U-Boat Wargamers Stalemate (Sky History Tuesday 21 March 2023)

Today Tuesday 21 March 2023, there is a new episode of U-Boat Wargamers.

Stalemate

Since Karl Dönitz now reports directly to Hitler as Grand Admiral of the Kriegsmarine, he has been given free reign to flood the ocean with as many U-Boats as he can build. There is increasing pressure on Roberts and the WRENS to prove their usefulness in 1943, as the fight reaches a critical stage for the Allies and supplies are stretched thinner than ever across the British Isles. In May of 1943, Dönitz pays attention to convoy ONS 5, setting the stage for the fight that will alter the course of the Atlantic war. r.

Airdate: Tuesday 21 March 2023 at 21:00 on Sky History

Season 1 Episode 5

January 1943: Admiral Karl Dönitz, head of the Nazis’ U-boat fleet, has brought Britain to the brink of starvation by ruthlessly destroying close to a thousand of their merchant ships. If the transatlantic shipping route is cut off, the Allies will lose their last foothold in Western Europe. 

The Royal Navy turns to retired war gamer Gilbert Roberts. Roberts is to use war gaming to try to decipher and combat Dönitz’s tactics. To do this, he needs a team, but the Navy can’t spare any men. Instead, he risks the ridicule of high command by turning to the Women’s Royal Navy Service (WRNS) to war game the U-boats’ tactics.

In partnership with Jean Laidlaw, one of Britain’s first female chartered accountants, and a small team of resourceful female mathematicians, Roberts acts out naval battles and games the U-boats’ moves on a linoleum floor, using chalk and wooden model ships.  

Featured image credit: Sky History