Donald Macintyre's authoritative study of the war at sea provides a clear analysis of the strategic issues on either side and of the interaction of these three main theatres of conflict. Against this strategic background, he describes all the major naval engagements of the war and vividly recreates the tense and hazardous life of those-whether British or Germans-who sailed the convoy routes. Besides these three long-drawn-out campaigns, with their outstanding moments of courage and endurance, the author highlights such dramatic episodes as the ill-fated Narvik Campaign, the Channel dash of the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and the sinkings of the Bismarck and the Tirpitz.