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The Soviets as Naval Opponents, 1941-1945

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The author, Vice-Admiral Friedrich Ruge, served in the German navy from 1914 through 1945, then again when it was reborn in 1955. Hence, from his planning of various German naval operations during World War II and then as an intelligence officer researching the Soviet navy during the 1950s, Ruge has the expertise to write on this matter. As the naval attache to Fieldmarshall Rommel, Ruge presented his ideas to Rommel as to how to stymie Allied ships before they landed at Normandy in June 1944. He writes about the Soviet naval ops in the Baltic, in the Black Sea, and in the Northern Theater. He details the operations, dates and discusses specific Soviet submarines and their successes and failures against German convoys and other Axis shipping. Briefly, Ruge discusses how American "Lend Lease" ships to the Russians influenced the Russian fleet. He discusses the effectiveness of Soviet air-attack techniques against German ships. He laments the many failures of the Germans in protecting their ships that attempted to evacuate German civilians who were fleeing from Soviet forces late in the war. As in his letters to me during the late 1960s, Ruge's book is a rather "dry" presentation of the strategic issues and ship data, with few comments as to how individuals experienced the various naval engagements. This book presents the German naval view of the limitations of the Soviet fleet during World War II.