Customer Reviews

U-Boat Commander: A Periscope View of the Battle of the Atlantic

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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This book about the experiences of Peter Cremer and his Unterseeboot (U-boat) U-333, also known as the "Three Little Fishes" because of his conning tower crest of three little fish, reads fairly easily, and will impress the submarine and naval history reader as well as anyone seeking interesting reading of any kind with U-333's amazing exploits. It is testimony to the daring and courage of the U-boats commanders and crews who attempted to make a difference just as our own American sub commanders and crews did in the Pacific against the Japanese Merchant Marine. Definitely worth reading. Some amazing original wartime photographs of U-333's survival of a ramming by an American tanker off Florida as well.

This is the way his crew referred to Peter Cremer, and for good reason. When all his contemporary U-boat commander's were going missing in the Atlantic, Cremer kept bringing his boat and his men home. This was no easy feat as the reader will clearly see upon reading this excellent and informative book. In fact many times his U-boat, its crew and himself included often bore the severe scars gained while pulling life out of the seemingly unavoidable clutch that death had on them.

Of 40,000 men serving in the U-boat Arm from 1939-45 30,000 were lost at sea. Higher then any other arm of any participating nation. Yet there morale and conviction never failed. This book gives you a glimpse of the courage it took for those men to go out time and again, after injury, suffering and the eventual realization that despite their efforts and sacrafices they could not prevail. They could merely buy time that in the end ran out like the luck of so many of there comrades.

This is not just a history of the Man and Boat but also reviews the events from both sides to illuminate how the initiative changed and why. You will leave with a better understanding of the Battle of the Atlantic and a respect for a worthy adversary.

This is a first hand personal history of a famous WW2 U-Boat commander, the only one to survive service from the early war years. Cremer provides a candid, readable record of his service, from his time as an officer on destroyers in Norway, his transfer to U-Boats summer 1940, and successful cruises followed progressively more fruitless campaigns. It concludes with a brief command of a new revolutionary XXI boat, it's loss, and his command of Großadmiral Dönitz's personal guard in May 1945.

The author provides a valuable account of increasing technological inequities encountered through the years (increased certainty of detection and destruction), and later cruises without kills but replete only in narrow escapes.

The edition I read (Naval Institute Press, Cloth Bound, 1985) includes a an appendix ("German U-Boat Casualties in WW2") that lists the fate of each U-Boat in service: it's a staggering tabulation of `heroism' and/or suicidal persuasion.

Highly recommended.

I consider this book to be rather better than Bucheim's "Das Boot" (although that movie was excellent)...Cremer's account is very readable, in a more straightforward way, to me. He was a true submariner - Bucheim was not (he was a military journalist). And Cremer remained in the naval industry after the war if I'm not mistaken...I'm not certain which book was written first, but obviously both were written some time after the war so one must wonder how different they would have been had they been written sooner. Perspective changes with time)...Bottom Line: I highly recommend Cremer's book.

I bought this book used In (Quote= Very Good Used Condition ) And I could have got a better copy at a used book store. It looked like it has rode in the trunk of a car for a few years -.- Other than that it is a great book a must read.

The only reason I gave it 5 stars is because it it a great read.

As far as the condition it was sent very crapy.

a direct quote from the book describing the U-boat crews,"Even in times of the most terrible defeat they preserved their cohesion and discipline.They endured long patrols under the most dangerous conditions and great privations.They were always ready to fight on,even with the heaviest losses.To the end of the war their spirit was unbroken.From watching the movie Das Boot,you get a really different picture of the crew morale aboard a German U-boat,especially after 1943,when the hunters became the hunted.Bucheims crew in his works remind one of the anti-war peaceniks of the 1960's.I have often wondered if his crew reflected more the Peace Movement of the 60's and early 70's since this is when he wrote his books.It seems Bucheim may have been trying to relate the experiences of the U-boatmen of WW2 to a new generation,but did he overstep his boundaries.Alot of WW2 German sailors believed he did,other endorsed Bucheim reluctantly.On the other hand a person could say that books like Cremer's are trying to apologize to the families of the men lost and to say anything critical at all would be a dishonor to the dead.From the pictures of the U-boatmen sometimes you can almost see a hopeless look in their eyes despite all the smiles.Remember a Captain is supposed to keep morale high at all costs,so his account might be a little(or alot) biased.Bucheim's account can be like a breath of fresh air,--at last some human traits we all can identify with--resentment at being used instead of the"Yavoh mein Capitan"of the lap doggie.

I'm just going to come out and say it, that, I found "U-boat Commander" a much better book than "Iron Coffins". There is much more tactical information, and Cremer served not only as a U-boat Commander, but also on Doenitz's staff.

Cremer, a KC winner, talks about the different types of torpedoes, and the technology used by both sides in the Battle of the Atlantic. Although, he heavily draws on Doenitz's memoir as a source, I think it does give an honest view of the battle of the Atlantic.

Interstingly, Cremer comes across as much less of a crybaby than Werner. I think Werner had "throat problems".