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  • A Game of Birds and Wolves

  • The Secret Game That Won the War
  • By: Simon Parkin
  • Narrated by: Elliot Fitzpatrick
  • Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (42 ratings)
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A Game of Birds and Wolves

By: Simon Parkin
Narrated by: Elliot Fitzpatrick
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Summary

1941. The Battle of the Atlantic is a disaster. Thousands of supply ships ferrying vital food and fuel from North America to Britain are being torpedoed by German U-boats. 

Prime Minister Winston Churchill is lying to the country about the number of British ships sunk. He is lying about the number of British men killed. And worst of all, unless something changes, he knows that Britain is weeks away from being starved into surrender to the Nazis. 

This is the story of the game of battleships that won the Second World War. In the first week of 1942 a group of unlikely heroes - a retired naval captain and a clutch of brilliant young women, the youngest only seventeen-years-old - gather to form a secret strategy unit. On the top floor of a bomb-bruised HQ in Liverpool, the Western Approaches Tactical Unit spends days and nights designing and playing wargames in an effort to crack the U-boat tactics. 

A Game of Birds and Wolves takes us from the sweltering fug of a U-boat as the German aces coordinate their wolfpack, to the tense atmosphere of the operation room as the British team plot battles at sea on the map.

The story of Operation Raspberry and its unsung heroines has never been told before. Investigative journalist Simon Parkin brings these hidden figures into the light and shows the ingenuity, perseverance and love needed to defeat the Nazis in this gripping tale of war at sea.

©2019 Simon Parkin (P)2019 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What listeners say about A Game of Birds and Wolves

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Tense and intriguing

I absolutely loved A Game of Birds and Wolves, it was so interesting to hear a story about the Battle of the Atlantic and those who took part, both Axis and Allied.
It is respectful of everyone and tells a gripping tale of the formation of WATU and the turning of the tide.
Beautifully read and worth everybody's time.

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Underrated Subject

Very interesting account of an undoubtedly vital role played in the survival of this country.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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fascinating story

narrator was superb and the story swaps between historic background and plot to keep you engaged. loved it.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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A story that needs to be heard!

Fascinating listen with great narration. This is very much a book about the human story of this previously little known part of Britain’s WW2 story. You get a real sense of the people behind an effort and organisation that made a huge difference to Britain’s survival. This was clearly a work of great passion for the writer and I felt at times the stories of individuals (both German and British) tended to transgress from what I had expected the main focus of the book, that of the “nuts and bolts” work done by the Western approaches tactical unit, to be. That being said, overall this helped me gain a better sense of the total impact that the unit had on the conflict. A great listen for anyone interested in WW2 and its unsung heroes and heroines!

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A war game

This is in fact a potted history of the U boat war with a particular focus on the contribution of the Womens Royal Navy Auxiliary. There is an account of a tactical analysis and training unit based at the Liverpool Western Approaches Naval HQ but this is limited by its sources. The background about simulations in the military is thinner. An epilogue discusses the current work of the defence research establishment. I greatly enjoyed this audiobook

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