On Christmas Day, 1943, the German battlecruiser Scharnhorst sails from Norway to intercept Russian convoy JW55B. Unknown to the Germans, the British are aware of the Scharnhorst's exact movements and have planned an ambush. A British task force including the battleship Duke of York is 200 miles away to the southwest of the convoy while three British cruisers approach the Scharnhorst from the east.

Just before 09.00 on the 26th, British cruiser Belfast detects Scharnhorst by radar only 45 km east of the convoy. The cruiser Norfolk opens fire on the much larger German ship, disabling its radar and gunnery control stations. The raider turns north to evade the British warships and to intercept the merchantmen. HMS Belfast regains contact at noon and all three British cruisers open fire. Scharnhorst is hit but the Norfolk is badly damaged by Scharnhorst's 11 inch shells. The German ship now heads south away from the convoy but the British task force's ships cut off her retreat.

In the Arctic darkness, with its radar wrecked, the Scharnhorst has no idea how close the British are. Fifty minutes into total darkness, at 16:50, the British cruisers open fire from one side while the battleship Duke of York and cruiser Jamaica engage from the other. The Scharnhorst is taken completely by surprise. The British gunfire is radar directed but the Scharnhorst is firing blindly. Scharnhorst is hit hard repeatedly by the Duke of York's massive 14 inch shells. In minutes all its main guns are out of action. Scharnhorst is quickly reduced to a burning wreck. British cruisers and destroyers use torpedoes to finish the ship off. Only 36 men are rescued.

One by one, all the great German warships are being hunted down and destroyed.