Allied aerial mining caused carnage among axis surface vessels and submarines, but this vital contribution has been largely forgotten
Subscribe to History of War now for amazing savings! Photo Credit: Central Press/Getty Images
Author Jane Gulliford Lowes | Price £25 | Released Out now | Reviewer Andrew Saunders
The story of the RAF’s minelaying operations during the Second World War has been neglected in the historiography of Bomber Command, and that neglect is reflected in the author’s title – although here was a campaign that was ‘invisible’ in other respects, too.
In conventional operations undertaken by Bomber Command, the destruction wrought by high-explosive and incendiary bombs was immediately apparent, but this was not the case with minelaying operations. In Bomber Command parlance, the results of these ‘gardening’ sorties were not easily apparent.
In this masterful examination of the topic, The Invisible Campaign looks to shed light on why Bomber Command’s minelaying operations in the Second World War remained shrouded in secrecy, and the author succeeds brilliantly. This is a superbly researched work presented in an engaging and readable style. For this reviewer it was a real eye-opener, notwithstanding his own immersion in the Second World War history of the RAF for over 50 years!
With excellent production qualities, each page in this revealing work is packed with detail. The supporting imagery and maps are first class, and across 300 pages the author examines the success of ‘gardening’ operations and the experiences of aircrew engaged on them.
With her first book Above us the Stars covering a Bomber Command subject, Jane Gulliford Lowes had already demonstrated a depth of subject knowledge and enthusiasm for the topic. This reviewer thought it unlikely she would ever better that work, but with the wonderful The Invisible Campaign she has done just that!
– Andrew Saunders
Click here to buy latest issue of History of War