The war for England's shores : S-Boats and the fight against British coastal convoys /G. H. Bennett.

"The War for England's Shores examines the Kriegsmarine's S-Boat offensive along the English Channel and the North Sea from 1940 to 1945, together with British (later Allied) responses to nullify that threat. Swift, and armed with torpedoes and mines, the S-Boats posed a serious threat to Britain's very survival, yet through painful evolution the British found a way to defend and deliver safely some 30 million tons of coal and general cargo through the narrow seas. Despite the potentially devastating consequences of this campaign against Britain's coastal trade it has been largely, and surprisingly, overlooked by historians. Using an array of archival materials from Britain, Germany and the United States, The War for England's Shores examines why the Germans failed to make the most of this opportunity to disrupt the British war economy. The author analyses how the British slowly nullified the threat by embracing new technologies and developing a system of sea control to gradually force the German S-Boat arm to transition from offensive action against Britain's coastal convoys to the defensive posture of waiting for the invasion of France."--Provided by the publisher.