Скачать или смотреть Battle of the Barents Sea 1942 / December 31 - This day in History

On December 31, 1942, the Battle of the Barents Sea unfolded in the icy waters north of Norway, as Germany attempted to destroy Convoy JW 51B, which was carrying vital Allied supplies to the Soviet Union. The German operation, led by the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper and the pocket battleship Lützow, supported by destroyers, was intended to deliver a decisive blow against the Arctic convoy route.
The British escort force was much smaller: a handful of destroyers and two light cruisers, HMS Sheffield and HMS Jamaica. Despite being outgunned by the German heavy ships, the British destroyers repeatedly attacked with torpedoes and smoke screens, skillfully preventing Hipper and Lützow from reaching the convoy. When the cruisers joined the fight, they scored damaging hits on Admiral Hipper, forcing the Germans to withdraw.
The convoy reached Soviet ports intact - a humiliation for the Kriegsmarine. The failure enraged Hitler, leading him to lose faith in Germany’s surface fleet and order much of it to be scrapped, a decision later reversed but never fully undone.
The Battle of the Barents Sea became a striking example of how determination, coordination, and escort tactics could defeat superior firepower and protect the lifeline to the Eastern Front.