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A Game of Birds and Wolves

The Secret Game That Won the War

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A Game of Birds and Wolves

By: Simon Parkin
Narrated by: Elliot Fitzpatrick
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About this listen

 1941. The Battle of the Atlantic is a disaster. Thousands of supply ships ferrying vital food and fuel from North America to Britain are being torpedoed by German U-boats.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill is lying to the country about the number of British ships sunk. He is lying about the number of British men killed. And worst of all, unless something changes, he knows that Britain is weeks away from being starved into surrender to the Nazis.

This is the story of the game of battleships that won the Second World War. In the first week of 1942 a group of unlikely heroes - a retired naval captain and a clutch of brilliant young women, the youngest only seventeen-years-old - gather to form a secret strategy unit. On the top floor of a bomb-bruised HQ in Liverpool, the Western Approaches Tactical Unit spends days and nights designing and playing wargames in an effort to crack the U-boat tactics.

A Game of Birds and Wolves takes us from the sweltering fug of a U-boat as the German aces coordinate their wolfpack, to the tense atmosphere of the operation room as the British team plot battles at sea on the map.

The story of Operation Raspberry and its unsung heroines has never been told before. Investigative journalist Simon Parkin brings these hidden figures into the light and shows the ingenuity, perseverance and love needed to defeat the Nazis in this gripping tale of war at sea.©2019 Simon Parkin Armed Forces Entertainment & Celebrities Military Naval Forces War Submarine U-Boat Winston Churchill Game

Critic reviews

[A] splendid new history of the war in the Atlantic . . . Simon Parkin's book rips along at full sail and is full of personality and personalities. Above all, it brings a barely known aspect of the sea war out into the light. Which is a triumph in itself. (John Lewis Stempel)
Sheds compelling new light on the ferocious struggle being played out in the mid-Atlantic ... [A Game of Birds and Wolves] has all the elements of a film
In a riveting, intricately researched book, Simon Parkin tells the previously unknown story behind the Allied victory in the Atlantic during World War II. It's an underdog's tale - not only of British supply fleets trying to outrun German U-boats, but also of the women game designers who made that victory possible.
Engaging and skilful . . . [Parkin] writes with real flair and the human side of this story is brought out with fine vignettes and character sketches . . . If the place of women in Britain's naval war has been played down, Parkin's vivid story recovers it handsomely . . . Inside his narrative is a desire to show how ordinary people did extraordinary things in wartime . . . this is a good read on a corner of the war and the men and women who peopled it - one very much worthy of our attention. (Richard Overy)
A triumph
History writing at its best
With novelistic flair, Parkin transforms material gathered from research, interviews, and unpublished accounts into a highly readable book that celebrates the ingenuity of a British naval 'reject' and the accomplishments of the formerly faceless women never officially rewarded for their contribution to the Allied defeat of Germany. A lively, sharp WWII history.
This is a thrilling story, compellingly told
Enthralling . . . a pacey read with some wonderfully vivid set pieces
Gripping . . . a great read.
A hugely enjoyable and exciting book . . . A compelling and important new story, lucidly and humanely told. (Roland Phillipps, author of A Spy Named Orphan)
Simon Parkin describes brilliantly the key role of WATU in the Battle of the Atlantic. I was proud to read of my mother's role as a Wren with influence far beyond her age and experience, and of my father's application of WATU-designed tactics in the key anti-U boat battle of the Atlantic. (Vice Admiral Mike Gretton, son of Judy Du Vivier and Sir Peter Gretton)
This is the riveting true story of war, amazing women, and one of the most important games in history. (Major Tom Mouat MBE, Simulation and Modelling Technology School, Defence Academy of the United Kingdom)
A stunning book about an unknown part of the largely forgotten Battle of the Atlantic, which is a must read. (Niall Kilgour, chairman of the Submariners Association)
All stars
Most relevant
Fascinating listen with great narration. This is very much a book about the human story of this previously little known part of Britain’s WW2 story. You get a real sense of the people behind an effort and organisation that made a huge difference to Britain’s survival. This was clearly a work of great passion for the writer and I felt at times the stories of individuals (both German and British) tended to transgress from what I had expected the main focus of the book, that of the “nuts and bolts” work done by the Western approaches tactical unit, to be. That being said, overall this helped me gain a better sense of the total impact that the unit had on the conflict. A great listen for anyone interested in WW2 and its unsung heroes and heroines!

A story that needs to be heard!

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We’re in a purple patch whereby SWW history is being rewritten or to change the facts per se but to include the women in it. And this book provides another key piece to the jigsaw which is quite possibly not half finished and will still have some pieces missing. There was perhaps not quite as much on the actual gaming as I had expected but again, in the modern way, he tells the story through a number of characters from all aspects of this crucial part of the War. Britain (including her then Empire) and then the US had to ensure that they didn’t lose the Battle of the Atlantic, and once achieved, then go on and win it. And this book, nicely paced and pitched well, places the reader right in the middle with the heroes and villains, protagonists and innocents and the jeopardy, dehumanisation and ultimate happy ending for the Allies. A fascinating account, well worth a read. Stuart

So Glad I Finally got to this Fascinating and Important Account

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Very interesting account of an undoubtedly vital role played in the survival of this country.

Underrated Subject

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I absolutely loved A Game of Birds and Wolves, it was so interesting to hear a story about the Battle of the Atlantic and those who took part, both Axis and Allied.
It is respectful of everyone and tells a gripping tale of the formation of WATU and the turning of the tide.
Beautifully read and worth everybody's time.

Tense and intriguing

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This is in fact a potted history of the U boat war with a particular focus on the contribution of the Womens Royal Navy Auxiliary. There is an account of a tactical analysis and training unit based at the Liverpool Western Approaches Naval HQ but this is limited by its sources. The background about simulations in the military is thinner. An epilogue discusses the current work of the defence research establishment. I greatly enjoyed this audiobook

A war game

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