The German Fleet at War, 1939-1945

by Vincent P. O'Hara

The German Fleet at War relates the little-known history of the Kriegsmarine's surface fleet with a focus on the sixty-nine surface naval battles fought by Germany's major warships against the large warships of the British, French, American, Polish, Soviet, Norwegian and Greek navies. It emphasizes operational details but also paints a broad overview of the naval war. The book addresses the lack of information about the specifics of naval engagements in World War II and provides a database of naval engagements for comparison and analysis, but unlike most reference works, it has a continuous narrative and a theme. The result is a unique overview of the German and Allied navies at war that provides new appreciation of their activities and accomplishments.

Genres: World War II, Nonfiction, Naval History, History

342 pages, Paperback

First published November 15, 2004

About the author

Vincent P. O'Hara is a noted naval historian and the author, co-author, or editor of eight books and many articles that have appeared in publications like Naval War College Review, Warship, Seaforth Naval Review, and Military History Quarterly. O'Hara was a winner of the Shrout Short Contest awarded by the University of California, Berkeley. Ossa is his first published work of fiction.

Reviews

[Sean Chick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay so the prose is dry and you can tell the editor sliced out some key sections but where else can you find out about the English Channel battles?

[Ali Salimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

" even with their quantitative and, later, their qualitative advantages, the British and Allied navies never completely defeated Germany’s surface fleet. The German navy dominated the Baltic Sea up to the very last days of the war. German shipping and warships plied the waters off Norway, and in the North, the Ligurian, and the Adriatic Seas. And, unlike in 1918, the morale of the Matrosen, the ordinary sailor, never broke. "
The book was highly informative .

[Gerald Churchill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a very good discussion of the range of tasks that Germany's surface fleet performed and the types of surface vessels that the Kriegsmarine employed. Other books have concentrated on the U-boat campaign and the exploits of its large surface ships such as the Bismarck, the Admiral Graf Spee, and the Scharnhorst. "The German Fleet at War, 1939-1945" points out the actions of Germany's light forces--its destroyers, torpedo boats, and minesweepers--in fighting Germany's naval war in the Arctic Ocean, the Norwegian Sea, the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, the English Channel, the French Atlantic coast, the Black Sea, and the Mediterranean.

My issues with the book are twofold. First is its structure. The constant movement from action gives the book a disjointed, snapshot feel. I would have preferred a structure that integrated the battles into the narrative more smoothly. The author has the right to structure his book as he sees fit, but I feel that I would have found the book a more enjoyable read (and for the most part, I did find it enjoyable) with a different structure.

Second is the failure to discuss the war cruises of many of Germany's commerce raiders, particularly its auxiliary cruisers. Perhaps this says something about the disjointedness that I mentioned earlier, but the careers of Germany's surface vessels were just as important as individual battles.

I quibble, however. Read the book, and get a good general sense of Germany's surface sea war.

[Jesse Callaghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting statistical analysis approach to Naval history.