A Game of Birds and Wolves: The Ingenious Young Women Whose Secret Board Game Helped Win World War II

By Simon Parkin and Simon Parkin

Book Overview

As heard on the New Yorker Radio Hour: The triumphant and "engaging history" (The New Yorker) of the young women who devised a winning strategy that defeated Nazi U-boats and delivered a decisive victory in the Battle of the Atlantic.

By 1941, Winston Churchill had come to believe that the outcome of World War II rested on the battle for the Atlantic. A grand strategy game was devised by Captain Gilbert Roberts and a group of ten Wrens (members of the Women's Royal Naval Service) assigned to his team in an attempt to reveal the tactics behind the vicious success of the German U-boats. Played on a linoleum floor divided into painted squares, it required model ships to be moved across a make-believe ocean in a manner reminiscent of the childhood game, Battleship. Through play, the designers developed "Operation Raspberry," a counter-maneuver that helped turn the tide of World War II.

Combining vibrant novelistic storytelling with extensive research, interviews, and previously unpublished accounts, Simon Parkin describes for the first time the role that women played in developing the Allied strategy that, in the words of one admiral, "contributed in no small measure to the final defeat of Germany." Rich with unforgettable cinematic detail and larger-than-life characters, A Game of Birds and Wolves is a heart-wrenching tale of ingenuity, dedication, perseverance, and love, bringing to life the imagination and sacrifice required to defeat the Nazis at sea.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316492094
• ISBN13: 9780316492096
• Release Date: January 2020
• Publisher: Little Brown and Company
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.33 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.0" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Thanks YouTube!

It was through scrolling YT that I discovered this book by watching a video, definitely English but I don't remember if it was the BBC. I only did see one part but that was enough to pique my interest. This finally fleshed out from what I've previously read on the Battle of the Atlantic, most notably Black May. A very interesting read teaching ASW tactics to the Captains of the Convoy escorts using Game Theory. Highly recommend. And as usual for that time, the contributions of the 'WRENS' were largely forgotten after their service; much like their female Soviet counterparts were after The Great Patriotic War. Sad 😔.

A must-have for anyone interested in tactics

I have not read the actual book yet. However, I read an extended excerpt from Time on the story behind the book. I also listened to an audio sample to get a feel for the writing style (excellent). This book is a good reference for anyone interested in the history of the time. We always get stories like what happened a Bletchley Park or Operation Mincemeat. However, there are intriguing stories, like this book, that seem to have slipped through the cracks. Not only is the story interesting about how the tactics of U-boat detection and dispatching were accomplished, but the learning process itself is unique.