HMS Isis, Pantelleria, and the Italian surrender

And So to Battle follows an officer who declined a staff appointment and returned to active service in HMS Isis soon after surviving the loss of Pakenham. The extract covers interdiction around Pantelleria, the shifting balance after victory in North Africa, preparations for Sicily, and the surrender of the Italian fleet. It also records the minesweeping that reopened movement through the central Mediterranean and the convoy escort work that followed. The most unusual episode is his responsibility for gathering surrendered Italian submarines and leading them on the surface to Malta without Allied ships mistaking them for enemies. The destroyer's work changes from contested interdiction to managing the practical consequences of an enemy fleet's surrender.