Battle of the Arctic

Name: Battle of the Arctic
Price: 37.99 AUD
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ISBN: 9780008335786

The Maritime Epic of World War Two

Hugh Sebag-Montefiore

$37.99

Paperback

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English

HARPER360
01 February 2025

History; European history; Second World War

No campaign during World War Two contained more spinetingling drama, outstanding courage and heartbreaking tragedy than the Arctic convoys. Yet they – and the multifaceted Battle of the Arctic that had to be fought to get them through to Russia – remain one of the war’s most undercelebrated feats.

As this book’s title implies, Battle of the Arctic tells a unique story. For much of the conflict was complicated by terrific storms, snow, ice, fog, whales and Arctic mirages, so that what is chronicled at times sounds like a cross between the nightmarish torment experienced by both Shackleton in his ship Endurance and Scott of the Antarctic, and an Arctic version of Robinson Crusoe.

The action unfolded as Allied naval and merchant seamen, airmen, submariners, soldiers and intelligence officers delivered on their countries’ promise to take arms to Russia notwithstanding the German attempts to hunt them in their aircraft, U-boats and surface fleet spearheaded by Tirpitz and Scharnhorst. When ships were attacked, and went down in seas so cold that a man could die after five minutes of immersion, it triggered events reminiscent of the do-or-die moments during the sinking of the Titanic. Men perished one by one in lifeboats, and as castaways on deserted Arctic islands where they were stalked by polar bears. Frostbitten and wounded survivors ended up in primitive Russian hospitals where amputations were carried out without anesthetics. Others, while stranded for months in the communist state they were aiding, experienced the murky worlds of the NKVD, and the gulag, as well as famine and prostitution.

Using new material unearthed in American, British, Russian and German archives, as well as Polish, Norwegian, French and Dutch sources, and a remarkable collection of vivid witness accounts brought together at the passing of the last survivors, Hugh Sebag-Montefiore can at last shine a revealing light on this extraordinary tale that oscillates between the sailors’ eye view on the front line, and the controversies that infuriated world leaders.

By: Hugh Sebag-Montefiore
Imprint: HARPER360
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 153mm, Spine: 52mm
Weight: 1.100kg
ISBN: 9780008335786
ISBN 10: 0008335788
Pages: 672
Publication Date: 01 February 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Hugh 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. He is the author of three bestselling history books, two about the 2nd World War (Enigma: The Battle for the Code and Dunkirk: Fight to the Last Man), and one about the 1st World War (Somme: Into the Breach). He also wrote Kings On The Catwalk: The Louis Vuitton Moët-Hennessy Affair.

Reviews for Battle of the Arctic: The Maritime Epic of World War Two

A Waterstones Best Book of 2025 'A giant and comprehensive history … meticulously drawn from a range of archival sources' Daily Telegraph ‘This book is original, comprehensive, dynamic and thought-provoking.’ R. B. J. Knight, naval historian, archivist and former deputy director of the National Maritime Museum Greenwich ‘Sebag-Montefiore's impressive new research provides the most comprehensive history so far on a forgotten campaign. He recreates the human toil and harrowing dangers of the Arctic journeys. An inspirational story of courage and human endurance.’ Dr Helen Fry, WWII intelligence and espionage historian ‘Journalist and historian Sebag-Montefiore is a tireless researcher who has turned up letters, diaries, and personal accounts. The author takes advantage of interviews and fresh documentation to emphasize the experiences of individual sailors. A gripping chronicle of warfare in extreme conditions.’ Kirkus Reviews