The Longest Campaign: Britain’s Maritime Struggle in the Atlantic and North-West Europe, 1939-1945

352 pages

Andy Field

Brian E Walter is a retired Army officer, who has been a student of British military history for over 30 years. In this book he has set out to describe the key maritime campaign in the Atlantic during the Second World War. I’ve previously reviewed his book, Forgotten War: The British Empire and Commonwealth’s Epic Struggle Against Imperial Japan, 1941-1945 for The Naval Review (May 2024). I enjoyed that book and I also enjoyed reading this one, equally well-researched, authoritative, comprehensive, easy and enjoyable to read.

Mr Walter’s focus for this book is the Battle of the Atlantic and the Allied naval campaigns in Northwestern European waters. He has also written separately on the war in the Mediterranean and in the Far East (Blue Water War: Maritime Struggle in the Mediterranean and Middle East, 1940 -1945 published in 2022) as well as about the war against Japan, and these theatres are only mentioned when they impinge on the Atlantic and European theatres. Primarily this book describes the activities of the British and Commonwealth navies, and US naval forces in the Atlantic, but I was also pleased that both RAF Coastal Command and Bomber Command get due acknowledgements for their contribution to the struggle.

The detailed research Mr Walters has undertaken is obvious, through the text and through the tables he provides, so that although the 11 chapters follow a well- trodden path (the ‘Phoney War’ at sea, the Norwegian Campaign, Britain standing alone, the Battle of the Atlantic, the gradual turning point in the war against Germany, before the return to Europe and the ultimate victory) I felt engaged as a reader, never felt that I was just going over old ground, and nor was I tempted to skim or skip sections.

The chapters are preceded by three general maps, of the North Atlantic, Northern Europe and UK Waters, and given Mr Walters’ broad sweep of events, more detailed maps are maybe somewhat superfluous. Some readers may miss not having more detailed, operational maps, though. Black and white illustrations of ships and aircraft involved are printed into the text, not a separate section of glossy photographs. Presumably this was done as a way of keeping costs down, and again, some readers may regret this absence, but for me, neither of these points detracted from my reading.

I particularly enjoyed reading the final chapter, ‘The Reckoning’, in which Mr Walters puts things into context. As in his other book on the war against Japan, whilst he acknowledges the importance of both the war in the Pacific – “…a naval-centric struggle that warrants justified interest from both casual and serious students of naval history…” and the war in the Mediterranean, as campaigns that facilitated ultimate victory, it was the European theatre and the war against Germany that were critical to Allied victory. He views the war in the Atlantic as the “…premier naval conflict of the war…”. Although there were no fleet engagements, just what he describes as “…a long and gruelling slog in which the competing forces fought a multitude of minor and medium actions…” where the safe and timely arrival of a convoy was just as vital as sinking enemy forces, this was the battle that could have lost the war for the Allies. It was the Britain and its Commonwealth navies and air forces that were the predominant players, notwithstanding the prodigious efforts of US shipyards, whose output ultimately doomed the German attempts to sink enough merchant tonnage to compel Britain’s surrender.

Britain and her Commonwealth thus played an indispensable role in preserving and strengthening the Allied alliance, due in no small part, to the successful application of maritime power. That may be something today’s politicians, on both sides of the Atlantic, should be reminded of. Perhaps they should read this book?

In the meantime, should members of The Naval Review? I’d say definitely yes. In fact, I’d go further and suggest reading all three of the books I’ve mentioned. The Mediterranean one is certainly on my list of books to read. In my opinion Mr Walters writes engaging, well-rounded, comprehensive, well researched accounts, well able to stand alongside other similar books. With the paperback at a price of less than a round of three pints (at my local, at least), it certainly won’t break the bank.