Review of "The U-boat Century: German Submarine Warfare 1906-2006," by Jak Mallmann Showel
Review of
The U-boat Century: German Submarine
Warfare 1906-2006, by Jak Mallmann Showell, ISBN
9781861762412
Five out of five stars
Reading generates a lot of what-ifs?
It has been
reported many times that the German weapon most feared by Winston Churchill was
the U-boat or submarine. Yet, it was a weapon that was surprisingly unappreciated
by the Nazi leadership. Despite the success of the German U-boat fleet in its’
fight against the British navy in World War I, there was a surprisingly low
number of operational U-boats in the German fleet when World War II started in
Europe.
In September
1939, when the war started, Germany had only 46 operational U-boats, yet they contributed
an enormous amount to the German war effort. This is contrasted with the
enormous amount of resources that went into building the battleship “Bismark.”
It is not unreasonable to argue that had all of those resources been channeled
into the production of U-boats at that time, Germany could have defeated the
British in 1940 or early 1941.
This book is both
a technical description of the evolution of the German U-boat as well as the
main players in the German navy. The general principles of how the U-boats carried
out their attacks are explained, but very little description of specific
battles. There are many images of the ports where U-boats were built. stationed
and repaired as well as views inside the ships. It is always surprising how
tight the working environment inside a submarine was. It was one of the worst
working environments in the world.
This is one of
the most informative books about the history of warfare that I have ever read.
One can also tip their hat to the bravery of the men, all volunteers who crewed
the U-boats. There was a 75% casualty rate in World War II, with a very high
percentage being killed. They knew the risk and the conditions yet went aboard
anyway.
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