The Golden Horseshoe: The Wartime Career of Otto Kretschmer,U-Boat Ace [Unknown Binding]

Terence Robertson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 19, 2006

The legendary U-Boat ace Otto Kretschmer was branded 'the wolf of the Atlantic', and for good reason. In his dramatic wartime career he sank ship after ship, sowing terror among Allied convoys and dismay in those charged with their protection. Kretschmer was a daring officer who favored bringing his U-Boat into the heart of the convoy and destroying it from within. He earned himself a tremendous reputation before his capture in March 1941, and The Golden Horseshoe makes it clear why. Terence Robertson's biography of the U-Boat ace draws upon first-hand experience of conditions and the deadly game as the hunter sought to outfox the hunted. He paints a masterly portrait of life at sea and weaves in the fascinating story of Kretschmer and the exploits of his U-Boats. Kretschmer was eventually captured and interviewed by Captain McIntyre of HMS Walker, an episode which is also recounted in this book.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Terence Robertson worked as a journalist after serving in the German Navy. He also wrote Night Raider of the Atlantic, Escort Commander and Dieppe: The Shame and the Glory. He is deceased. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Unknown Binding: 208 pages
• Publisher: Greenhill Books (February 19, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 185367558X
• ISBN-13: 978-1853675584
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,181,108 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of my favourite books., August 28, 2011

By 

Ned Middleton (British professional underwater photo-journalist & author) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Golden Horseshoe: The Wartime Career of Otto Kretschmer, U-boat Ace (Paperback)

I first read this book many years ago, long before I developed my abiding interest with ships and the sea and was enthralled by the history of the central character who was Germany's most successful U Boat commander of all time. Even as a Prisoner of War, Otto Kretschmer continued to serve his country from behind enemy lines with such effectiveness that he also became, perhaps the only!, POW ever to have been promoted during his incarceration for such service. How odd that his captors failed to smell a rat and wonder why he should have received such advancement...

In keeping with U Boat tradition, Otto Kretschmer adopted the golden horseshoe as the motif for his submarine - U 99. His exploits, however, soon became so legendary within the U Boat arm that he was personally known as `The Wolf of the Atlantic.' The tonnage of ships this single U Boat commander sent to the bottom of the seas is far greater than any other commander of any other vessel, in any navy, in the history of the world.

Author Terence Robertson provides an excellent account - one which is as equally enthralling as his earlier `Walker RN' whilst I also thoroughly recommend and I am please to say I found the book as captivating as I did first time around.

Such was his conduct during the war that Kretschmer's held the respect of those on both sides of the conflict and was later able to join the new German Navy where he was eventually promoted to Captain. Ordinarily, such a person would have been revered as one of his nation's War Heroes but little or not such adulation was available to those in a defeated country. For all the right reasons, however, this account remains one of my favourite books.

NM

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine biography of an extremely capable U-Boat skipper, May 23, 2007

By 

Dimitrios (Greece) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Golden Horseshoe: The Wartime Career of Otto Kretschmer,U-Boat Ace

This is a fine book about Otto Kretschmer, focusing on his wartime carreer and exploits. There is scant information on his shildhood and early years, but the author paints a magnificent portrait of this highly capable skipper from the moment he took command of his first U-Boat, U-23. Of course the most terrific action happened in the period June 1940 - March 1941, when Kretschmer eas commanding the famous U-99 and Robertson gives many details regarding U-Boat and antisubmarine tactics of the era, as well as the every day life of a typical U-Boat crew. U-99 had also guests onboard in some of her cruises and the anecdotes about them are good enough. Kretschmer was a fine marksman spending most of the times just a single torpedo for every ship he sent to the bottom and he was the first U-Boat skipper to attack convoys on the surface and duting the night hours-a practice that brought to him great success and the Oak Leaves and Swords to the Knight's Cross. Luck run out for Kretschmer in March 1941 when he sunk many ships during a convoy battle in North Atlantic but he was also depth charged and forced to surface by the Royal Navy destroyer "HMS Walker". There are also interesting episodes from his years in captivity as well as his late release in 1947. The only shortcoming of the book (which has the fine writing style of so many old books) was the fact that it was written in 1955, just before Kretschmer started a new carreer in the Budesmarine and so it dosen't contain any information about the next decades. Otto Kretschmer died in 1997, when he slipped on a staircase and fell, during a trip to Danube for his wedding anniversary.

6 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Golden Horseshoe is a Good Synopsis, March 22, 2007

By 

Nils Jergensen "NMTJ" (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Golden Horseshoe: The Wartime Career of Otto Kretschmer,U-Boat Ace

Having read several other biographies of other U-boat aces, I was somewhat disappointed in the relative lack of anecdotes and the necessarily detached viewpoint of the book. (being written in the third-person) Overall, however, the book is well written and provides a very good whole-view of Kretchmer and his career, both pre-war and through the course of his somewhat brief war and much longer time in captivity. A good starting point to learn about the man, and some interesting insight into the Battle of the Atlantic, very much from a British perspective, but with quite apparent admiration for a worthy and gentlemanly adversary.