The War at Sea
From the convoy bridges of the North Atlantic to the engine rooms of the merchant fleet — a collection on the longest battle of the war.
The Battle of the Atlantic began on the first day of the war and did not end until the last, which makes it the longest continuous campaign of the entire conflict. This collection draws together our dispatches from both sides of that battle: the escorts and the merchant crews on the surface, and the submariners beneath it.
Start with the loss of a straggler and the long wait of her survivors, then follow a signalman's account of convoy duty — the watching, the winking lamps, and the hard rule that the convoy must never stop.
Taken together, these pieces describe a battle fought not in moments of drama but in months of grinding routine, where the weather was as dangerous as the enemy and victory was measured in cargoes delivered rather than in flags struck.