Just Finished Reading: Storm Force to Narvik by Alexander Fullerton (FP: 1979) [268pp] 

April 1940. Denmark has fallen to the Germans in a matter of hours. It's almost certain that Norway will be the next target, but still the British government under Nevil Chamberlain vacillates on what to do. With the Altmark incident still fresh in everyone's mind (more soon!), Britain is reluctant to abuse Norway’s stated neutrality but finally a decision is made – to mine Norway’s territorial waters to force the German navy into waters where the Royal navy can engage them. Meanwhile, Nick Everard commander of the destroyer HMS Intent is fighting for his life against a German heavy cruiser. With a ship badly battered and in need of urgent repairs he makes for what he hopes is safe harbour in the fjords. Further up the coast his son is serving aboard another destroyer HMS Hoste which has been ordered, along with a flotilla of other destroyers, to stop the German landings at the vital port of Narvik. Unaware of the German disposition they are about to encounter a large force of destroyers that are larger, more heavily armed and much newer. The risks are high indeed, but the consequences of failure could determine the outcome of the war. The Phony War is most definitely over, and the dying is about to start... 

The Norwegian campaign is one of those stages of the war that is all too often forgotten or sidelined, overshadowed as it was by the subsequent invasion of France and the ultimate retreat to Dunkirk. I suppose one of the reasons for this memory loss was the rather ignominious and shambolic way the fight was prosecuted from London. With troops embarking, disembarking and then reembarking transport ships before arriving in Norway with inadequate or missing equipment the actual ground fighting wasn’t going to go well. The Royal navy also lost a number of ships – including an aircraft carrier! - because of poor planning and contradictory orders. However, the attack on Narvik was something else. Without giving too much of the plot of this excellent WW2 naval thriller away, the navy more than made up for any apparent deficiency in equipment with dash, aggression and ultimate belief in their undoubted abilities. Told from 3 points of view (one of which purely to show the larger picture in conversations in the Admiralty with a prospective high-ranking appointment), including onboard HMS Intent and HMS Hoste (neither of which actually existed) this was a thrill to read, especially after reading about the real engagement some time ago. The author had served in WW2 on several ships so understood not only how they fought but also about how the officers and crew lived. The dialogue therefore is both realistic, salty and often very funny. It definitely added an extra dimension to the book for me and enhanced the pleasure of the read. It also got you invested in the characters a bit more so made the action sequences all the more nerve-wracking! The battles/encounters were VERY well done, again super realistic and exciting. Being the kind of novel it is, you might expect the heroes to be bullet proof but that’s not always the case. There were a few well-crafted heart-in-mouth moments that made me wonder! Although I’ve been reading this sequence completely out of order, I don’t think that’s made too much difference. Definitely recommended for all naval warfare buffs – if you can source a copy. 

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