THE IRON SEA

Blow-by-blow account of the Allied battles against four potent German warships that “posed a mortal threat to Britain’s survival, killers ready to sever the nation’s vital arteries to its empire and the United States.”

Early on in his latest well-told military tale, versatile historian Read notes the seemingly endless frustration caused by the Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Bismarck, and Tirpitz, with Winston Churchill lamenting, “Besides the constant struggle with the U-boats…surface raiders had already cost us over three-quarters of a million tons of shipping.” Strategically situated in the harbor at Brest, France, the ships gave the Germans a significant advantage, allowing them to "wreak bloody havoc" on the Allied convoys carrying necessary supplies. In addition to their imposing armor and artillery, they were swift and elusive. “With a top speed each of 31 knots,” writes the author, “they were faster than any British ship. First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill, well aware of this fact, deemed them ‘targets of supreme consequence.’ ” Indeed, as Read points out in this exciting narrative, the destruction caused by these four ships “would become Churchill’s obsession.” Catching them as they moved toward Norway and the Baltic shipping waters would cost the British dearly—e.g., the May 1941 sinking of the Hood, “the pride of the Royal Navy,” which killed all but three of the 1,418 crew aboard. In addition to the pulse-pounding narrative of the ships in battle, including profiles of the many sailors who lost their lives on both sides, Read demonstrates the big-picture importance of the Battle of the Atlantic in helping sustain Britain's heavily rationed population and its war machine with food, equipment, and raw materials. The success in “securing the Atlantic sea lanes” was crucial to victories in subsequent battles.

A suspenseful, well-wrought account of battling ships at sea and grave wartime conditions.