THE BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC by Macintyre, Donald

New York, 1961, Macmillan, 1st US edition, hard bound in dust jacket, 6x9, VG/VG condition 208 pp, illus, ......................................................................The momentous nature of the Battle of the Atlantic, a struggle whose outcome was in the balance for over three years, cannot be exaggerated. Had the Germans succeeded in establishing a decisive mastery in the Atlantic, Britain would have been deprived of the essential American supplies-above all, arms and food-on which she depended for the continuance o£ the war abroad and for her own day-to-day survival; nor, later, could the Americans have given their vital support. The story of how, instead, the Germans were defeated in the Atlantic, is a complicated and exciting one which Captain Donald Macintyre, a naval historian who himself played an active part in the battle, is well qualified to tell. Not only does he analyse the strategic issues, above all the importance of the convoy system and of continuous air-cover, he also describes the battle from the viewpoint of the participants themselves. .........................................................................The long drawn-out duel between escort and Uboat is made vivid by quotation from the log-books of some of the ablest escort-commanders, such as Captain Walker and Lieutenant-Commander Gretton, and from the combat-reports of the German U-boat ` aces ', Prien, . Kretschmer and Schepke. Complementing these eye-witness accounts, nearly 50 unfamiliar photographs, drawn from German as well as British sources, make the courage and endurance of all those who fought in the Atlantic the more immediate; the strategic and tactical aspects of the battle are likewise clarified by the specially prepared maps and diagrams.