Bismarck - Tapa dura

Late in the morning of May 27th, 1941, the German battleship Bismarck was sunk by an overwhelming British armada in a fierce battle that lasted ninety minutes. Admiral Gunther Lutjens, Captain Ernst Lindermann and and 2,206 men of her crew were lost, only 115 survived. What was at stake in the late spring of 1941 was nothing less than the survival of free Britain. With almost all of Europe under Hitler's thumb, and the United States still frustratingly neutral, the only hope lay in the convoy route across the North Atlantic to the United States the arsenal of democracy with its promise of vast industrial might and bounty. As a German flotilla headed by the Bismarck made for the North Atlantic sea lanes all knew that the destruction of the mighthy battleship, and the destructive force she symbolised would be a dramatic turning point in the war. Noted historians Bercuson and Herwig have uncovered much new information on the Bismarck, including a close examination of classified British and United States diplomatic files, only recently opened, revealing secret diplomatic manoeuvrings between Churchill and Roosevelt. This new information has allowed them to tell the story of the Bismarck for the first time, from the key strategic decisions of the national leaders, to the gripping hour by hour account of the battle.

David J. Bercuson is Professor of History and Director of the Center for Military and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary. He has written, co-authored, or edited more than thirty books and has as co-produced or advised on four documentary films. Holger H. Herwig holds the Canada Research Chair in Military and Strategic Studies at the Center for Military and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary. He is the General Series editor of Naval Policy and History and is the author of more than a dozen books on German military history.