Ludovic Kennedy's account of his father's command offers an unusually personal route into Rawalpindi's story. It also has a clear wartime limitation: Kennedy and other contemporary writers believed Rawalpindi had faced Deutschland, while evidence released later established that Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were present. The account can preserve the experience of those involved even where it misidentifies the wider tactical picture.
Notable Point · 0:21-1:18
Using Ludovic Kennedy's wartime account carefully
The opening explains why Ludovic Kennedy's early account remains valuable but must be checked against evidence released after the war.