Battle of the Arctic

‘As thrillingly told as any movie’ DAILY EXPRESS

‘Heart-rending … dramatic’ DAILY TELEGRAPH

‘A harrowing tale of incredible endurance and heroism’ DAILY MAIL

Killer storms, frozen seas laced with icebergs, a five-minute death sentence for any man who fell in. No World War Two operation faced greater obstacles than were encountered during the Battle of the Arctic, fought to get the Arctic convoys to Russia.

Hunted, and their vessels sunk, by the Germans in warships, U-boats and aircraft, men froze to death in lifeboats, or as castaways on deserted Arctic islands where they were stalked by polar bears. Frostbitten survivors endured amputations without anaesthetics in primitive Russian hospitals. Some experienced the gulag itself. Drawing on newly unearthed documents from archives and the testimonies of the last survivors, Hugh Sebag-Montefiore resurrects one of the war’s most undercelebrated feats of courage.

‘Hugh Sebag-Montefiore reveals the extraordinary bravery of the seamen who risked their lives on the convoys to feed Russia … It’s an impressive achievement’ GERARD DEGROOT, THE TIMES

‘Testimonies are the strongest part of Sebag-Montefiore’s book. Meticulously drawn from a range of archival sources … Few Second World War campaigns could match the Arctic convoys for horror and attrition’ LAURENCE REES, DAILY TELEGRAPH