Turning the Tide: How a Small Band of Allied Sailors Defeated the U-Boats and Won the Battle of the Atlantic [Englisch] [Gebundene Ausgabe]

Five COMPELLING Stars! A sweeping, very detailed, often action-packed portrait by author Ed Offley of the Battle of the Atlantic, describing activities within the five phases of the "longest and deadliest naval conflict in world history" stretching from 1939 to 1945: the "crucial naval battle of the Second World War." Along the way, he places the battle into historical context and gives a detailed picture of the treacherous Atlantic ocean routes, made all the more dangerous because of the weather. The book describes crucial battle encounters between the Allies and the Axis forces on the high seas and in coastal waters as U-boat 'wolf packs' pursued Allies' vital supply convoys across the Atlantic ocean. The author looks at both the strategic and tactical points of view, using diagrams and photographs. The book's opening engagement between the HMS Hersperus on 12 May 1943, hunting the trailing Nazi U-boat, U-223, which was stalking the 24 merchant ships of SC (Slow Convoy) 129 is mesmerizing and just a foretaste of what is to follow, such as the carnage of The Battle of St. Patrick's Day, with its heroes and its fainthearted. The book is loaded with detail on the ships and subs, their weaponry, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the opposing forces, with input from crew member's postwar interviews. Superbly researched and well written with great attention to detail, linking the Battle of the Atlantic to the land and air wars and the political climate of the time, "Turning the Tide" gets my Highest Recommendation. Five HISTORICAL Stars! (This review is based on a Kindle download, in text-to-speech, Mac2, and iPhone platforms. 14 Chapters with numerous pictures and diagrams; Epilogue; Appendices of critical convoy ships, U-boats, and Escort warships; bibliography; and a very helpful glossary of acronyms and unique terminology.)

At only 18 my father Deane was a stoker/trimmer on one of the many cargo vessels lost to U-boats in the action covered by this book; his recollections, along with those of many other participants, help to give it a real sense of immediacy. It's fair to say that but for this family connection I would probably not have come across 'Turning the Tide', but I found it hard to put down. The details and frustrations of convoy management, the tactics and experiences of the U-boat crews, the desperate need for air cover, the on-shore politics, the crucial role of communications and code-breaking, and the staggering statistics of loss on both sides, are all well-described in a compelling read which leaves me in awe of the events described, and of the author's task of researching and recounting them.

This is a compelling and moving account of the last months of the Battle of the Atlantic. Offley does a marvellous job of bringing to life the tension, horror and bravery of those on both sides who fought in this terrifying part of WWII.
The first half of the book deals principally with the fate of two convoys: HX229, a 40 ship eastbound "fast" Atlantic convoy, and SC122, a 52 ship eastbound "slow" Atlantic convoy. The casualty rates for these two convoys were staggering (HX229 lost 13 ships and SC122 lost 9 ships; the Axis lost one U-boat). If that same rate had continued then the Battle of Atlantic would surely have been lost and Britain would have been forced to seek terms. A key part of Offley's tale is the hour by hour, day by day, attack by attack detailed recounting of what happened to the merchant ships, escorts and u-boats. It is a fine and terrifying piece of writing.
The second half of the book tells the equally harrowing but ultimately victorious story of escort group B7 and its shepherding of westbound convoy ONS5, a 45 ship convoy largely in ballast and SC130, a 37 ship "slow" eastbound convoy. The Allied losses for ONS5 were again steep with 13 ships and 62,000 tons lost. However, the new tactics and the escort commanders leadership led to the sinking of 8 u-boats with a further 7 seriously damaged. SC130 fared much, much better with zero losses against 4 u-boat sunk and 1 damaged.
This turnaround was due to a host of inter-related factors. Inter service rivalries over the use of long range specially equipped bombers were finally ended which allowed for a dramatic extension of air cover for the Atlantic crossing. The size of the escort groups were increased enabling them to adopt more aggressive tactics and to go over to the attack. German codes were again easier to read, enabling appropriate evasion tactics. Escort vessels became increasingly competent in the use of HF/DF detection techniques and were equipped with "invisible" to the enemy shorter waved radar.
After May of 1943 Doenitz essentially gave up trying to destroy N. Atlantic convoys with massive wolfpak tactics. By the end of the war less than 30% of those serving on U-boats were alive (11,500 survived out of 39,000), 711 of 1149 commissioned U-boats were sunk or otherwise destroyed.

All in all this is an outstanding book. It is extremely well-researched and well-written. The appendices are very valuable.

The one caveat is the issue raised by one other reviewer. In telling the story of HX229, Offley relates an incident where a merchant ship twice declined to pick up the survivors of ships that had been sunk. The identity of the captain of that ship needs to be carefully determined.