Soldiers Lost at Sea: A Chronicle of Troopship Disasters in Wartime [Hardcover]

James E. Wise (Author), Scott Baron (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2003

Heroism, tragedy, devotion to duty and scandal are just a few of the ingredients that make up this dramatic first-time account of troopship losses in wartime. International in scope, it offers a compilation of stories about historic troopship disasters caused by torpedoes, aerial attacks, mines, surface fire, foul weather, friendly fire, and poor planning by military decision makers. Some are well known like the explosion of the steamship Sultana on the Mississippi while transporting 2,000 Union soldiers home from Confederate prisons. Others, like, the June 1945 sinking of the Japanese cruiser Ashigara by a British submarine that resulted in the loss of 800 Japanese soldiers, are little known. An extraordinary few far surpass the authors criteria for selection of disasters with high troop loss and the involvement of heroic acts. Among the most memorable is the 1851 sinking of the British frigate Birkenhead with some 600 soldiers and their wives and children aboard Lacking sufficient lifeboats, the men stood steady in their ranks on deck as the ship went down. Board of Inquiry hearings, action reports survivor debriefings, and personal correspondence collected from archives in Germany, Italy, Russia, Australia, Britain, and the United States tell the story of some fifty vessels that went down. Many of these disasters, the authors explain, were kept secret for decades. An introductory chapter provides an overview of troop losses at sea beginning with the age of galley warfare, but the majority of the book focuses on losses of World War II Allied and Axis ships followed by incidents from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Wise and Baron fill their book with fascinating bits of maritime history...compelling reading." -- The Northern Mariner, October 2003

About the Author

James E. Wise Jr., a former naval aviator and intelligence specialist, is the coauthor of many books published by the Naval Institute Press, including Shooting the War and International Stars at War, which was also written with Scott Baron. Baron is the author of a collection of biographies of uncommon Americans.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Naval Inst Pr (November 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591149665
• ISBN-13: 978-1591149668
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,345,239 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Ultimately Saddening Litany of Troopship Disasters!, March 4, 2009

By 

Michael OConnor "Wordsmith" (Wausau, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Soldiers Lost at Sea: A Chronicle of Troopship Disasters in Wartime (Hardcover)

Since the time of the Pharaohs, troopships have ferried soldiers to war zones. Not all the ships made it safely...as recounted in SOLDIERS LOST AT SEA, James Wise and Scott Baron's compelling, horrifying and ultimately distressful summary of troopship disasters.

After surveying the historic evolution of the troopship, Wise and Baron describe 50 of the famous troopship disasters of the last 150 years. The names of many of these ships will resonate with anyone familiar with naval lore: Birkenhead, Sultana, Lancastria, Leopoldville and Wilhelm Gustloff.

Most were lost to torpedoes; a few to mines, faulty engines, bombs, glider bombs, etc. Casualties were often appalling: 2,300 on Sultana; 9,000 on Wilhelm Gustloff, many of whom were civilians; 1,700+ on Arisan Maru, most of which were American POWs being shipped to Japan; and 445 on Birkenhead.

While many of the sinkings yielded some survivors, others left no one to tell the tale. The Liberty ship Paul Hamilton, for example, was carrying 658 Army and Air Force personnel on 20 April 1944 when a German glider bomb hit the ship, which was also carrying ammunition. All died instantly along with the crew of 76. One man survived the sinking of the liner Ceramic in November 1942 but 655 crewmen, military personnel and civilians did not. In some cases, details of the sinkings were totally censored with details only being released 40 years later.

SOLDIERS LOST AT SEA certainly presents a side of warfare seldom described before. If anyone believes war is glorious, they should read this book. Interestingly enough, Wise and Baron only covered about 50 troopship sinkings; another 50 are listed in an appendix! SOLDIERS LOST AT SEA is one engrossing read. Recommended.

4.0 out of 5 stars WORLD WAR TWO IN PERSPECTIVE, October 19, 2011

By 

Severin Olson (Hyattsville, Maryland United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Soldiers Lost at Sea: A Chronicle of Troopship Disasters in Wartime (Hardcover)

Starting with the Birkenhead sinking of the 1850's, publication goes on to include the Sultana explosion from the Civil War and then describes World War I losses, where the submarine first played a role. A small chapter at the end covers Korea, Vietnam and the Falklands conflict, a period with no sinkings save the Argentine Belgrano.

The bulk of the book focuses on the Second World War and puts that conflict in perspective. Soldiers by the thousands perished from all over the globe, particularly in the North Atlantic. The authors do a wonderful job of describing this salt water slaughter house, telling us the fate not only of the troop ships themselves but of the U-boats that sank them. It seems amazing anyone got across the ocean in those days.

The only problem here is that the exlusive inclusion of troop ships sinkings leaves so many other wartime sinkings out. Adding a few other categories would have given the reader an even greater picture of war at sea and its horrors.