U-boat wargamers: The unsung women who changed the course of WWII

As their story comes to light in a new docudrama, James Rampton looks at this extraordinary group of strategists who helped win the Battle of the Atlantic

These women were some of the most brilliant wargamers of their – or any other – generation but their significance has largely been forgotten (A&E)

This is the story of the greatest war heroes you’ve never heard of. It is an astounding and scandalously overlooked tale about a top-secret group of women who played a pivotal role in the Allied victory in the Second World War. Instrumental in helping Great Britain win the Battle of the Atlantic, they are the unsung heroes who set us on the path to vanquishing the Nazis.

These women were some of the most brilliant wargamers of their – or any other – generation, but their significance has largely been forgotten. On the 80th anniversary of their operation, the story of these neglected heroes is finally being recounted. And what a story it is.

At the start of the war, the German admiral Karl Doenitz’s seemingly invincible wolf pack of U-boats posed a clear and present danger to the very survival of Britain. The enormous threat they represented was evident from the outset of hostilities. On 3 September 1939, just two days after war was declared, a U-boat sank the passenger liner SS Athenia in the Western Approaches. One hundred and seventeen people, including refugee children, lost their lives. A truly shocking event, it was declared a war crime.