A thrilling firsthand account of the hunting and sinking of the Bismarck as told by a member of the Royal Navy's destroyer force who participated in the pursuit.
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Eloquent, absorbing and immensely insightful - a "classic",
By
This review is from: Pursuit: The Chase and Sinking of the Battleship Bismarck (Classics of Naval Literature) (Hardcover)
Written in 1974 ~ in a world before Muellenheim-Rechberg, Ballard, and Mearns became published, familiar names ~ this is a wide-ranging and richly-textured account deserving of the too-loosely bandied term "classic". Sir Ludovic was a serving Lieutenant aboard HMS TARTAR, one of the Tribal-class destroyers present at the climax of this most epic of sea stories. Far from being merely an "I was there..." account, PURSUIT is the result of extensive research into official British, German and other records, coupled with the fruits of an amazing array of interviews and correspondence with many of the key players, at sea and ashore. Esmond Knight, from the PRINCE OF WALES (who also made a cameo appearance in "Sink the Bismarck") was among the sources, as was (surprising to me) Norwegian fisherman Viggo Axelssen, whose sunset sighting of the two German ships outbound past Kristiansand confirmed the first sighting report relayed by Britain's Naval Attache in Stockholm.Sir Ludovic weaves a wealth of facts and operational insights through his narrative strands, his hallmark prose style at once seductively gripping and colourful: scenes, moods, weather, waves and witness accounts bring this tragic tale to life in a unique way. For example, from the start of Chapter Four (you'll know what's coming!): "And so the two admirals, Luetjens and Holland, riding on their great chargers, came at each other like knights of old, with guns for lances and armoured bridges for visors and pennants streaming in the wind." The track charts and maps are masterpieces, and set a standard for the genre all too rarely emulated today. One photograph in particular ~ of BISMARCK departing from Grimstad Fjord ~ is a gem I've not seen in any other publication, and the double-page view from the REPULSE of the KGV and VICTORIOUS "standing on towards the enemy in a flurry of spray" captures the lonely desperation of the evening following the Denmark Strait battle. By any measure, this book is a "must have".
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Still one of the best accounts,
By birchden "birchden" (Eastbourne, East Sussex United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Pursuit: The Chase and Sinking of the Battleship Bismarck (Classics of Naval Literature) (Hardcover)
This is a worthwhile and even-handed account of the pursuit and subsequent sinking of the Bismarck, which is particularly notable for the way in which in the author uses his own wartime experience as a junior naval officer to evoke the human element of this dramatic episode of naval history and bring the account to life.
Especially memorable in this respect are his comments on the sinking of the Hood and his description of the grim fate of Bismarck's survivors as the Dorsetshire broke off her rescue action. The book is not without its inaccuracies -- for example, Kennedy wrongly suggests that Luftwaffe reconnaisance of Scapa Flow was misled by British decoy ships -- and it is marred by a writing style which perversely omits many conjunctions. However, Kennedy's book will be read with profit by anyone seeking a straightforward account of how in the space of three days, two of the world's greatest warships were destroyed and with them over 3,500 mostly young lives.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Classic,
By
This review is from: Pursuit: The Chase and Sinking of the Battleship Bismarck (Classics of Naval Literature) (Hardcover)
Many times the term "classic" is overused, but not in this case. The author actually served in the British navy in WWII and his book pulls you in, gives you an idea of what is was really like to be on the Hood, or on the Bismarck during its final battle. It also gives you an idea of what the Hood meant, as a symbol, to the British navy. The only question that was not answered for me, was why no FW Condors were sent out to aid the Bismarck when the British moved in?
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