A game of birds and wolves : the ingenious young women whose secret board game helped win World War II / Simon Parkin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Parkin, Simon, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Atlantic Ocean.

World War, 1939-1945.

World War, 1939-1945--Naval operations--Submarine.

Sea control.

Great Britain. Royal Navy. Western Approaches Tactical Unit.

Great Britain.

World War, 1939-1945--Military intelligence--Great Britain.

Military campaigns.

Military intelligence.

Military operations, Naval--Submarine.

Atlantic Ocean.

Genre:

Creative nonfiction.

Physical Description:

309 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 25 cm

Edition:

First US edition.

Other Title:

Ingenious young women whose secret board game helped win World War II

Place of Publication:

New York : Little, Brown and Company, 2020.

Summary:

"The triumphant true story of the young women who helped to devise the winning strategy that defeated Nazi U-boats and delivered a decisive victory in the Battle of the Atlantic." -- From book jacket.

"By 1941, Winston Churchill had come to believe that the outcome of World War II rested on the battle for the Atlantic. A grand strategy game was devised by Captain Gilbert Roberts and a group of ten Wrens (members of the Women's Royal Naval Service) assigned to his team in an attempt to reveal the tactics behind the vicious success of the German U-boats. Played on a linoleum floor divided into painted squares, it required model ships to be moved across a make-believe ocean in a manner reminiscent of the childhood game, Battleship. Through play, the designers developed "Operation Raspberry," a countermaneuver that helped turn the tide of World War II. Combining vibrant novelistic storytelling with extensive research, interviews, and previously unpublished accounts, Simon Parkin describes for the first time the role that women played in developing the Allied strategy that, in the words of one admiral, "contributed in no small measure to the final defeat of Germany." Rich with unforgettable cinematic detail and larger-than-life characters, [the book] is a heart-wrenching tale of ingenuity, dedication, perseverance, and love, bringing to life the imagination and sacrifice required to defeat the Nazis at sea" -- provided by publisher.

Contents:

Last man standing

As you wave me goodbye

They will come

Wolves

Pineapples and champagne

Never at sea

Roberts

Oak leaves and Christmas trees

The aces and the note

The citadel

Raspberry

The royal key

The elephant has landed

Nulli secundus

The battle of birds and wolves: part I

The battle of birds and wolves: part II

Honours

The gun in the night

The sisterhood of the linoleum

Postscript

Epilogue.

Notes:

First published in Great Britain in November 2019 by Sceptre" -- Title page verso.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 281-286) and index.

Other Edition:

Reproduction of: 9781529353037 Parkin, Simon. London : Sceptre, 2019

ISBN:

9780316492096

0316492094

OCLC:

1135867326