Customer Reviews

Battleship Bismarck: A Survivor's Story (Bluejacket Books)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A fantastic book written from the other side's point of view. Great detail about life aboard the Bismarck, the thinking of those aboard the Bismarck, and what happened on the ship during the Rhine Exercise. The chapter dealing with the night before the final battle is both riveting and haunting.

This book brings not just the Bismarck, but the men of the Bismarck back to life for a brief moment in time. You'll never look at this battle the same way again.

Battleship Bismarck: A Survivor's Story is a master piece of naval history. I have read this book several times and each time I have come away with more knowledge about Operation Rhine. The book is complete with details of the launch of the Bismarck at the Blohm & Voss Ship yards to its final destruction in the north Atlantic. The author has been very objective in his account of the Bismarck's maiden and final voyage. I also recommend the book "Pursuit" by Ludovick Kennedy which details the British side of this naval hunt.

A great book about battleship Bismarck's history. The only reason for a 4 star rate and not 5 is that almost half of the book is about Mullenheim's experience after the battleship's tragic end (POW camp, return to Germany, ...). In the book, those moments are not so full of excitement like the ones with direct relation with the battleship's actions. But don't let that missing star bring you down, this is a great book. I've read a lot about the battleship on the INTERNET, but the book gave me a lot of missing information, more information than the data I was expecting to find.
If you enjoy reading about the Bismarck... get the book. It won't fail you.

Burkard Baron von Mullenheim-Rechberg has written a stirring account of his personal recollections of when he was assigned to the famous battleship Bismarck. From his first observations of when he first came abord the Bismarck and met her honorable Capitan, to when he was rescued after the Bismark was sunk, to life aftwerwards as a POW in Great Britain, his remarks, observations and analysis is "second to none".

I am fortunate to have been a U.S. Navy veteran and can personally "visualise" what the interior of the Bismarck could have been like, von Mullenheim-Rechberg gives a fascinating view of the crew, from the ordinary seaman to the egotistical Fleet Admiral Raeder.

The crew of the Bismarck is to be commended for their heroic actions underfire as well as their devotion to duty and each other. It is unfortunate that an outstanding Battleship such as the Bismarck was a tool in Adolf Hitler's warped and destructive vision. von Mullenheim-Rechberg makes his point very well that he was an anti-Nazi, but he was also a Sailor who had to defend the Fatherland (Germany)in an honorable way.

The details of the Battleship are told in an easily understandable prose, as well as the famous Battle when the HMS Hood was sent to the bottom of the ocean due to the excellent marksmanship of the huge guns of the Bismarck. The frightening events of the sinking of the Bismarck are also told with chilling detail as well.

This is a book that is to be recommended to all serious students of World War II as well as to those who enjoy a great lesson in history. After reading this, I have an admiration for both the British and German Navies of World War II, it is a tragedy that such admirable foes had to face one another at all.

Highly recommended!

The author, and one time adjutant to Captain Lindermann, the commanding officer of the Bismarck, reveals the real mission of the battleship which is a new concept to most. It was very exciting to read the details from the beginning of the battleship including the sailors and officers, the training, and sailing to the Atlantic. Although it would have been nice if even more details could have been included, but perhaps space and memory prevented it. The author did mention that most of his experiences and service had to be written from memory since he was prevented from recording classified and secret information. Particularly interesting is his description and feelings of being a POW inside the POW camps; his repatriation, a person returning to his defeated homeland, once a proud nation, and how a former POW can fit into the new and recovering society. Lacking many technical details that we would liked to have read about, this is still an excellent book. To be able to read about the battleship from the German side of the ship and war, is invaluable. Excellent book and highly recommended.

This is not "Sink the Bismarck", the fiction movie made in 1960's based on some truth but more of vivid imagintion and guess; This is real and true accounts describing from the other side, from a survivor who was among those brave crew battling valiantly against the far superiority odds, who surrounding them, after almost forty years silence when the world has been rained by the jammed fictions, novels all with imaginations and conjunctures on this subjects from the side of victors. If readers have a little knowledge of battleship, if they do not want to cheat themselves, they will not detach themselves from appreciating the Bismarck which was the pride of German Navy, the largest battleship ever built in the world during that stormy era, as Winston Churchill was obliged to recognize with an admiring eye : " She was a terrific ship, and the masterpiece of Naval construction"; and they will be immensely impressed and amazed by his exceptional striking power showing on May 24th 1941 at time that he was forced to send the once British largest warship Hood to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean at a range of 20,000 meters within only six minutes and with only ninety-three shells raining on her, and by his unblievable staying power displaying on May 27th 1941 on his final struggle against the far superiority enemy by refusing to sink after undergoing almost three thousand shells pouring form four British battleships within ninety minutes. And as this result, I believe readers will be in the state of both consternation and unsurprised when they eye the unique fact in navel history that wihin six hours after Hood sunk, the British deployed forty-two ships, four battleships, two battle cruisers, two aircraft carriers, three heavy cruisers, ten light cruisers and twenty-one destroyers to have a one thousand and three hundred nautical miles pursue to destroy him. If readers still possess temperament of chivalry, if they are not without impartial, they will not deny to respect the brave crew who was in the desperate situation, surrounded by heavy enemy units, but still stood up with great courage and fought a most courageous battle against the overwhelming superiority enemy for which even the British Fleet commander Tovey had scarecly not to write with evident admiration then: "She (the Bismarck ) put up a most gallant fight against impossible odds, worth of the old days of the Imperial German Navy, and she went down with her colors. "If readers have heart, if they could put all the political elements and prejudice aside, they will certainly not be indifferent but with high admiration when they read the touching dramatic scene of the saluting captain Lindemann went down with his ship. Besides those above the author renders to us, the author also fills some gapes in history by revealing some important facts which the history did not tell or ignored accidentally or incidentally : According to the author it is not those shells pounding from British battleships were responsible for Bismarck sunk, but scuttling, the self-destruction, done by the brave crew on Bismarck took responsiblity for it, like they had scuttled the whole Imperia German High Sea Fleet in Scapa Flaw on June 21st 1919; Based on the author three important reasons have contributed to the tragedy of Bismarck : One is incorrect information provided by Geramn Navy headquarters; the other is the failure to pay attention to the consequence of the possibility of the damage of rudder, which led to the catastrophe, when Bismarck had been on his maiden sea trail; the third one was the crucial one thousand tons shortage of fuel supply when he set his sail; It is the author who has unveiled, for the first time, the secret of the real tonnage of this giant battleship coming to the light: He was 53,000 ton when fully equipped, exceeding the tonnage limitations set by internationl treaty. Overall, I highly recommend this book which is a very powerful, touching and authentic accounts about this famours and dramatic engagement from the other side.

V. Mullenheim-Rechberg executes brilliantly where others have failed. This is one memoir where the author maintains a confident balance between his own personal history and the larger event in which he took part.

Make no mistake--this is his story, yet one where the ship and its crew reamin the focus. An understanding that he was but one, small aspect of each seems to guide his writing throughout. Moreover, he is careful to call out what he can only qualify as recollection and what he has culled from the established historical record. The result is a practically seamless recounting that should satisfy readers who seek personal insights into the short operational history of the Bismarck and those who crave details on the ship's construction, crew composition, and blow-by-blow accounts of Dennmark Strait and the final attack that lead to its ultimate fate.

His chapter describing the last minutes as the crew abandoned ship take on a downright cinematic feel. The clarity there is of moments he could not shake and of people he would not forget. It's deeply personal, yet he provides both himself and the reader emotional breathing space by weaving in views of the operational action around the ship itself. This intensifies every personally-infused vignette that he presents and ensures that none are lost in the wash of mass human loss.

The author makes particularly handy work of his footnotes, sometimes using them to personally answer some of what he believes are significant misnomers about the ship's history--and his own. The footnotes are clearly -his- space, and he does not hesitate to answer some of what he feels are personal attacks that various other authors have made on his character and conduct. Still, he shies away from pettiness and cheap indignancy here. His tone is measured throughout, and he exactingly cites the sources that fuel his commentary--leaving the reader a chance to further explore the issues. After all, he was a lawyer and diplomat after the war. It shows.

Recommended highly for those who enjoy their history presented in a narrative fashion.

The author, and one time adjutant to Captain Lindermann, the commanding officer of the Bismarck, reveals the real mission of the battleship which is a new concept to most. It was very exciting to read the details from the beginning of the battleship including the sailors and officers, the training, and sailing to the Atlantic. Although it would have been nice if even more details could have been included, but perhaps space and memory prevented it. The author did mention that most of his experiences and service had to be written from memory since he was prevented from recording classified and secret information. Particularly interesting is his description and feelings of being a POW inside the POW camps; his repatriation, a person returning to his defeated homeland, once a proud nation, and how a former POW can fit into the new and recovering society. Lacking many technical details that we would liked to have read about, this is still an excellent book. To be able to read about the battleship from the German side of the ship and war, is invaluable. Excellent book and highly recommended.

I did like the narrative and it gave me a glimpse into what went on inside the Bismarck and her crew. Many of the photograhs were a first for me. I especially liked Appendix D, "The Rudder Damage: Were all Possibilities of Repair Exhausted?". Apparently the Bismarck was doomed from the start, but this may have been hindsight on the part of the author.

As for Appendix F "A Break in the Code", the tome was written before information was released indicating that the British were indeed monitoring most, if not all, communications of the Kriegsmarine. I refer to the two volumes of "Hitler's U-Boat War" by Clay Blair. The Americans were also monitoring the movements of the Bismarck, possibly in violation of international law.

The only reason I gave the book 4 stars is because the author related his opinions on the politics and his superiors possibly after the war. I wonder how he thought during the war. Too many apologies for the Nazi regime for my taste. I agree that the regime was inefficient. This may have been common among many authors who were involved on the German side looking back.

I would recommend this book in addition to the several books that have been written on the Bismarck in the last few decades.

FIRST THOUGHTS: EMOTIONAL WAR DRAMA OF LEGENDARY STATUS

The Bismarck, like the Titanic before her, went down on her maiden voyage in the North Atlantic with a great loss of life. Though both ships went on to become legends, the Bismarck was one that went down via the concerted effort of a large portion of the British fleet. Due to its being the flagship of the third reich and symbol of its 'superior' achievement the mission to destroy the Bismarck was a vital necessity to the British and a desperate race for survival for its German crew. In the end, there is little to feel good about the sinking of a vessel with over two thousand men aboard, only 115 whom were saved. Worse still, this tragedy followed the sinking of the Hood by the Bismarck just several days earlier with just a handful of survivors from the Hood. All in all a very nasty business, but an epic piece of real human history.

IN A NUTSHELL:

Battleship Bismarck: A Survivor's Story (Bluejacket Books)
by Burkard Baron Von Mullenheim-Rechberg, is another fine 'Naval Institute Press Publication' and a terrific account of the Bismarck's short life. The author, Burkard Baron Von Mullenheim-Rechberg was first, Captain Lindemann's adjutant and later the gunnery officer in charge of the aft range-finder. His rank was 'Oberleutnant zur See', or the equivalent of Lieutenant, in the US Navy. Von Mullenheim-Rechberg was on board before the beginning and was there after the end to become a prisoner-of-war. Both before and after are included in his expanded accounts in this "THE NEW AND EXPANDED EDITION - 1990".

WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT:

Von Mullenheim-Rechberg takes us on-board the Bismarck as he is introduced to his new commanding officer, Captain Lindemann. It is 1940 and he is the Captain's adjutant as fitting out and trials get under way for the newly launched super-dreadnought. These prelimary maneuvers are included in detail. Von Mullenheim-Rechberg does give us insights into his Captain, Lindemann, Admiral Lutjens [fleet commander] and something about Adolf Hitler who did visit the ship. All three men will play an important role in the story that unfolds.

BUT THE STORY DOESN'T END THERE -

A lot happened to the Bismarck its crew, the Hood, and the world in less than a week, and much of it is covered within this volume, first hand.