Synopsis
A gripping tale of heroism —and doom—on the high seas . . .
The sinking of the German battleship Bismarck—a masterpiece of engineering, well-armored with a main artillery of eight 15-inch guns—was one of the most dramatic events of World War II. She left the port of Gotenhafen for her first operation on the night of 18 May 1941, yet was almost immediately discovered by Norwegian resistance and Allied air reconnaissance. British battlecruiser Hood was quickly dispatched from Scapa Flow to intercept the Bismarck, together with new battleship Prince of Wales. They were ordered to find the ship quickly because, on their way from the USA, several large convoys were heading for Britain.
On 24 May, Bismarck was found off the coast of Greenland, but the ensuing battle was disastrous for the British. The Hood was totally destroyed within minutes (only 3 crewmen surviving), and Prince of Wales was badly damaged. The chase resumed until the German behemoth was finally caught, this time by four British capital ships supported by torpedo-bombers from the carrier Ark Royal. The icy North Atlantic roiled from the crash of shellfire and bursting explosions until finally the Bismarck collapsed, sending nearly 2,000 German sailors to a watery grave.
Tamelander and Zetterling’s work rests on stories from survivors and the latest historical discoveries. The book starts with a thorough account of maritime developments from 1871 up to the era of the giant battleship, and ends with a vivid account, hour by hour, of the dramatic and fateful hunt for the mighty Bismarck, Nazi-Germany’s last hope to pose a powerful surface threat to Allied convoys.
Table of Contents
Foreword
Prologue
Part 1
1 Lessons from Previous Wars
2 The First Attempt
3 Preparations
4 Cruiser Warfare
5 ‘Now you pretend to be dead’
6 ‘For the first time in history…’
7 Operation Berlin
8 Rheinübung
9 The Home Fleet
10 The Visit
Part 2
11 Departure
12 Bunkering in Norway?
13 Holland and Tovey Put to Sea
14 Break-out
15 Pursued
16 Collision Course
17 Battle in the Denmark Strait
18 ‘Roll out the barrel!’
19 Farewell, Bismarck!
20 Air Attack
21 ‘Have lost contact with the enemy’
22 A Mysterious Signal
23 ‘Battleship sighted’
24 The Second Air Attack
25 One in a Hundred Thousand
Part 3
26 The Last Night
27 The Last Battle
28 The End
29 Epilogue
Notes
Index
About the Author
Niklas Zetterling is a military historian and researcher at the Swedish Defense College. His previous books include Bismarck; The Korsun Pocket; and The Drive on Moscow, 1941.
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