Description

Throughout the Second World War, Hitler's U-boats and surface battleships - particularly the dreaded Bismarck and Tirpitz - were a constant threat to Allied shipping. They exacted a massive toll, despite being outnumbered by the Royal Navy. But the vital contribution of Hitler's naval bases, which constructed, supplied, maintained and protected the German fleet all over the world, is often neglected. Jak P. Mallmann Showell has spent over forty years researching the role played by these bases; he has interviewed hundreds of veterans, visited dozens of locations and has amassed a vast collection of photographs to form the most comprehensive and illuminating work on the subject to date. The planning and labor that went into the construction of Germany's network of naval bases and coastal batteries is remarkable, as is the degree of organization and discipline that induced their efficient operation. From utterly remote, unmanned positions consisting of little more than a hidden stock of supplies, to the immense naval complexes of Lorient, Kiel and Wilhemshaven, Mallmann Showell describes with fascinating detail the various functions and departments, how they were run and organized, and what it was like to live and work on a German base in wartime. He also details the anatomies of the many coastal artillery batteries and the manifold duties of the men of the naval artillery and infantry. Beautifully illustrated with over 200 previously unpublished photographs, Hitler's Naval Bases is, without question, the definitive book on this principal branch of the Kriegsmarine