Coming Soon. Six Years Submarine Missions by Johannes Spiess, translated, annotated and expanded edition

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aboukir, convoy, cressy, hawke, hogue, Spiess, torpedoes., U-9, u-boats, U9, Weddigen, ww1

The classic account of the 1912-1918 German Submarine Service; the Memoirs of Johannes Spiess served the entire war in U-boats and sank over 42 Allied ships. Spiess served as executive officer to Otto Weddigen on the U9 and was present at the often recounted sinking of the British cruisers Aboukir, Hogue and Cressy. (and Hawke) Later a submarine commander he served in the North Sea during the 1915 Restricted Submarine Phase, 1915-1916 in the Baltic Sea, 1917 -1918 The English Channel, Irish Sea and North Sea during the Unrestricted Submarine Phase(and the experienced heightened Entente Anti-Submarine efforts) and later was a key actor in suppressing the initial German Naval Mutinies in 1918. He also initiated the only confirmed landing of German military personal on British shores.

Spiess sank 42 ships, the majority may all be termed “hard gainers” as with few exception they were when his own boat was submerged with constricted visibility, against escorted targets and not without danger to his boat in the form of immediate counter attack. His most notable sinking was an armed merchant cruiser with no less than eleven escorts.

His memoirs have been frequently quoted with respect to the immediate pre-war period, the sinking of Aboukir, Hogue and Cressy, and the near torpedoing of mutinous German dreadnoughts in 1918. His work is repeatedly referenced in the finest account of the German submarine war by authors Gibson and Prendergast in their work by the same title. “The German Submarine War 1914-1918”

The work is expanded with relevant appendices and annotated throughout by the editor with identification of vessels attacked and attacking. The KTB (Kriegtagsbuch or War Diary) for each submarine under his command. U9 and U19, was consulted to confirm events as were German Official Histories. Relevant Entente Official Histories, primary records and secondary works feature as corroborating evidence from the other side. An example being of the various British and Russian submarines and surface escorts, even airships, encountered in various missions.

Original German Edition.

Translated and annotated edition with War Patrol entries and maps and Allied after action report. 300+ pages. Illustrated.

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At the Distant Meridian: Memoirs of a participant in the Spanish Civil War

Nikolai Gerasimovich Kuznetsov, (1904-1974), created an extraordinary career in eventful times. Joining the navy during the Russian Civil War in 1919 he rose to his final and highest rank in 1955, as Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union. He accumulated considerable combat, administrative and political experience in his career. He authored a number of works relating to his life and profession. For the purposes of this work, Kuznetsov is the most important non-Spanish naval voice from the Spanish Civil War. N.G. Kuznetsov served as senior naval advisor to the Republican Navy during his tenure in Spain. His professional judgments are vivid in detail and provide an extraordinary view into the situation behind Republican lines relating to both purely military decisions and political interests in naval affairs. Naval aspects of the Spanish Civil War have had no coverage in English language works. This highly regarded memoir fills in a needed area. In his memoir we see the shaping of the Spanish navy as it grapples with the loss of most of the officer corps at the onset of revolution. Kuznetsov writes for his Russian audience and provides details regarding Soviet advisors in other military professions-notably aviators and tankers. The memoir is a straightforward translation of his Russian text without deletions. Kuznetsov’s style is matter of fact with an occasional humor or introspective aspect. He is rather modest of his own achievements which were considerable and earned him considerable standing among the Spaniards he came into contact with. (His nickname was “He who commands” among the Spanish) The illustrations are those included in the original work.

Forthcoming book. Italian Submariner World War Two memoir

During the Second World War thirty-two Italian submarines participated, alongside German U-Boats, in the battle of the Atlantic starting from their Betasom base in Bordeaux, they fought against the allied fleets pushing themselves to the American coasts. Antonio Maronari was a sergeant signaller aboard one of those submarines, Enrico Tazzoli, and in this volume he reconstructs the forgotten epic of the clashes that took place in the middle of the ocean. Retracing the actions of war that involved Tazzoli and his crew, the author tells us directly about the long hours of waiting and pursuit underwater, the tension during the battles fought in a sea often upset by storms, joy for the victories and the desperation to discover that “a submarine has not returned to base”. Through the voices of sailors and officers, Maronari takes us into the heart of the submarine, guiding us to the discovery of an emblematic story to understand the vicissitudes of the protagonists who took part in the battle of the Atlantic.

One of the finest World War Two submarine memoirs and the available in English for the first time. A fitting selection for any WW2 or naval library.

Actual copies of the various books published

U-Boats Westward! My Voyages to England 1914-1918

Captain Ernst Hashagen describes in this book his experiences as a submarine officer and commander from 1915 to 1918 in various theaters of war- North Sea, Irish Sea, Western Approaches, English Channel and Bay of Biscay. The result is an enthralling work on the horrors of war and at the same time the fascination of the then new technology.

 

The Last Cruise of the Majestic

The Last Cruise of the Majestic is a compelling addition Great War literature. It is a rare book both in terms of quantity printed and content. John George Cowie (b.1876) served twelve years in the Royal Navy 1891-1904, as an enlisted sailor then in the Coast Guards prior to being recalled to active duty in 1914. His log-books provide considerable detail into the key events of naval aspects of the ill-fated Dardanelles operation from the point of view of a senior enlisted man or Other Ranks in the peculiar terminology of the Royal Navy of the day. Cowie details the initial preparation for bombardment duty, the travails of the fleet assembled at the Dardanelles to include his eyewitness account of the loss of six battleships and the damages suffered to numerous others. No doubt adding to factual occurrences in Cowie’s log-books is the vivid text provided by the amazing George Goodchild, who was at the nascent stage of his literary career. The source material is presented in a detailed and engrossing manner. Particularly when contrasting the pre-combat enthusiasm of the sailors being ground under as stress, death and defeat create an atmosphere of impending doom. A rarity in wartime naval literature, the text deals extensively, factually and sympathetically with cases of shellshock or stress induced conduct as we would describe it a century later. Also, unlike wartime literature which to the modern mind reads quaint or affected, the majority of the text still stands with today’s vernacular.

 

Submarine Warfare, 1914-1918

Vice Admiral Andreas Michelsen’s work details the submarine war as experienced by a senior officer, (Commander of Submarines from 1917 on), responsible for implementing the orders and policies created by those far removed from actual combat conditions. As a professional military man he evaluates and critiques from the point of view of naval officer, and not a statesman or diplomat. Michelsen served ably in his senior command roles. He commanded the torpedo boat raids on The Dover Patrol when leader of torpedoboats. He brought the same exacting nature in his tenure as commander of submarines. The detail in the text is rigorous as are the views. The chaotic workings of naval aspects of German ware making policy are detailed. He delves into the condition of submarine warfare as understood prior to the war, commencement and the ebb and flow of policy as the war progressed. The military accomplishments and fighting tactics of German submarines, his view of Allied anti-submarine efforts, the growth and training of the submarine branch, and the reasons for failing to achieve victory. The work is a polemic as Michelsen grapples with Germany’s defeat and virtual destruction of his navy and overwhelming changes occurring to Germany. It is a valuable work; having been translated by Allied Naval Intelligence for study by professionals. A fitting title for inclusion in the Great War at Sea series. Footnotes have been added to clarify information which is now obscure and correct errors due to contemporary research.

Two Lone Ships: Goeben & Breslau. George Kopp, Arthur Chambers (translator)

Reprint of scarce memoir by Goeben’s radio operator depicting war in the Black Sea. Russian born German naval reservist Georg Kopp found himself at the centre of maneuvers executed by the German battlecruiser Goeben and cruiser consort Breslau. Thanks to his fluency in Russian he was assigned to the wireless office where he was present to interpret all naval intelligence affecting German naval movements and create a signals deception program aimed at the Russians as both navies maneuver in the Black Sea attempting to trap and outfox each other. The first few chapters provide the German view of the famous dash of both ships away from pursuing British naval forces and through the Mediterranean prior to finding succor in Turkish waters. A little known yet informative memoir of the Great War at Sea.

Facsimile reprint of out of print work.

P.228 pages in the reprint. Does not include maps or photographs contained in the original.

 

 

 

Georg Kopp. (1837-1914)

Arthur Chambers (1869-1934)

Celestino Corraliza (Editor)

Available NOW. V188 My Torpedoboat War Patrols By Friederich von Callissen, Kapitänleutnant and Commander. Translated, annotated and expanded.

A rare opportunity to view a German Torpedo boat commander’s view of the war, 1914-1915. Lt. Callissen recounts his immediate pre and early war experience commanding torpedo boat V188  to include the Heligoland Bight action, the Whitby and Hartlepool bombardments, the routines and dangers of patrols and sorties in the Heligoland Bight to finally include his account of being torpedoed by H.M. submarine E.16. Assigned to command torpedoboat V191, Callisen recounts his experiences in the Baltic in later 1915 culminating in the double sinking of V191 and the cruiser S.M.S Breman to Russian mines.

The account is annotated with reports drawng from British, German and Russian archives to include the KTB of the torpedo boat flotilla, Callissen’s loss report, E.16 attack report and a Russian account of the fateful minelaying and numerous other footnotes clarifying and identifying relevant actions in the book.

The only published account of a German torpedoboat officer. V188 is highly regarded among German war literature researchers for its veracity and straightforward descriptions of active service. $19.99

 

Original German Edition

 

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Life Life 1/350 Yamato

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1/200 Heller Fauvette

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1893 steam yactht, 1900 steam yacht, Heller Fauvette 1/200