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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