U-Boat Wargamers โ Season 1, Episode 1: The Mastermind
Documentary, War & Politics โข 50 min โข 1 season, 6 episodes โข โ 6.8/10
Episode synopsis
The Mastermind: World War II breaks out and a force of U-boats attempt to starve Britain into submission. Meanwhile, Vera Laughton Mathews recruits talented women into the Wrens.
About U-Boat Wargamers
January 1943: Admiral Karl Dรถnitz, head of the Nazisโ U-boat fleet, has brought Britain to the brink of starvation by ruthlessly destroying close to a thousand of their merchant ships. If the transatlantic shipping route is cut off, the Allies will lose their last foothold in Western Europe. The Royal Navy turns to retired war gamer Gilbert Roberts. Roberts is to use war gaming to try to decipher and combat Dรถnitzโs tactics. To do this, he needs a team, but the Navy canโt spare any men. Instead, he risks the ridicule of high command by turning to the Womenโs Royal Navy Service (WRNS) to war game the U-boatsโ tactics. In partnership with Jean Laidlaw, one of Britainโs first female chartered accountants, and a small team of resourceful female mathematicians, Roberts acts out naval battles and games the U-boatsโ moves on a linoleum floor, using chalk and wooden model ships.