book review From Hunter to Hunted by Bernard Edwards

[ccoyle]

From Hunter to Hunted: The U-Boat War in the Atlantic 1939-43

 

Bernard Edwards

Barnsley, UK: Pen & Sword Maritime, 2020

16 x 24 cm format, hardback, 200 pages

16 B&W illustrations, bibliography, index

MSRP £19.99

ISBN: 978 1 52676 359 4

 

"It had been a busy morning in the Dolius' engine room, with a squad of Chinese day workers carrying out essential maintenance under the critical eye of Second Engineer Bob Hutchinson. At precisely 1030, following the time-honoured practice in British merchant ships, the day workers had downed tools and trooped up on deck for their morning mug of tea and a cigarette. Left below were only the men of the watch, Fourth Engineer Samuel Parr, Junior Engineer Donald McGillivray and Greaser Lau Hing. All three died when Oskar Staudinger's torpedo slammed into the ship's side and the sea came cascading into the engine room."

- From Hunter to Hunted, p. 161

 

That little snippet from Bernard Edwards' latest, Hunter to Hunted, should give you an idea of the kind of taut writing that fills its 188-page narrative. Contrary to the impression you might get from the title, the book is not a detailed examination of all things War in the Atlantic over the first four years of the war. Instead, the book is divided into two parts. Book I is really a series of vignettes; and each can be read as a stand-alone story. Each chapter focuses on a particular ship or convoy from the war's early years. Edwards is an excellent story-teller, and we are given a good look at the backstories of the characters on both sides of the conflict, both ships and men.  Through these select few snapshots of the U-boat war, the reader is given a taste of what the fight was like. It was perilous work for both the merchantmen and the U-boats that stalked them.

 

Book II is also a stand-alone narrative, focused on one particular running convoy battle -- that of ONS-5, a slow, west-bound convoy headed for Halifax, Nova Scotia. Fought in late April and early May of 1943, the Battle of Convoy ONS-5 kicked off what came to be known as "Black May" in the Kriegsmarine. As such, the events surrounding ONS-5 are considered by some historians to mark the decisive turning point in the War of the Atlantic. ONS-5 was not a huge convoy, only 42 ships and seven escorts, but the skillful and determined defense by the British and Canadian escorts, well-versed in the use of ASDIC, Huff-Duff, and radar, exacted a fearsome toll in exchange for thirteen ships sunk: of the over 40 U-boats that were vectored to intercept ONS-5, six were sunk and seven damaged -- a loss rate that the DKM could not sustain.

 

Edwards chronicles the agonizing passage of ONS-5 from its assembly until it reaches land-based air cover on the other side of the Atlantic, and the story is a fascinating one. Basing his account on reports and descriptions from both sides of the conflict, Edwards weaves in plot strands representing all the major players, i.e. the merchantmen, the escorts, and the U-boats. Everybody gets their share of ink, but the central figures are undoubtedly the merchantmen and their crews. Edwards paints a very moving picture of their professionalism, steady courage in the face of lurking and unseen danger, and even their occasional (and not always fruitless) efforts to strike back at their tormentors. Edwards' writing style is engaging and easy to read; his descriptions cause the reader to genuinely care about the fates of the players, and this in turn makes From Hunter to Hunted a book that the reader consistently wants to read just a little more of to see where the story is headed. In other words, it's a page turner -- and one that I think any naval history fan would enjoy. Recommended!

 

Thanks go to Pen & Sword for providing this copy for review. To purchase or for more details, click here.

 

CDC