HUGH SEBAG MONTEFIORE

From the author of Dunkirk Fight to the Last Man and Enigma The Battle for the Code a deep dive into the Second World War s maritime epic in the Arctic In a reconfiguration of recent events in Ukraine it is 1941 and Russia has been invaded The terms of the new alliance were that Western nations would ship urgently needed war materials to Russia via the shortest but most dangerous route sailing north of the Arctic Circle while being hunted by U boats the Luftwaffe and a surface fleet spearheaded by Tirpitz and Scharnhorst This endeavour was called the Arctic convoys Battle of the Arctic is about the conflict and naval battles that unfolded while Allied naval and merchant seamen airmen submariners soldiers and intelligence officers delivered on this wartime commitment to Russia from 1941 45 passing through terrific storms snow ice and Arctic mirages When ships went down in seas so cold that a man could die after just five minutes of immersion it triggered events reminiscent of the do or die moments during the sinking of the Titanic As is shown in this description the aftermath of such incidents was harrowing Men perished one by one in lifeboats and as castaways on deserted Arctic islands where they were stalked by polar bears Frostbitten and wounde