the from the waters of the St. Lawrence through the treacherous open sea of the North Atlantic to the fjords of Norway and the Bat of Biscay.Spencer Dunmore traces the complete history of the Battle of the Atlantic giving equal time to all aspects of the in the air on the water and below its surface. He follows the action from the earliest days when surface raiders  such as the infamous Bismarck  were seen by the Allies as the greatest danger at sea through the heyday of Germanys U-boats and the catastrophic damage the dreaded Wolfpacks wrought on the heavily laden convoys steaming their way to Britain. His is also one of the few books to acknowledge the pivotal role of the air-force in determining the final outcome fo the battle.Dunmore tells the story from the perspective of both sides and includes the first-hand accounts of individual participants both Allied and German. For all involved  whether on board merchant ships or their escort vessels whether in submarines prowling below or aircraft patrolling above  life was a combination of awful anticipation of attack and nerve-shattering tension when it came.Behind the scenes were the politicians and strategists fully mindful of the stakes of this epic battle; the ingenious scientists and their race to improve radar technology torpedoes and depth charge; the brilliant code breakers of Englands Bletchley Park; and most remarkable of all Admiral von Donitz the extraordinary mastermind of Germanys U-boat campaign and eventual successor to Adolf Hitler himself.
language: English
title: In Great Waters: The Epic Story of the Battle of the Atlantic, 1939-45
publisher: McClelland & Stewart