Customer Reviews

Allied Submarine Attacks of World War Two: European Theatre of Operations, 1939-1945

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a data-book, pure and simple. It contains details of each attack made by Allied submarines in the ETO (as the title suggests).

Information on each attack is: Date and time of attack (reported by submarine and target); Nationality of attacking submarine; Number or name of attacking submarine; Name of commanding officer of submarine; target type (as reported by the submarine, and actual); Tonnage of target (reported and actual); Result of the attack (reported and actual); Weapon used in attack; Position of attack (as reported by submarine and target); Nationality of attacked ship; Name of attacked ship.

There are also short notes on many of the attacks, expanding on the raw data.

The chapters are divided in to region (Arctic, Black Sea etc), and an index is provided of all submarines, commanding officers and attacked ships.

This book is a must-have for those interested in the raw data. If you're after a narrative then this book is certainly not for you.

This book, writed by a famous historian, is indicated at the people that are interested in date and number historical referement If you are a researcher of world war 2, this book is for you

This is not a book one would sit down and read in the expectation of being entertained by the content. It is a book full of facts and figures where very few people are ever likely to admit to having read it all. Furthermore, there are no photographs and no illustrations.

What it does contain, however, are the carefully researched and meticulously catalogued details of, as the title suggests, all Allied Submarine Attacks of World War Two in the European theatre of operations.

It is both an exhaustive and authoritative work from naval historian Jürgen Rohwer whose reputation is unsurpassed in his field of expertise. Arranged by sea area, we commence with Soviet operations in the Arctic, Baltic and Black Sea before coming on to British and Allied attacks stretching from north Norway to the Mediterranean. There is also an addendum which deals with Soviet operations against Japan in the final stages of the war.

Most interesting of all is the author's comparison between what was claimed by the attacker - i.e. the official report as submitted by the submarine commander, with the information contained in the War Diaries of those on the receiving end of those attacks. In this way, the author has been able to correct many instances of false or inaccurate reporting.

As I say, not a "readable" work by any means, nevertheless, this is an important work as far as ongoing research is concerned and should be a required addition to the bookshelf of any discerning researcher.

NM

I decided against giving the book 4 stars because, while it represents a worthy achievement, it also has its warts.
Consisting entirely of tabular data, the book lists every attack claim and places it alongside the actual results--plenty of ore you'll be mining for a long time.
On the downside, a half-hearted translation leaves a platoon of opaque abbreviations--"le" for Latvian, "-DP" for passenger liner, etc--so be prepared to memorize the German shorthand.
A book of this nature should be more eager to stay open when you lay it flat on your desk to compare with your notes.
The author at times is overly dogmatic in cases of conflicting claims. On the flip side, the sparse textual content occasionally leaves matters unclear.
I am glad I made the purchase, but I suggest you do as I did--wait for a sale.

I passed up this book in a 75% off bin in Ottawa recently.
At first I was very enthused,but when I saw the contents I passed. The book reads like a computer data printout.
The book may be for you if its your 25th WW2 sub book.