Explore WWII’s naval turning points—from Dunkirk to Midway, the Atlantic to Sicily, and the sinking of the Bismarck.
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WWII War at Sea
WELCOME
HALF AND HIGH WATER • While senior naval staff hankered for a romantic surface-battle to prove who ruled the waves, crucial developments were taking place beneath the surface. Submarines, sonars and torpedoes decided the war at sea, argues Gavin Mortimer
PART ONE THE GATHERING STORM
FACE OFF IN THE SOUTH ATLANIC • In 1939, a gifted German navy captain was wreaking havoc on Allied shipping in the Atlantic — and drawing the attention of one of the Royal Navy’s greatest tacticians. Eric Grove tells a story of heroism and tragedy in the battle of the River Plate
HOW LANGSDORFF’S LUCK RAN OUT • Hans Langsdorff and Graf Spee caused chaos on British sea routes in the Atlantic, but on 13 December 1939 three factors combined to end their run of good fortune
The gathering storm Norwegian campaign • The RAF’s Battle of Britain heroics are credited with saving the nation. But, argues Nick Hewitt, it was the Royal Navy’s savaging of the German fleet in the battle of Norway in the spring of 1940 that scuttled Hitler’s grand invasion plans
TIMELINE • NORWAY, 1940: HOW HITLER LOST THE EDGE AT SEA
THE GREAT EVACUATION • In May 1940, hundreds of thousands of Allied troops were stranded in Erance, faced with the 2 ferocious onslaught of the German blitzkrieg. : Their rescue would involve luck, strategic genius and the last-ditch intervention of an impromptu civilian flotilla. Tim Benbow revisits ‘the miracle of Dunkirk’
BRITAIN’S ISLAND WEAPON • Despite its small size, Malta was of paramount strategic importance during the fight for north Africa. James Holland explains how the island became a thorn in Hitler’s side — and how the Axis tried to bomb it into submission
THE ORDEAL OF MALTA • As the bombs fell, the island’s daily struggles grew greater
PART TWO TROUBLED WATERS
THE LONGEST BATTLE • If Britain wasn't to starve in the Second World War, then the Merchant Navy simply had to win its duel with the U-boats of the Kriegsmarine. GH Bennett explores the desperate six-year Campaign to preserve the Atlantic supply line
A TYPICAL SHIP MV OLIVEBANK • From its European officers and engineers to the Bengall watchmen, greasers and ‘donkeyman’ who handled the dirty work, this British vessel was the empire in microcosm
DOWN WITH THE SHIP • The battleship Bismarck was one of the gems of the Kriegsmarine, bristling with fearsome weaponry. Nick Hewitt explains how Britain sank this behemoth, and how its brutal loss would undermine Hitler s confidence in German sea power
GREAT BATTLES OF WORLD WAR TWO • Volume One: Land Battles
“THE WORST JOURNEY IN THE WORLD” • They were the operations from hell: ‘ shipping supplies through gales, icy seas and German attacks to keep the Soviet war effort alive. GH Bennett considers whether the Arctic convoys were worth the pain
HOW MIRACULOUS WAS MIDWAY? • The image of plucky American troops slaying a Japanese Goliath has helped make the battle of Midway one of the most feted Allied victories of the Pacific War. But, asks Evan Mawdsley, was this maritime clash really the giant-killing of popular perception?
TIMELINE • The countdown to Midway
SCRAMBLE FOR SICILY • Emboldened after recent victories in north Africa, the Allies believed that invading Sicily would prove crucial to wresting Europe from Axis control. But infighting risked jeopardising the mission before it could begin, says Gavin Mortimer
OPERATION MINCEMEAT • The Allies’ grisly plot to dupe the Germans
PART THREE TURNING THE TIDE
THE GAME THAT TURNED THE TIDE WORLD...