ARCTIC NAVAL BATTLE

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29952, 13 October 1962, Page 3

ARCTIC NAVAL BATTLE

The Battle of North Cape. By Lieutenant - Commander Michael Ogden, R.N. William Kimber. 2*l pp. The battle of North Cape was fought in an Artic gale in mid-winter, December 26, 1943. It was a battle of immense significance, ending as it did in the loss of the Scharnhorst, a magnificent battle-cruiser and the sole remaining capital ship of the German Navy. The architect of her destruction was

Admiral Sir Bruce (later Lord) Fraser, Commander-in- . Chief, Home Fleet, in his flagship Duke of York with supporting squadrons. In this account of the battle Lieutenant-Commander Ogden has surveyed the whole background, the vital issues at stake, the circumstances leading to the presence of the Scharnhorst in the path of a British convoy, and the relentless pursuit. He shows, too, how the German commander was hampered by the

• cumbersome system of con- ■ tool, and the lack of co- ; operation by the Luftwaffe, i He has examined all threads of the story, and then pre- : sented them woven into a ■ fascinating whole. He gives ! details of the ships engaged. ; The photographs are excel- ■ lent. The result is an absorb- : ing account of naval skill i and courage (of which toe ■ Germans can justly claim , their share) that will be en- ■ joyed alike by seaman, naval r historian or landlubber