David Syrett

The longest, largest, and most complex naval battle in history

6 x 9, 330 pages
cloth, ISBN 0-87249-984-7, $39.95s
Studies in Maritime History
William N. Still, Jr.

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Defeat of the German U-Boats explains the significance and the outcome of World War II's most important naval campaign in the European theater—the air and sea battle that ended Germany's bid to sever Allied supply lines in the Atlantic. David Syrett's blow-by-blow account offers a comprehensive analysis of the effort to stop German U-boat attacks on Allied merchant vessels, which, by 1943, ranked as the Allies' top priority in their strategy to defeat Hitler's forces. Syrett argues that the Germans were unable to match Allied communication, technological, and tactical advances and that the Allies prevailed largely because of their skill in utilizing the material and intelligence resources at their disposal.

Beginning with a detailed description of the U-boat, Syrett discusses the weaponry developed by the Allies to stop this destructive craft. He uses recently released intelligence information to plot the progression of each Allied convoy, German U-boat assault, and Allied response. Crediting the Allied victory with keeping Britain in the war and making possible the 1944 invasion of northwest Europe, Syrett emphasizes the Battle of the Atlantic's pivotal role in determining World War II's conclusion.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David Syrett is professor of history at Queens College, City University of New York, and author of The Royal Nave in American Coastal Waters, 1775–1783; Shipping and the American War, 1775–1783; and The Siege and Capture of Havanna, 1762.

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