On New Year's Eve, 1942, four British destroyers fought off a massive German attack in the Arctic by the pocket battleship Lustzow, the heavy cruiser Hipper and six destroyers. Not one merchant ship was lost, and Hitler's fury at this failure almost spelled the end of the German surface fleet. Churchill later wrote that the action ended the German dream of another High Seas Fleet. This account of this heroic action, in which Captain Sherbrooke of HMS Onslow won the Victoria Cross, is more than just a description of a battle; it is also an examination of two mighty navies and the psychology, training and discipline of the commanders and their men. It shows that sheer power is not always a match for ingenuity and brazen courage.