Death at Dawn ─ Captain Warburton-Lee VC and the Battle of Narvik, April 1940

Hitler’s desperate need for iron ore was the main reason for his attack on Norway in April 1940. The battle for Narvik’s ice-free harbor soon became a crucial objective for both Allied and Axis forces.Attack at Dawn covers the two key battles that fought on 10th and 13th of April. The first battle was initiated by the British Navy, who had orders to prevent a German landing. U-boats failed to spot the patrolling British destroyer flotilla and, early in the morning on April 10th, they sank two German destroyers and six merchant ships in the harbor. The Germans retreated but, unbeknown to the British, five more destroyers were anchored nearby. Battle continued on April 13th. In total, 10 destroyers sank—only U51 survived by escaping to sea. Attack at Dawn is an epic drama which involved naval and land forces. It is the first key investigation of the battle and forms part of an award-winning trilogy by Alf R. Jacobson.

Alfr Jacobsen is a Norwegian journalist, nonfiction writer, novelist, crime writer, and biographer. He was awarded the Riverton Prize in 1988 for the novelKharg. He published a biography of the whaler Svend Foyn in 2008, and is the author of three critically-acclaimed books on the Battle of Narvik.