U-Boat Wargamers (2023)

Overview

In January 1943, Admiral Karl Dönitz’s U-boat fleet brings Britain to the edge of famine, having sunk nearly a thousand merchant vessels. The Royal Navy realizes that severing the transatlantic shipping routes could spell disaster for the Allies’ hold on Western Europe. Faced with a manpower shortage, retired war gamer Gilbert Roberts turns to the Women’s Royal Navy Service (WRNS) for help, partnering with Jean Laidlaw and a team of savvy female mathematicians. Together, they simulate naval confrontations on a linoleum floor, using chalk and wooden ships to outmaneuver Dönitz’s deadly strategies.