In Great Waters: The Epic Story of the Battle of the Atlantic, 1939-45

by Spencer Dunmore

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 2,600 merchant ships, 30,000 merchant seamen’s lives, 5,000 aircrew, and about 2,500 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 Germany’s 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 England’s Bletchley Park; and, most remarkable of all, Admiral von Donitz, the extraordinary mastermind of Germany’s U-boat campaign and eventual successor to Adolf Hitler himself.

Genres: History, War

360 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1999

Reviews

[David Downer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book on so many levels. Not only is it a great resource on the longest battle in WW2, but Dunmore's blend of views from the large strategy to first-person anecdotes of U-boat attacks and anti-sub responses made it difficult to put down. The Battle of the Atlantic often is related in pieces and typically ranked below descriptions of land battles and the air war. Dunmore's book provides and end to end description and places the land battles and air efforts in the context of the Atlantic war. If the Atlantic was not controlled and won, then the others would not have mattered; Britain would have been out of the war. I highly recommend this book.

[Jim Carroll · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saw i watched the Apple film, then read the book now i have to re watch the film. Very Good Book. Describes the ASW of the North Atlantic in WWII in great detail. Also gets you in the mind of a commander in combat probably as well as any book I've read on that subject.

[Dr.J.G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The subject is sort of a side facet of the whole history of the war, with main stage being the continent of Europe and the second, perhaps more important, being the resolute holding on by British, and the later tough fight by Russians.

But all along, the battle of Atlantic was a key factor, and Allies could not afford to lose it or give way any more than the world could afford to make treaty and stop fighting in name of wistful dreaming of Peace, which sometimes one has to win when endangered by forces against it.

Britain could then fight openly, but however convinced Roosevelt was that the forces of darkness had to be defeated, he was bound by the various facets of his nation that he had to herd along before he could join his nation in the battle on the side of right.

The battle of Atlantic is here told in some detail, with descriptions of U-boats attacking convoys ferrying hundreds of thousands of soldiers, and in turn the British giving a tough fight back. There is the Enigma and its having been broken and yet the necessity of keeping the fact secret - and hence sacrifice of unsuspecting sailors. There is the various instances of British treating the pow Germans well, to their surprise, since they had been doing the opposite and expected the worst treatment in return.

There is the background of U-boat, the so named wolf pack that was officially and otherwise much celebrated in Germany, since they were perceived as the front and the dangers of their lives very well understood. However, they succeeded for long enough to forget about the last part and then had surprises.

[S.D. Campbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've not read any of Spencer Dunmore's prior works, so In Great Waters was completely new to me. As a popular history of the Battle of the Atlantic I think it was of merit, but there were a couple of places where I questioned if the information provided was correct (although as I read it while traveling to the Vimy Ridge Centennial I didn't have any of my reference library to check it against). That said, in this day and age of Wikipedia, it's not a stretch to discover a thoroughly researched book has 'mistakes' as new material is always floating to the surface.

Overall though I was struck by the style and tone of the book--it seemed quite harsh on Canadian and British (and occasionally American) Naval operations while presenting the German in perhaps a better light. Added to the occasional interruption of an ongoing narrative with tangential commentary on technical or historical matters, I often found myself being pulled out of the reading experience and often sidetracked enough that I had to go back and re-read earlier sections.

Overall, I'm sure this is a good book for those who want an easy entry into the story of the Battle of the Atlantic, but as I am not a member of that audience, I was somewhat disappointed.