No campaign during World War Two contained more spinetingling drama, outstanding courage and heartbreaking tragedy than the Arctic convoys. Yet they – and the multifaceted Battle of the Arctic that had to be fought to get them through to Russia – remain one of the war’s most undercelebrated feats.

No campaign during World War Two contained more spinetingling drama, outstanding courage and heartbreaking tragedy than the Arctic convoys. Yet they – and the multifaceted Battle of the Arctic that had to be fought to get them through to Russia – remain one of the war’s most undercelebrated feats.

As this book’s title implies, Battle of the Arctic tells a unique story. For much of the conflict was complicated by terrific storms, snow, ice, fog, whales and Arctic mirages, so that what is chronicled at times sounds like a cross between the nightmarish torment experienced by both Shackleton in his ship Endurance and Scott of the Antarctic, and an Arctic version of Robinson Crusoe.

The action unfolded as Allied naval and merchant seamen, airmen, submariners, soldiers and intelligence officers delivered on their countries’ promise to take arms to Russia notwithstanding the German attempts to hunt them in their aircraft, U-boats and surface fleet spearheaded by Tirpitz and Scharnhorst. When ships were attacked, and went down in seas so cold that a man could die after five minutes of immersion, it triggered events reminiscent of the do-or-die moments during the sinking of the Titanic. Men perished one by one in lifeboats, and as castaways on deserted Arctic islands where they were stalked by polar bears. Frostbitten and wounded survivors ended up in primitive Russian hospitals where amputations were carried out without anesthetics. Others, while stranded for months in the communist state they were aiding, experienced the murky worlds of the NKVD, and the gulag, as well as famine and prostitution.

Using new material unearthed in American, British, Russian and German archives, as well as Polish, Norwegian, French and Dutch sources, and a remarkable collection of vivid witness accounts brought together at the passing of the last survivors, Hugh Sebag-Montefiore can at last shine a revealing light on this extraordinary tale that oscillates between the sailors’ eye view on the front line, and the controversies that infuriated world leaders.

A Waterstones Best Military History Book of 2025

'A giant and comprehensive history … meticulously drawn from a range of archival sources'

Daily Telegraph

'In Battle of the Arctic, Hugh Sebag-Montefiore reveals the extraordinary bravery of the seamen who risked their lives on the convoy to feed Russia… Sebag-Montefiore, formerly a barrister, now an accomplished military historian, clearly loves his topic. He has read all the ship’s logs, all the memoirs, all the official reports. He’s interviewed surviving crew members'

The Times

'As thrillingly told as any movie'

Daily Express

‘An excellent addition to the literature surrounding the Arctic Convoys. The book is written in an engaging and accessible style, with plenty to offer the general reader, for whom it would be an excellent introduction to the subject. For the specialist, it contains a great deal of new research that adds significantly to our understanding of the subject, and is highly recommended'

Military History Matters

Hugh Sebag-Montefiore’s excellent Battle of the Arctic uses diaries, interviews and newly available archives from Russia to focus on the seamen condemned to carry on steaming their merchant ships slowly through the icy waters to and from Russia even though they knew that at any moment they might be sunk in waters so cold that men could freeze to death in 5 minutes'

Wall Street Journal

'Hugh Sebag-Montefiore reveals the extraordinary bravery of the seamen who risked their lives on the convoys to feed Russia. An impressive accomplishment'

The Times

'Sebag-Montefiore’s brilliantly researched book uncovers unheard testimonies that tell a harrowing tale of incredible endurance and heroism'

Daily Mail

'A well recommended and necessary salute to the fates of Allied sailors during the Arctic campaign'

Naval Review

Hugh Sebag-Montefiore was a barrister before becoming a journalist and historian. He has written for the Sunday Times, Sunday Telegraph, Observer, Independent on Sunday, and Mail on Sunday. He is the author of three bestselling history books, two about the 2nd World War (Enigma: The Battle for the Code and Dunkirk: Fight to the Last Man), and one about the 1st World War (Somme: Into the Breach). He also wrote Kings On The Catwalk: The Louis Vuitton Moët-Hennessy Affair.

No campaign during World War Two contained more spinetingling drama, outstanding courage and heartbreaking tragedy than the Arctic convoys. Yet they – and the multifaceted Battle of the Arctic that had to be fought to get them through to Russia – remain one of the war’s most undercelebrated feats.

As this book’s title implies, Battle of the Arctic tells a unique story. For much of the conflict was complicated by terrific storms, snow, ice, fog, whales and Arctic mirages, so that what is chronicled at times sounds like a cross between the nightmarish torment experienced by both Shackleton in his ship Endurance and Scott of the Antarctic, and an Arctic version of Robinson Crusoe.

The action unfolded as Allied naval and merchant seamen, airmen, submariners, soldiers and intelligence officers delivered on their countries’ promise to take arms to Russia notwithstanding the German attempts to hunt them in their aircraft, U-boats and surface fleet spearheaded by Tirpitz and Scharnhorst. When ships were attacked, and went down in seas so cold that a man could die after five minutes of immersion, it triggered events reminiscent of the do-or-die moments during the sinking of the Titanic. Men perished one by one in lifeboats, and as castaways on deserted Arctic islands where they were stalked by polar bears. Frostbitten and wounded survivors ended up in primitive Russian hospitals where amputations were carried out without anesthetics. Others, while stranded for months in the communist state they were aiding, experienced the murky worlds of the NKVD, and the gulag, as well as famine and prostitution.

Using new material unearthed in American, British, Russian and German archives, as well as Polish, Norwegian, French and Dutch sources, and a remarkable collection of vivid witness accounts brought together at the passing of the last survivors, Hugh Sebag-Montefiore can at last shine a revealing light on this extraordinary tale that oscillates between the sailors’ eye view on the front line, and the controversies that infuriated world leaders.

• Lead title

• Hugh has written three history books that have ALL BEEN BESTSELLERS:
Somme: 11k PB, 12k HB
Dunkirk: 67k PB, 40k PB 2015 reissue, 13k HB
Enigma: 113k PB, 7k HB

• This is a THRILLING STORY, a POPULAR RACY SAGA. The readers will be constantly asking ‘Who is going to win?’