Customer Reviews

Pursuit: The Chase and Sinking of the Battleship Bismarck (Classics of Naval Literature)

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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".

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.

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?

This is one of those "personal account" tomes that has a nasty tendency to "pull you right in", and with any good book, that is a PLUS!

Kennedy's account of the Royal Navy's pursuit and subsequent sinking of the German battleship Bismarck is the stuff of legends. From cover to cover, the manner in which the story is recounted keeps the reader engrossed. The photos from the events are marvelous, and had they not even been included, this would still be a great book. I just think of the pictures as "icing" on an otherwise tasty "cake".

As with every personal account, there will be errors, and although none of them are that profound, they are there , notwithstanding. I had hoped that further printings would alleviate that, but perhaps not.
That is the only smudge on this otherwise outstanding chapter of history.

What would be nice to see is a newer cinema version, without the "fluff", and with all the facts intact based entirely on this book.

I would recommend this to people of any age, who not only are history buffs, but just enjoy hearing a good old yarn spun from an old "salt".

Overall, I was very pleased with Ludovic Kennedy's account of the chase and sinking of the Bismarck. I have since seen him interviewed in documentaries about the Bismarck so he is still a reliable source. From a documentation point of view, the main strike against this account is that it was written before the official revealing of the Ultra decryption secret in 1974. So there is no mention of any decripts or how much information was known about the Bismarck's breakout attempt from that area. There are some tantalyzing clues in the narrative though, including Kennedy's referral to the fact that the Bismarck left its home port down to "a high ranking diplomat" who had "a son" on the ship and his signal to know his son's location was somehow intercepted by "an agent." While there were some agents at work inside Nazi Germany at the time, this sounds all the world like an Ultra coverstory of the type that were generally developed to hide the ultimate origin of information coming from Bletchley Park.

Kennedy writes in a very lively clipped newspaper man style which lumps clause after clause together in very brisque statements which each trying to be some sort of great statement. As Kennedy spent most of his professional life as a BBC reporter and presenter, this is to be expected. However, I found this style of writing a bit tiring after a couple of hundred pages... but that is mearly my own predilection.

Finally, this account was written firmly from the British point of view. There are few quotes or statements from Germans, very little about the actual state on board the Bismarck except in passing. The book was written before it was fashionable to seek out the "other side of the story" like they do now with German veterens interviewed as well. This is mostly a product of the times as it was written over thirty years ago and many British WWII veterens were not ready to hear the Germans talking about their side of the story.

Overall, though, this was a fascinating book. Kennedy himself was close to the action at the time, serving on the HMS Tartar. While it has flaws mostly from age and perspective, this is a must read for any professional or armchair student of the Bismarck or WWII German Kriegsmarine.