Hitler's War Beneath the Waves


Book Description

At the beginning of World War II, the devastating impact of German submarines on both the Royal Navy and merchant shipping saw Britain on the brink of starvation and defeat. The enemy was formidable. U-boat crews saw themselves as an elite and they preferred to scuttle their vessels at the end of the war rather than surrender. They suffered the heaviest losses of any branch of the German services: out of 40,900 men, 28,000 were killed and 5,000 taken prisoner; by 1945, the average age was 19 and the survival rate was only three missions. This is the story of how the Allies redressed the balance of power, focusing in particular on the role of the wolfpacks of U-boats in the Atlantic, whose stealthy presence beneath the waves ensured that British ships diced with death every time they put to sea.




Hitler's War Beneath the Waves


Book Description

During World War I, German U-boats had been the most effective naval weapon against the Allies and without America's entry into the war in 1917 Britain could have been starved into surrender. Hitler's accession to power led to the rapid development of numerous military projects, including provision for submarines. Interestingly, the German navy was the branch of the German armed forces with the highest proportion of Nazis and Nazi sympathizers. And this is the story of their part in the war, focusing in particular on the role of the wolf pack of U-boats in the Atlantic, whose stealthy presence beneath the waves ensured that British merchant ships were dicing with death every time they put out to sea.




THE WAR UNDER THE WAVES


Book Description

Immerse yourself in one of the most riveting World War 2 history books, The War Under the Waves. This exceptional military history book plunges you into the depths of naval warfare, highlighting the courage, resilience, and sacrifice of the British and American Navies, Air Forces, and particularly the unsung heroes of the merchant marines of World War 2. As Churchill's Britain stood alone against Hitler's onslaught, Roosevelt's America had to navigate an isolationist Congress to lend a helping hand. Britain's survival hung in the balance, hinging on the crucial lifeline of ocean shipping for sustenance, supplies, and fuel—a lifeline ruthlessly threatened by Germany's formidable submarine fleet. Britain's monumental struggle to keep the lifeline intact, initially aided by fifty American destroyers generously lent by Roosevelt, forms the crux of this gripping narrative. The book emphasizes the importance of Churchill and Roosevelt's leadership in overcoming the direst of circumstances. After Pearl Harbor, the United States became wholly immersed in the war, battling the Japanese and Hitler's forces, including the menacing German U-boats lurking in the Atlantic's depths. The War Under the Waves presents the stark reality of how close Britain came to the brink of defeat. Yet, it was through the combined bravery of British and American forces that merchant shipping, troopships, and tankers were safeguarded, facilitating the safe crossing of the Atlantic. The war's turning point emerged from these perilous battles under the waves— a tide that carried with it the defeat of Hitler's Germany and the victory of Allied forces. This compelling historical account is a testament to the audacious triumph over Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz's U-boats, charting the course of the victories that determined the Second World War's outcome. Readers of all ages, particularly young adults seeking to understand the history of the U-boat war and older adults appreciating the magnitude of the Allies' victory, will find this "war history book" unforgettable. Discover the story of survival, perseverance, and victory in The War Under the Waves, where history unfolds under the depths of the Atlantic.




War Beneath the Sea


Book Description

Praise for War Beneath the Sea "I am truly filled with awe and admiration...fascinating and a great contribution to the entire lore of submarines.... I wish I had written the book." ?Capt. Edward L. Beach, USN (Ret.) author of Run Silent, Run Deep "Peter Padfield is the best British naval historian of his generation now working. [His] book...will now become the standard work on the subject." ?Daily Telegraph (London) "Peter Padfield has produced by far the best and most complete critical history of the submarine operations of all the combatants in the Second World War, at the same time providing vivid narrative accounts of particular actions and events." ?Lloyd?s List (London) "An excellent account of submarine warfare in 1939?45... [it] recreates the tribulations and horrors of that especially brutal form of warfare within a sturdily analytical and often critical framework." ?The Economist "[A] marvelously complete and detailed study of World War II submarine warfare...an interesting, serious, and timely book." ?Houston Chronicle "A brilliant submarine warfare study." ?Military Review




War Beneath the Sea


Book Description

A leading naval and military historian presents the first book to cover the major submarine campaigns in all the WWII theaters. Vividly recreates the experience of submarine and anti-submarine warfare from the decision makers in the war offices to the men in the boats. Describes the disappointing performance of the giant Japanese submarines in the Pacific and the narrow margin by which Britain escaped defeat by German U-boats in the Battle of the Atlantic. Reveals new information about the capture of the Enigma cipher machine, harrowing accounts of defenseless warriors shot in the water and much more. Contains 16 pages of photographs, many published for the first time.




To Crown the Waves


Book Description

The only comparative analysis available of the great navies of World War I, this work studies the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, the German Kaiserliche Marine, the United States Navy, the French Marine Nationale, the Italian Regia Marina, the Austro-Hungarian Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine, and the Imperial Russian Navy to demonstrate why the war was won, not in the trenches, but upon the waves. It explains why these seven fleets fought the way they did and why the war at sea did not develop as the admiralties and politicians of 1914 expected. After discussing each navy’s goals and circumstances and how their individual characteristics impacted the way they fought, the authors deliver a side-by-side analysis of the conflict’s fleets, with each chapter covering a single navy. Parallel chapter structures assure consistent coverage of each fleet—history, training, organization, doctrine, materiel, and operations—and allow readers to easily compare information among the various navies. The book clearly demonstrates how the naval war was a collision of 19th century concepts with 20th century weapons that fostered unprecedented development within each navy and sparked the evolution of the submarine and aircraft carrier. The work is free from the national bias that infects so many other books on World War I navies. As they pioneer new ways of viewing the conflict, the authors provide insights and material that would otherwise require a massive library and mastery of multiple languages. Such a study has special relevance today as 20th-century navies struggle to adapt to 21st-century technologies.




Anti-Submarine Warfare


Book Description

The submarine was undoubtedly the most potent purely naval weapon of the twentieth century. In two world wars, enemy underwater campaigns were very nearly successful in thwarting Allied hopes of victory - indeed, annihilation of Japanese shipping by US Navy submarines is an indicator of what might have been. That the submarine was usually defeated is a hugely important story in naval history, yet this is the first book to treat the subject as a whole in a readable and accessible manner. It concerns individual heroism and devotion to duty, but also ingenuity, technical advances and originality of tactical thought. What developed was an endless battle between forces above and below the surface, where a successful innovation by one side eventually produces a counter-measure by the other in a lethal struggle for supremacy. Development was not a straight line: wrong ideas and assumptions led to defeat and disaster.




Churchill, Master and Commander


Book Description

'Masterful research, impeccable detail, with a beautifully flowing narrative of which Churchill himself would have been proud.' - Professor Peter Caddick-Adams From his earliest days Winston Churchill was an extreme risk taker and he carried this into adulthood. Today he is widely hailed as Britain's greatest wartime leader and politician. Deep down though, he was foremost a warlord. Just like his ally Stalin, and his arch enemies Hitler and Mussolini, Churchill could not help himself and insisted on personally directing the strategic conduct of World War II. For better or worse he insisted on being political master and military commander. Again like his wartime contemporaries, he had a habit of not heeding the advice of his generals. The results of this were disasters in Norway, North Africa, Greece and Crete during 1940–41. His fruitless Dodecanese campaign in 1943 also ended in defeat. Churchill's pig-headedness over supporting the Italian campaign in defiance of the Riviera landings culminated in him threatening to resign and bring down the British Government. Yet on occasions he got it just right: his refusal to surrender in 1940, the British miracle at Dunkirk and victory in the Battle of Britain, showed that he was a much-needed decisive leader. Nor did he shy away from difficult decisions, such as the destruction of the French Fleet to prevent it falling into German hands and his subsequent war against Vichy France. In this fascinating new book, acclaimed historian Anthony Tucker-Jones explores the record of Winston Churchill as a military commander, assessing how the military experiences of his formative years shaped him for the difficult military decisions he took in office. This book assesses his choices in the some of the most controversial and high-profile campaigns of World War II, and how in high office his decision making was both right and wrong.




The Downfall of Hitler


Book Description

Examines Hitler's ambitions, how they were never realistic, and deemed that his failure was inevitable. Hitler’s career remains one of the most extraordinary in world history. No one else has gone from sleeping on park benches to become a world leader. After the First World War he became involved in extremist politics – first on the far left and then the far right. It is often assumed that Hitler’s ambitions were never realistic and his failure was inevitable. This book challenges that view and suggests a number of missed opportunities or misjudgements that might have led to a different result. Michael FitzGerald shows how Hitler’s personal defects contributed considerably to Germany’s defeat. In addition to the military mistakes he made a series of political, economic and foreign policy blunders were major factors in his failure to achieve his goals.




Beneath a Scarlet Sky


Book Description

A teenage boy in 1940s Italy becomes part of an underground railroad that helps Jews escape through the Alps, but when he is recruited to be the personal driver for a powerful Third Reich commander, he begins to spy for the Allies.