Red Sky in the Morning: The Battle of the Barents Sea 1942

by Michael Pearson

The Arctic convoys that sailed through the cold malevolent waters of the Barents Sea ran the gauntlet of German air and sea attacks as they struggled to transport vital supplies to Britain’s Russian allies.

Convoy JW51B sailed in December 1942 with a small close escort of five destroyers, plus a reserve of two light cruisers, which shadowed the main convoy at a distance of seventy miles. The convoy was attacked on 31 December by a powerful German force that included the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper, the pocket battleship Lützow and six destroyers. The ensuing engagement proved the worth of the British destroyers and the bravery of the men who sailed in them.

It was a naval engagement that had far-reaching consequences and resulted in many capital ships of the Kriegsmarine being decommissioned for the rest of World War II.

A gripping tale of the war at sea under the direst of conditions.

Genres: Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

I have had a lifelong interest in all aspects of history, but particularly naval and maritime - I worked in shipping for twenty years. This led ultimately to my writing four non fiction military history books, all set in World War II.

I was an advisor on the Yesterday Television documentary 'Operation Pedestal' and have written articles for various military magazines.

Another great passion of mine is motor racing, I even gave it a try 'back in the day', racing Formula Ford single seaters and Escort Mexico saloons, mainly at Brands Hatch - a great circuit, challenging and lots of fun to drive.

Reviews

[Sicofonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the title suggests, Red Sky in the Morning tells the events that rook place during the Battle of the Barents Sea in late December 1942.
In the first couple of chapters Pearson introduces the many battles and skirmishes that both the Royal Navy and Kriegsmarine fought prior the Barents Sea events. Pearson does a good job in highlighting the most relevant points, especially the one concerning as to why the Kriegsmarine would employ an overcautiously approach to this battle.
As regards the rest of the book, the battle is described to the minute. But that does not make it a boring read since Pearson mixes historical facts with some accounts from battle survivors, enriching the text this way.
On top of that there are several illustrations plus three very interesting appendixes outlining each ship that fought in the battle. That's a welcome bonus indeed.

On a personal note, there was something I found out of place in Pearson's narrative. When referring to the following German navy order:
Rescue of enemy crews by enemy forces not desirable
He goes a bit off the tangent by remarking:
Neither Allied or Axis would stop for rescue missions... however an order not to rescue enemy crews under any circumstances highlights the low value placed on human life by the Nazi High Command...

I don't want to play the devil's advocate here, but rather than making a judgement as he does, maybe Pearson should have questioned himself as to why the Kriegsmarine High Command would issue such an order. From the comfortable position of my couch I dare to suggest that maybe this had to do with the infamous Dönitz's Laconia Order. Knowing the Allies would have no mercy for rescue ships, and giving the constraints imposed on the Surface Fleet, the High Command wanted to ensure Kummetz made no silly mistakes.

Other than that I really enjoyed reading this book. I think Pearson did a great job in sticking to the facts and relating the battle in a straightforward and easy to follow manner.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but interesting account of the Battle of the Barents Sea. If you want to understand the restrictions that hamstrung the German surface navy this is a good read. German Admiral Kummetz had a good tactical plan but conflicting orders from his superiors led to it's half-hearted execution. In the end the Germans were chased off by an inferior British force with the LUTZOW, the most powerful ship in the battle, barely firing a shot.

[James Rooney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in between books because I had been reading very dense and exhausting works on diplomacy and intelligence in war, so I wanted to read something crisp and that dealt with the sea.

This book moves at a quick clip, which I much appreciated. But despite its short length it is informative and though-provoking. It can't be said to have shed anymore light on the battle that wasn't already known, but it is fun to read through.

It follows the accepted narrative that the Germans were in a position to achieve a significant victory, but were hampered by excessive caution at the top. Once again a continental navy proved casualty averse in risking its major surface units, and failed to drive home its advantage.

This continually hampered the French throughout the age of sail, and was a major factor paralysing the German fleet in the First World War. It was to hamstring the Italians too.

On the other side of the hill it was a very creditable performance for the British destroyer captains, who displayed skill and daring throughout the engagement. Laying smokescreens and confusing the Germans, the British destroyers managed to save the entire convoy minus an unfortunate minesweeper that ran into Hipper.

This battle had surprising repercussions despite being a relatively minor affair. Hitler was so furious that he gave Raeder a dressing down. So much so that Raeder resigned and was replaced by Doenitz.

Hitler even contemplated junking the entire German surface fleet, though Doenitz succeeded in persuading him to change his mind. But henceforth the German surface fleet was to scale back its operations and was mostly centred around Tirpitz as a fleet-in-being.

Apart from the sally of the Scharnhorst, which ended in her being sunk at the Battle of the North Cape, the Germans were reluctant to engage in surface warfare. The appointment of Doenitz signalled the intensification of the U-Boat war which was to peak in the months after this engagement.

All things considered this is a solid work that brilliantly portrays the heroism of the British, the limitations under which Kummetz laboured, and the consequences of the action for the wider war.

The appendices contain information on ship specifications, as well as the merchantmen in the convoy. There were lots of useful maps to explain the somewhat confused situation, as neither the British nor the Germans had a good idea of their positions and Burnett with the British light cruisers had some difficulty coming to the assistance of the convoy, for example.

The appendices also contain a lot of information about the careers of the major ships throughout the war, describing convoys off the coast of Africa and in the Mediterranean. I'm not sure what the point of that was but it was interesting information, and it may have been just to bulk out the book a little given that it is rather thin. It certainly wasn't unwelcome information.

I had wanted something quick and exciting to break the monotony I had subjected myself to, and I was not disappointed.