A gripping account of the epic hunt for Hitler's most terrifying battleship - the legendary Tirpitz - and the brave men who risked their lives to attack and destroy this most potent symbol of the Nazi's fearsome war machine. Tirpitz was the pride of Hitler's navy. To Churchill, she was 'the Beast', a menace to Britain's supply lines and a threat to the convoys sustaining Stalin's armies. Tirpitz was said to be unsinkable, impregnable -no other target attracted so much attention. In total 36 major Allied operations were launched against her, including desperately risky missions by human torpedoes and midget submarines and near-suicidal bombing raids. Yet Tirpitz stayed afloat. It was not until November 1944 that she was finally destroyed by RAF Lancaster Bombers flown by 617 Squadron - the Dambusters - in a gruelling mission that tested the very limits of human endurance. The man who led the raid - Willie Tait - was one of the most remarkable figures of the war, flying missions almost continuously right from the start. Until now his deeds have been virtually unknown. With exclusive co-operation from Tait's family, Patrick Bishop reveals the extraordinary achievement of a man who shunned the spotlight but whose name will be renowned for generations to come. The book is a magnificent, accessibly written wartime adventure, perfect for fans of Ben Macintyre's 'Agent Zigzag' or 'Operation Mincemeat'.

The battleships of the _Dunkerque_ and _Richelieu_ classes were the most radical and influential designs of the interwar period, and were coveted by the British, the Germans and the Italians following the Armistice of June 1940\. After an extensive refit in the USA, _Richelieu_ went on to serve alongside the Royal Navy during 1943-45. Using a wealth of primary-source material, some of which has only recently been made available, John Jordan and Robert Dumas have embarked on a completely new study of these important and technically interesting ships. A full account of their development is followed by a detailed analysis of their design characteristics, profusely illustrated by inboard profiles and schematic drawings. The technical chapters are interspersed with operational histories of the ships, with a particular focus on the operations in which they engaged other heavy units: Mers el-Kebir, Dakar and Casablanca. These accounts include a detailed analysis of their performance in action and the damage sustained, and are supported by specially-drawn maps and by the logs of _Strasbourg_ and _Richelieu_. Twenty-two colour profile and plan views illustrate the ships' appearance at the various stages of their careers.

"Fighting Techniques of Naval Warfare" analyzes the tactics, techniques, and weaponry of naval warfare from the ancient period to the modern day. Beginning with Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses III's victory over the piractical Sea Peoples in 1190 BC, and coming up-to-date with the use of aircraft carriers and the latest computerized weapons technology, the book covers every significant development in naval warfare over the last 3000 years.
The first chapter covers some of the major naval engagements of the ancient era, including the Greeks' emphatic victory over the Persians at Salamis (480 BC) and Octavian's decisive defeat of Mark Anthony at Actium (31 BC). The use of galleys as the premier fighting ship for more than 2000 years is explored in detail. The second chapter investigates the development of new types of fighting vessels, such as the northern European cog, at battles such as Sluys (1340 AD), which also offering expert analysis of the introduction of cannon at Hansando (1592) and the spectacular use of fireships against the Spanish Armada at Gravelines (1588). The third chapter examines the age of sail, from the early seventeenth century to the late eighteenth century, through famous encounters at the Downs (1639), Medway (1667), and Quiberon Bay (1759). The chapter rounds off with the Russo-Swedish battled of Svensksund (1790), demonstrating one of the last uses of galleys in European naval warfare. The fourth chapter surveys the transformation from the employment of the last great fighting sailing ships at battles such as Copenhagen (1801) and Trafalgar (1805) to the advent of steam-powered ironclads at Mobile Bay (1864). The final chapter covers the development and use of armored battleships at Tsushima (1905) and Jutland (1916), and the revolutionary introduction of aircraft carriers at Cape Matapan (1941) and Midway (1942).
Using specially-commissioned color maps and black-and-white artworks, "Fighting Techniques of Naval Warfare" is an essential companion for anyone interested in naval warfare.

On 1st June 1666, during the second Anglo-Dutch War, a large but outnumbered English Fleet engaged the Dutch off the mouth of the Thames in a colossal battle that was to involve nearly 200 ships and last four days. False intelligence had led the English to divide their fleet to meet a phantom fleet from France and although the errant squadron rejoined on the final day of the battle, it was not enough to redress the balance. More than 1,500 English sailors were killed, 2,000 taken prisoner and two vice admirals killed. The battle ended when the English escaped into a fog bank, both fleets by this time having expended their ammunition. Like many a defeat, it sparked controversy at the time, and has been the subject of speculation and debate ever since. The battle was an event of such overwhelming complexity that for centuries it defied description and deterred study, but this superbly researched book is now recognised as the definitive English-language account. First published in 1996, it provides the only clear exposition of the opposing forces, fils many holes in the narrative and answers most of the questions raised by the actions of the English commanders. The narrative is totally engrossing and worthy of what was the greatest battle anywhere in the age of sail, and this new paperback edition will bring the story to new readers who missed the book in its earlier editions.

The full visual history of the special forces combat diver from World War II to the present day. Combat divers are an elite within an elite. Every special forces combat diver is required to pass selection twice - first into the elite military unit and then a combat diving qualification. The combat dive units themselves are tiny and the operations highly classified. The role of a military diver is inevitably a lonely and a dangerous one, whether clearing mines or striking from the sea against enemy-held targets. Fully illustrated with rare and unusual images, Combat Divers reveals their little-known yet fascinating operations, from Dutch Special Forces combat divers covertly operating against Somali pirates to the actions of Soviet Spetsnaz divers in Swedish territorial waters during the Cold War. It also examines how the most famous units, such as the US Navy SEALs and the Royal Navy's SBS, are currently operating and adapting to threats in a multitude of theatres. Combat Divers gives an insight into specialist kit and vehicles presently used and equipment that is being developed and trialed throughout the world. Covering a variety of kit, from dry deck shelters to mini-submarines and swimmer delivery vehicles, former Royal Marines Commando Michael G. Welham draws on his own extensive diving experience to reveal exactly how this equipment is used by special forces dive teams. As their kit and equipment constantly evolve, so does the nature of their work and even the team element. Combat Divers also details the first female combat divers and includes their own first-hand accounts about their groundbreaking roles within their respective units to create a fascinating history of these elite special forces operatives.

A fascinating and detailed exploration of one of the most famous warships of the Ancient world - the trireme - and its tactical employment by the opposing sides in the 5th-century BC Graeco-Persian Wars. You may be familiar with the Athenian trireme - but how much do you know about the ram-armed, triple-oared warships that it dueled against at the battles of Artemision, Salamis and the Eurymedon River? How similar or different were these warships to each other? And why did the Persians rely on Phoenician vessels to form much of their navy? Much attention has been devoted to the Greek trireme, made famous by modern reconstruction - with only passing notice given to the opposing Persian navy's vessels in illustrated treatments. Join us on the Aegean as, for the first time, we reveal a rarely attempted colour reconstruction of a trireme in Persian service. Compare the form, construction, design, manoeuvrability, and tactical deployment of the opposing triremes, aided by stunning illustrations. Man the decks of these warships with the fighting complement of Greek citizen hoplites, Scythian archers and Persian marines, and learn why the Greeks placed a bounty of 10,000 drachmae on the head of Artemisia - the Karian queen and Persian admiral, and the only woman among Xerxes' commanders.

The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars encompassed a period when rival European fleets vied for naval supremacy, and naval tactics were evolving. The British Royal Navy emerged triumphant as the leading world sea power, and the epitome of Britannic naval strength was the Ship of the Line. These "wooden walls" were more than merely floating gun batteries: they contained a crew of up to 800 men, and often had to remain at sea for extended periods. This text offers detailed coverage of the complex vessels that were the largest man-made structures produced in the pre-Industrial era. It includes discussion of some of the most famous individuals and ships of the day, such as Nelson, Cochrane, HMS Victory and HMS Indefatigable. There is also a catalogue of all British Ships-of-the-Line from 1792 to 1815, as well as Orders of Battle for Trafalgar, Copenhagen and the Nile.

Packed with illustrations, this is a study of the Polish warships such as the Grom-class destroyers that were developed and built in the interwar years. Newly independent Poland's naval force was created in 1920, initially with six ex-German torpedo boats. However, after German-Soviet exercises off the Polish coast in 1924, funding for warships was hastily allocated. Two destroyers and three submarines were built in France but, disappointed with their quality, Poland ordered new ships, mostly from British and Dutch shipyards. By summer 1939, the Polish Navy comprised four destroyers, five submarines, one minelayer, six minesweepers and a handful of lesser ships. Although the Grom-class destroyers were two of the fastest and best-armed destroyers of the war, the tiny Polish fleet would stand little chance against the Kriegsmarine, and on 30 August three destroyers were dispatched to Britain, followed by two submarines that escaped internment. The remaining Polish surface fleet was sunk by 3 September. In exile, the Polish Navy operated not only their own ships, but also Royal Navy warships, including a cruiser, destroyers, submarines and motor torpedo boats which fought alongside the Allies in the Battle of the Atlantic, the Arctic Convoys, and at the Normandy landings. This detailed account not only describes the Polish Navy's contribution to the Allied war effort but also the episode of the Polish destroyer Piorun which took on the Bismarck in a lone gun duel leading to the sinking of the great German battleship.

This book continues to tell the story of the U.S. Marine Corps' involvement in what were called ""Small Wars"" beginning after World War II with their advisory efforts with the Netherlands Marine Korps (1943-1946); The book is a detailed look at the Marine Corps' Counterinsurgency efforts during the Korean War (1950-1953); the development of vertical assault in the late 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s in Vietnam; Marine Corps Counterinsurgency in Southeast Asia, 1962 thru 1975; involvement in Central America 1983-1989; and the current conflicts including the War on Terror, Operations Iraqi Freedom and 'Enduring Freedom', Libya; U.S. marine Corps force structure, 1980-2015, and a special chapter on marines and War Dogs in combat operations. Based on extensive research and analysis, the book illustrates the Marine Corps' contribution to the current, on-going efforts in the Middle East and Africa in combatting global terrorism.

In 1901 Australia's fledgling Federal Government assumed the responsibility for the new nation's defence. Their first task was to take the aged and obsolete remnants of the colonies' navies and create a national navy to defend our island's coastal waters and overseas trade routes. For the first 40 years the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) was designed to serve alongside the Royal Navy, and resembled it in everything but scale. After the Second World War the RAN developed along US lines but, despite these overseas ties, the RAN has developed its own proud character and tradition and has entered the twenty-first century as a confident and independent force in its own right.In No Pleasure Cruise, Australia's best-known naval historian, Dr Tom Frame, charts the RAN's emergence as one of the world's strongest and most respected navies, and its evolving relationship with the Australian public, press and parliament.

A gripping examination of the Battle of the Barents Sea, fought in the near darkness and icy cold of the northern winter, in which the Kriegsmarine sought to sever the crucial Allied Arctic Convoy route once and for all. The Arctic convoys that passed through the cold, dangerous waters of the Barents Sea formed a vital lifeline - a strategic link in tanks, supplies and above all goodwill between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union. In December 1942, under Operation Regenbogen (Rainbow), the German Kriegsmarine sought to strike a crippling blow on the Arctic convoys and finally sever this all-important sea route. In this fascinating work, renowned naval expert Angus Konstam documents the fate of the Allied Convoy JW 51B as it came under attack from some of the Kriegsmarine's most powerful surface warships - a pocket battleship, a heavy cruiser and six destroyers. Illustrated with stunning battlescene artworks, maps, 3D diagrams and photographs, it explores the David and Goliath struggle between the Allied ships defending the convoy and the powerful German force, until the arrival of the two British cruisers tipped the balance of power. The Battle of the Barents Sea, fought amid snowstorms and the darkness of the Arctic night, would prove to be a turning point in the hard-fought war in northern waters, and would test Hitler's patience with his surface fleet to the limit.

A fascinating look at the British naval intervention in the Baltic in 1918-20, and at the British, Soviet and Baltic nationalist fleets that fought. Following the Russian Revolution of October 1917, the Baltic states became a battleground between Russian Reds and Whites, German troops and emerging Baltic independence forces. In November 1918, the British government decided to intervene, to protect British interests and to support the emerging Baltic states. This initial small force of cruisers and destroyers was eventually augmented by other British warships, including aircraft carriers, a monitor, as well as a handful of submarines and torpedo boats. Opposing them was the far more powerful Russian Baltic Fleet, now controlled by the Bolsheviks. The campaign that followed involved naval clashes between the two sides, the most spectacular of which was an attack on the Soviet naval base of Kronstadt in June 1919 by a force of small British torpedo boats. They torpedoed and sunk the Russian cruiser Oleg, an action which effectively bottled the Baltic fleet up in port for the remainder of the campaign. Finally, in early 1920, the British squadron was withdrawn, following Soviet recognition of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. This New Vanguard title explores the naval side of this little-known but strategically crucial campaign fought by the war-weary navies of Britain and Russia and by warships of the emerging Baltic states. Describing the political background to the conflict, and the key points of the naval campaign as well as the warships involved, this is a concise and fascinating account of an overlooked naval campaign that helped reshape the map of Europe.

The bestselling complete history of the British Navy - our national story through a different prism. The story of our navy is nothing less than the story of Britain, our culture and our empire. Much more than a parade of admirals and their battles, this is the story of how an insignificant island nation conquered the world's oceans to become its greatest trading empire. Yet, as Ben Wilson shows, there was nothing inevitable about this rise to maritime domination, nor was it ever an easy path. EMPIRE OF THE DEEP: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE BRITISH NAVY also reveals how our naval history has shaped us in more subtle and surprising ways - our language, culture, politics and national character all owe a great debt to this conquest of the seas. This is a gripping, fresh take on our national story.

The battle for Guadalcanal that lasted from August 1942 to February 1943 was the first major American counteroffensive against the Japanese in the Pacific. The battle of Savo Island on the night of 9 August 1942, saw the Japanese inflict a sever defeat on the Allied force, driving them away from Guadalcanal and leaving the just-landed marines in a perilously exposed position. This was the start of a series of night battles that culminated in the First and Second battles of Guadalcanal, fought on the nights of 13 and 15 November. One further major naval action followed, the battle of Tassafaronga on 30 November 1942, when the US Navy once again suffered a severe defeat, but this time it was too late to alter the course of the battle as the Japanese evacuated Guadalcanal in early February 1943.This title will detail the contrasting fortunes experienced by both sides over the intense course of naval battles around the island throughout the second half of 1942 that did so much to turn the tide in the Pacific.

Featuring specially commissioned artwork and archive illustrations, this engrossing study describes the US Marine Corps’ early operations and illustrates its evolving uniforms and personal equipment. The US Marine Corps’ uniforms, personal equipment, insignia, and weaponry are all described and illustrated in this book, complemented by a succinct history of the Marines’ military record from their beginnings to the eve of the American Civil War, by which time the US Marine Corps had established itself as a small but vitally important part of the United States’ armed forces. Organized in 1775, the first American Marines distinguished themselves throughout the American Revolutionary War, and even raided mainland Britain before being disbanded in 1783. Reestablished in 1798, the US Marine Corps fought in the Barbary Wars and the War of 1812, both at sea and on land. The years after 1815 saw the Corps involved in a wide variety of conflicts, from the Seminole Wars to the Mexican–American War; Marines even reached China and Japan. As the prospect of civil war began to threaten the United States, a small battalion of Marines was responsible for the capture of abolitionist John Brown at Harper’s Ferry on October 18, 1859. The diverse operations and evolving appearance of the Marines are captured in this absorbing study from an acknowledged authority on US military costume.

A complete illustrated study of the German Kriegsmarine throughout World War II. Hamstrung at first by the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, during the 1930s, the German Navy underwent a programme of rearmament in defiance of the restrictions, building modern warships under limitations which forced technological innovation. Submarines were strictly prohibited by the treaty, and yet, following years of covert development, they became one of the Kriegsmarine's most deadly weapons. Blooded in the Spanish Civil War, the surface ships of the Kriegsmarine went on to play a crucial role in the opening salvoes of World War II during the invasions of Poland and Norway, although serious losses here set back plans for the invasion of Britain, and by the end of the war, only a handful of surface vessels remained to be divided up among the Allies. From the beginning of the war, but especially after the fall of France, the dreaded and extraordinarily successful U-boats stalked the Atlantic, threatening vital British shipping convoys and choking off the lifeline of munitions and supply from the US. Once Italy and Japan entered the war, German naval operations expanded to the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. This highly illustrated volume is a comprehensive study of the German Navy throughout the war, from pocket battleships to torpedo boats.

The autobiography of Tony Bentley-Buckle, a child of the Empire who was left to grow up in the care of maiden aunts. Having joined the Royal Navy before the war, he found himself on the Northern Patrol during the blockade of Germany and as a teenager in command of captured ships. When he brought a ship through the minefields into Scapa Flow, the young Midshipman Bentley-Buckle was interviewed by the famously ferocious Admirax Max Horton who recommended him for advanced promotion. In a fit of derring-do he volunteered for 'special service' without knowing what this meant and began training for one of Britain's secret navies. As a beach commando he was one of the first ashore at the Allied landings on Sicily and one of the first Allied officers to cross the Straits of Messina. On Reggio beach he became one of the few people to order General Montgomery to stop talking and not to block the exit of the beach! He was soon seconded even deeper into British secret services when he was lent to MI9, the escape and evasion agency, helping to rescue hundreds of British prisoners of war in Italy. He was captured in a fierce hand-to-hand battle with the Germans, escaped, recaptured and was badly-beaten, eventually reaching Prisoner-of-War Camp 'Marlag O'. There he helped organise one the cheekiest escapes from a prisoner-of-war camp by making the eyes for a dummy known as 'Albert RN'. Post-war he learned to fly, sailed a small boat to East Africa and founded a shipping empire and an airline. This is a remarkable and exciting true story including escape and evasion behind enemy lines in Italy, Yugoslavia and Germany; life in a prisoner-of-war camp and adventure in the Indian Ocean.

By any standards Mick Stoke's experiences in the Royal Navy during the Second World War were remarkable. Aged nineteen, he was 'Mentioned in Despatches' and awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his courage during incessant bombing during the Siege of Tobruk. He survived multiple torpedo attacks, firstly serving on the cruiser Glasgow, which was hit twice; on the battleship Queen Elizabeth at sea and blown up by human torpedoes at Alexandria; and on HMS Hardy, struck in January 1944, while escorting Russian Arctic Convoy JW56B. In 1942, he was serving on HMS Carlisle during the fiercely fought Malta convoys and took part in the Battle of Sirte. Later that year he was awarded the MBE 'for outstanding bravery, resource and devotion to duty during very heavy bombing' at the port of Bone during Operation TORCH. He went on to serve at D-Day and later in the Pacific on HMS Rajah. It is a privilege to read Mick Stoke's graphic and modest account of his naval service in the Second World War. Readers will appreciate and understand how he became 'The Most Highly Decorated Midshipman in the Royal Navy'.

Hitler's U-boats and his dreaded pocket battleships such as Bismarck and Tirpitz - Churchill dubbed the latter as 'The Beast' - continue to fascinate an ever-growing interest in the Second World War. Despite a numerical disadvantage when compared the Royal Navy, Hitler's U-boats wrecked havoc in the Atlantic against vulnerable convoys and the doomed Bismarck took on the might of Britain's battleships in a mighty clash of the titans. Hitler's Naval Bases, a work of love that took the author over forty years to research and write, is the most comprehensive and dedicated book on the subject matter. A world's first, it covers bases in remarkable detail from the smallest and unmanned locations to the largest dedicated bases in Lorient, Kiel and Wilhemshaven. The book covers the different types of naval base from isolated and forgotten bases, escape and survival bases, to the extremities of the main naval bases. The functions and various departments - artillery, ship construction to dockyard medical service - are explained as are North Sea naval bases in Emden, The Weser Ports and Cuxhaven, Baltic ports, the major bases that never were ('The Lobster's Claw on Heligoland') to France, Asia and German colonies, including re-fuelling in Spain and bases located in Russia and in the 'Heart of England'. Also covered are naval artillery and naval infantry as well as the anatomy of coastal artillery batteries, the shipping yards and even rules for living in such conditions. A most lavish and phenomenal book, it is beautifully illustrated with over 200 unpublished photographs complemented with thousands of unique interviews with veterans during the war as well as survivors. A labour of love, Hitler's Naval Bases is written by a world's leading authoritarian figure and is an essential book for those interested in the armed forces of the Third Reich.

Between the last battle fought entirely under oars in 1571 and the first fought entirely under steam in 1866, naval warfare in the Middle Seas and adjacent Atlantic waters was dominated by the sailing warship. This exploration of that distinct period in military history begins with an overview of the galley warfare that dominated the Mediterranean for millennia and a discussion of the technological developments, including the sail and the cannon, which led to the galley's demise. Subsequent chapters discuss the role of sailing ships in every major conflict on the Mediterranean from the Eighty Years War to the late 19th century Austro-Prussian-Italian War. In addition to the major battles, the book also highlights smaller encounters between single ships or light squadrons, important conflicts often overlooked in naval histories.

First published in 1944, Enemy Coast Ahead combines Gibson's RAF career, including the famous Dambuster raid which he himself led, with the inside story of life in Bomber Command and is still a riveting read for the immediacy and vibrancy of its writing. Now, for the first time in paperback, Crecy Publishing has published Gibson's original manuscript which was archived for almost 60 years. This uncut edition provides not only details of Gibson's career, but also reveals his true view of the course of the war, of the wartime population, of his pilots and crews and of Bomber Command tactics. Combined with photographs and diagrams Enemy Coast Ahead - Uncensored remains one of the outstanding accounts of WWII seen through the eyes of one of its most respected and controversial personalities, but now allows the reader to know Gibson's own story in his own words.

Overturns established thinking about the Anglo-American War of 1812-15. Named one of the 20 Notable Naval Books of 2011 in the US Naval Institute Proceedings Magazine, May 2012 The War of 1812 between Britain and the United States was fought on many fronts: single ship actions in the Atlantic; aUS invasion of Canada, which the Canadians heroically resisted; the burning of the new US capital, Washington, by the British, the President's house subsequently painted white to hide the fire damage; and an unsuccessful attack bythe British on New Orleans. The war is usually seen as a draw. However, as this book demonstrates, it was in fact a British victory. The United States achieved none of its war aims, and the peace, concluded in December 1814, metBritain's long-term maritime needs. This book reassesses the war, showing how the British achieved success through an effective commercial maritime blockade which had devastating consequences on the vulnerable, undeveloped USeconomy. Neutral vessels were included - one of the causes of the war had been the United States' objection to British interference with US ships in Britain's war with Napoleonic France - and Britain's refusal to concede this point enabled the strategy of commercial maritime blockades to be reused by Britain to good effect in subsequent wars, including those of 1914-18 and 1939-45. BRIAN ARTHUR gained a PhD at the University of Greenwich in Britain, following research in the United States which was completed with the aid of a Caird North America Fellowship from the National Maritime Museum in London.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "Nathaniel Philbrick is a masterly storyteller. Here he seeks to elevate the naval battles between the French and British to a central place in the history of the American Revolution. He succeeds, marvelously."--The New York Times Book Review The thrilling story of the year that won the Revolutionary War from the New York Times bestselling author of In the Heart of the Sea and Mayflower. In the concluding volume of his acclaimed American Revolution series, Nathaniel Philbrick tells the thrilling story of the year that won the Revolutionary War. In the fall of 1780, after five frustrating years of war, George Washington had come to realize that the only way to defeat the British Empire was with the help of the French navy. But coordinating his army's movements with those of a fleet of warships based thousands of miles away was next to impossible. And then, on September 5, 1781, the impossible happened. Recognized today as one of the most important naval engagements in the history of the world, the Battle of the Chesapeake-fought without a single American ship-made the subsequent victory of the Americans at Yorktown a virtual inevitability. A riveting and wide-ranging story, full of dramatic, unexpected turns, In the Hurricane's Eye reveals that the fate of the American Revolution depended, in the end, on Washington and the sea.

In 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union in the largest offensive operation ever undertaken. Operation Barbarossa saw defeat after defeat heaped on the Soviet army. With Russia's forces left staggering under the strain and in desperate need of supplies, Britain and the United States launched an ambitious operation to resupply the Soviet Union using convoys sent through the Arctic. Their journey was punctuated by torpedo attacks in freezing conditions, Stuka dive bombers, naval gun fire, and weeks of total darkness in the Arctic winter, with ships disappearing below the waves weighed down by the ice and snow on their decks. Drawing on hundreds of oral histories from eyewitnesses and veterans of the convoys, plus original research into the Russian Navy archives at Murmansk, historian Michael G. Walling offers a fresh retelling of one of World War II's pivotal yet largely overlooked campaigns.