Most battles in World War II were won or lost within a relatively short period, but the desperate battle for the Atlantic, which was fought above the surface, on the surface, and under the surface, raged for more than three long years and did not really end until D-Day.

It began in May, 1940, won Britain stood alone and almost helpless against the greatest army the world had ever seen, and it was up to the United States to send her sorely-needed planes, tanks, guns, food, and ammunition.

The convoys of ships bound for England were attacked by German planes, U-boats, huge battleships, and cruisers. Millions of tons of shipping went to the bottom.

The situation worsened in 1941, when the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, and the convoys had to extend their routes to the Russian ports in the Arctic. As that terrible year wore on, the Allies' shipping losses were staggering.

But the British and American navies, the men of the merchant marine, the shipbuilders, the escort units, worked tirelessly at their hard, dangerous jobs. And in 1943 the tide turned. Two more years were to elapse before the Germans were vanquished, but the seas were safe again.

Heroism and the indomitable spirit of fighting men at sea pervade every page of this accurate, vivid account of a fateful chapter in our history.

From the dust jacket