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Battle of the Arctic: The Epic Story of World War Two Amongst the Ice
From the #1 bestselling author Hugh Sebag Montefiore, a spellbinding and fiercely told history of one of the most extreme episodes of the Second World War.
Battle of the Arctic is a wonderful, accessible history rooted in the Second World War. As the Soviet Union played its role in the fracas, Ally convoys from the UK, the United States and Iceland fought to deliver essential supplies to Russia. In a clash of extreme elements and fierce Axis opposition, the effort demonstrated like no other the commitment from other nations to supporting the Soviet Union.
Battle of the Arctic follows not just the Royal Navy and its successful efforts to shepherd ships through storms and past floating icebergs. It also tells a part of history which has never been properly understood by the British public. It involves the forgotten heroes of the Arctic convoys, the officers, armed guards and the ordinary civilian seamen, mostly from Britain and America, but also from Holland, Norway, Russia and Poland, condemned to carry on steaming their merchant ships slowly through the icy waters to and from Russia, even though they knew that at any moment they might be sunk.
This is a thrilling and important story that will leave you thankful to be on dry ground.
Battle of the Arctic is a wonderful, accessible history rooted in the Second World War. As the Soviet Union played its role in the fracas, Ally convoys from the UK, the United States and Iceland fought to deliver essential supplies to Russia. In a clash of extreme elements and fierce Axis opposition, the effort demonstrated like no other the commitment from other nations to supporting the Soviet Union.
Battle of the Arctic follows not just the Royal Navy and its successful efforts to shepherd ships through storms and past floating icebergs. It also tells a part of history which has never been properly understood by the British public. It involves the forgotten heroes of the Arctic convoys, the officers, armed guards and the ordinary civilian seamen, mostly from Britain and America, but also from Holland, Norway, Russia and Poland, condemned to carry on steaming their merchant ships slowly through the icy waters to and from Russia, even though they knew that at any moment they might be sunk.
This is a thrilling and important story that will leave you thankful to be on dry ground.
672 pages, Hardcover
First published November 4, 2025
32 people are currently reading
236 people want to read
About the author
Hugh Sebag-Montefiore
13 books43 followersHugh Sebag-Montefiore was a barrister before becoming a journalist and historian. He has written for the Sunday Times, Sunday Telegraph, Observer, Independent on Sunday, and Mail On Sunday. His first book Kings On The Catwalk: The Louis Vuitton and Moët-Hennessy Affair was published in 1992.
Bletchley Park, the backdrop to much of the action in his first history book Enigma: The Battle For The Code (published in 2000), used to be owned by Hugh’s great great grandfather, Sir Herbert Leon. Hugh’s father, Stephen, used to stay at Bletchley Park every Christmas, at a time when the house was humming with servants, and when the garden was tended by no less than forty gardeners. During the run up to the 70th anniversary of the capture of the Enigma codebooks from German U-boat U-110, Hugh was commissioned by Bletchley Park to supply the text and photos for an exhibition describing the capture.
The location for the climax of his next book, Dunkirk: Fight To The Last Man (published in 2006), also summoned up forgotten memories within Hugh’s family. His cousin Denzil Sebag-Montefiore lost his precious ivory backed hair brushes engraved, with his initials, which had to be thrown into the sea at Dunkirk, along with other heavy items in his backpack, so that he would be more buoyant. He eventually made it back to England, after being heaved into one of the boats ferrying British soldiers out to the larger ships waiting off shore. Another cousin, Basil Jaffé, passed the time waiting to be rescued from the shallows near one of the Dunkirk beaches by reading his miniature edition of Shakespeare’s plays.
Hugh’s next book will tell the story of another great British military enterprise: the 1916 Battle of the Somme. It is to be published by Penguin in July 2016, at the beginning of the Somme centenary.
From http://www.hughsebagmontefiore.com/th...
Bletchley Park, the backdrop to much of the action in his first history book Enigma: The Battle For The Code (published in 2000), used to be owned by Hugh’s great great grandfather, Sir Herbert Leon. Hugh’s father, Stephen, used to stay at Bletchley Park every Christmas, at a time when the house was humming with servants, and when the garden was tended by no less than forty gardeners. During the run up to the 70th anniversary of the capture of the Enigma codebooks from German U-boat U-110, Hugh was commissioned by Bletchley Park to supply the text and photos for an exhibition describing the capture.
The location for the climax of his next book, Dunkirk: Fight To The Last Man (published in 2006), also summoned up forgotten memories within Hugh’s family. His cousin Denzil Sebag-Montefiore lost his precious ivory backed hair brushes engraved, with his initials, which had to be thrown into the sea at Dunkirk, along with other heavy items in his backpack, so that he would be more buoyant. He eventually made it back to England, after being heaved into one of the boats ferrying British soldiers out to the larger ships waiting off shore. Another cousin, Basil Jaffé, passed the time waiting to be rescued from the shallows near one of the Dunkirk beaches by reading his miniature edition of Shakespeare’s plays.
Hugh’s next book will tell the story of another great British military enterprise: the 1916 Battle of the Somme. It is to be published by Penguin in July 2016, at the beginning of the Somme centenary.
From http://www.hughsebagmontefiore.com/th...
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 1, 2025
Having known some of the convoy veterans referred to or quoted in the book, it has been an emotional and very rewarding experience, often feeling like meeting old friends after many years away. As someone who has read about the Arctic Convoys for more than 30 years and takes an obsessive interest due to the loss of a family member in this theatre of war, I would say this is one of the best books on the subject that I have read. The author selects carefully which episodes in the nearly-four-year campaign to concentrate on, and has a knack for combining the best known and well documented events (such as PQ17, Battle of the Barents Sea and North Cape) with new (at least to me) material, both archival and eye-witness accounts, as well as developing lesser known episodes. World events, technical advancements and intelligence (both allied Ultra and German codebreaking) are woven amongst the often harrowing accounts of the seamen (and occasional sea women), submariners and airmen operating in the most hostile environment imaginable. At 600 pages plus 200 of appendices, maps, notes and bibliography, this could have been a challenge to get through, but the way the stories are narrated keeps the pace going from start to finish.
December 1, 2025
This was a good read, I learnt a lot about the Arctic Convoys and the politics behind them. It is mostly from the Allies point of view, with sources from the Axis point of view to fill in parts that need more explanation and to put in their internal politics.
Wider events of World War 2 are often glossed over, e.g. D-day, VE-day. But those that had an obvious impact on the Arctic Convoys were, e
.g. Siege of Stalingrad, Invasion of North Africa.
The book was well sourced with good explanations of the fleet actions, plus it has a lot of amazing maps.
Wider events of World War 2 are often glossed over, e.g. D-day, VE-day. But those that had an obvious impact on the Arctic Convoys were, e
.g. Siege of Stalingrad, Invasion of North Africa.
The book was well sourced with good explanations of the fleet actions, plus it has a lot of amazing maps.
November 24, 2025
Not sure why this is listed and not published until 6 January, as I bought it on Kindle and have successfully read and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Fully bringing to the fore the bravery, heroics and horrors of the war in the Arctic, you can almost taste the sea spray and engine oil as the author takes you through the various vessels and battles which comprise this theatre of war.
A gripping read.
Fully bringing to the fore the bravery, heroics and horrors of the war in the Arctic, you can almost taste the sea spray and engine oil as the author takes you through the various vessels and battles which comprise this theatre of war.
A gripping read.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews