With Honour in Battle [Paperback]

J. T. McDaniel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2001

Germany's most decorated U-boat captain is sent to sea in an experimental boat that could reverse the war at sea, or blow up her own crew. In the waning days of World War II, Korvettenkapitän Hans Kruger is Germany's most decorated U-boat 'Ace.' Taking command of a highly advanced, top secret boat, Kruger must contend with overwhelming enemy superiority, his own personal demons, and a boat whose superior qualities are accompanied by a dangerous, untried power plant.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

By the end of World War II, German submarine designers had produced some astonishing weapons. Among the interesting were the Walter submarines, which could run submerged at high speed, using a turbine engine that didn’t need external oxygen. One such boat reached a submerged speed of 24 knots in 1943, some 18 knots faster than previous U-Boats, and three knots faster than most convoy escorts. Plans were made to build several models of Walter boat, though none were in service before the war ended.

Some years ago a discussion of these boats led to speculation on what might have happened if one had been built and sent into combat. Such a boat would be very hard to detect, and nearly impossible to pin down and destroy. And what sort of man would command her? A senior commander, surely, but by late in the war what shape would he be in? U-Boats were, bar none, the most dangerous military assignments of World War II. Only one in four who sailed in them survived the war. So an experienced commander would be not only lucky, but also, more than likely, verging on what today we call a "burn out case."

And the sudden appearance of such a U-Boat, with the resulting disastrous effects on the convoy routes, would naturally call for a response. So we would also have a senior British escort commander, with a unique insight into his enemy after having been briefly a prisoner aboard his boat, now given command of a new killer group and charged with hunting him down.

These speculations resulted in "With Honour in Battle." A remarkable U-boat, with an advanced, but also dangerous, power plant; a no-longer-young commander, knowing what he's doing is going to be too late, yet duty bound to carry on the fight, and weighed down by the deaths of nearly everyone he has ever cared about. Not a "techno-thriller," but a traditional naval adventure novel, where the characters, and not the machines, drive the story. And, of course, one with plenty of action to keep things moving.

About the Author

J.T. McDaniel is a former newspaper editor, radio personality, and combat photographer. He served with the 1st Aviation Brigade and the 101st Airborne Division in Viet Nam, and has had a long interest in military history and the sea.

Product Details

• Paperback: 268 pages
• Publisher: Writers Club Press (March 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595173527
• ISBN-13: 978-0595173525
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,593,131 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Okay U-Boat Fans, February 6, 2002

By 

Woodrow Cullum (Baltimore MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: With Honour in Battle (Paperback)

Okay, if you are like me you only read non-fictional books about U-boats and the naval history associated with them. The thought of reading a fictional book just does not appeal to you and you would rather not even waste your time. Well this book is different. Once I started reading it was hard to put down. If you are a historian, profesional or amateure you will start to see simularities of actual events that took place during the war and the non-fictional events in this book. This did not bother me at all in fact it actually helped me visualize what I was reading about and the events that were taking place. At times I felt as if I was actually there experienceing the events. This book covers the broad spectrum of war and the emotions associated with it from the military/governmental aspect, to battle and the bound shared between men and even love and the will to survive. Like the title of my review, Okay U-boat fans this is a must read book and would even make a great movie in my opinion.The book is about a young decorated U-boat commander who gets a new assignment near wars end. This assignment is both a war mission and experiment. The new boat is like no other and military officials hope it is not to late to make a difference in delaying the end of the war so better surrender conditions can be established for the soldiers and people of Germany.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars With Honour in Battle, May 25, 2001

By 

Barbara Buhrer "bookworm" (Bayonet Point, Florida USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: With Honour in Battle (Paperback)

Arriving back to his base after an extended patrol, Captain Hans Kruger is hoping to rest. Instead he is assigned to a new experimental U-Boat. U-2317 is the first of its type, with a radical design, to be operational. It is a very advanced design but has problems with its turbines and fuel which run the risk of the power plant blowing up. Kruger is Germany's most highly decorated submarine commander still in sea duty. He has been given the job of delaying the end of the war to enable Germany to dictate surrender terms that will not fatally damage their country. Kruger will do his duty as he is a member of the Navy. He has no politics and has doubts about the conduct of many of the Nazis. He will do his utmost to sink as many of the enemies' naval vessels and shipping, but will have nothing to do with the Nazi atrocities. Since U2317 runs quieter and faster and can dive deeper than any previous submarines, Kruger's campaigns are extremely successful...so successful that the British Admiralty attributes the devastation to a wolf pack. It isn't until David Ralston escapes on the way to a German prison camp and returns to England to describe Kruger's sub that they realize the truth. Ralston had been rescued by Kruger when Kruger sank his ship, and so had the opportunity to observe the new submarine. A task force is assembled with Ralston in command. Its purpose is to seek and destroy U2317. This becomes a race to determie who is the hunter and who is the hunted. The culmination of the race has quite a twist. McDaniel has successfully evoked the spirit of the people and places during the last days of Third Reich. The characters are finely drawn with the dilemma of killing as a duty while deploring doing this. The action is suspenseful; the battles realistic. This is a well-written book. This is the best naval warfare book I have read in a long time. It is very reminiscent of the war novels of British novelist, Douglas Reeman...

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I couldn't put it down., January 15, 2002

By 

Ken Dunn (Charlotte, NC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: With Honour in Battle (Paperback)

This is a great book! It is the story of a German U-boat commander, his crew and his U-boat. If you like war stories, you'll love this one. The boat represents the next generation of submarines that would have been deployed if World War II had not ended when it did.

I especially like its technical and historical accuracy. It does an excellent job of describing the major events that dictated the outcome of the U-boat war. The historical facts are woven into a very compelling story of a U-boat commander and his crew. The important advantages this new U-boat has are carefully contrasted with the actual limitations of the U-boats that fought the war.

When you have read this novel you not only come away with a great story, you have learned a great deal about how that war was actually fought on all sides. The main character although fictional is a composite of the real U-boat commanders. The boat and the technical innovations that make it such a potent weapon were actually developed or on the drawing board at the end of the war. The tactics used in the story are those that would have been used with this boat. It is one of the "miracle" weapons Hitler told the German people would snatch victory from the allies. I found it fascinating to see just how good it was and how it would have been used. The story takes place at the end of the war so you don't get to see what counter measures the allies would have developed had the war continued but you can plainly see how damaging it would have been to the allies if enough of them could have been produced before the war ended.

Members of my family served in the Merchant Marine during this war. They were hunted by the U-boats but I still liked this book. I think that says a lot about the book.