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Author: Bernard Edwards
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1844684865
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 295
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Book Description
he Kaisers determination to starve Britain into surrender and the development of his Navy and the U-boats in particular meant that Britains merchant navy was in the front line throughout the Great War.This book charts the progress of the war at sea which began with the sinking of the oil tanker San Wilfrido off Cuxhaven only eight hours after the official declaration of war. The merchantman Glitra was the first victim of a German U-boat (U–17) on 20 October 1914 she was to be joined by many, many more. As the war on land intensified so the naval struggle grew ever more bitter. As vividly described there were many incidents of atrocious behavior, amounting to war crimes, by the attackers against their hapless victims; sinking of lifeboats, machine-gunning of survivors, attacks without any warning designed to cause maximum casualties.We learn of instances where the weak gallantly fought back such as the duel between Captain Bissett-Smiths Otaki (with one gun) and the heavily armed German surface raider Mwe. Although he went down with his ship, Captain Smith was posthumously awarded the VC, and remains the only merchant seaman so honored.War under the Red Ensign contains many inspiring and shocking accounts of war at sea and is a gripping read.
Author: Bernard Edwards
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1844684865
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 295
Get Book Here
Book Description
he Kaisers determination to starve Britain into surrender and the development of his Navy and the U-boats in particular meant that Britains merchant navy was in the front line throughout the Great War.This book charts the progress of the war at sea which began with the sinking of the oil tanker San Wilfrido off Cuxhaven only eight hours after the official declaration of war. The merchantman Glitra was the first victim of a German U-boat (U–17) on 20 October 1914 she was to be joined by many, many more. As the war on land intensified so the naval struggle grew ever more bitter. As vividly described there were many incidents of atrocious behavior, amounting to war crimes, by the attackers against their hapless victims; sinking of lifeboats, machine-gunning of survivors, attacks without any warning designed to cause maximum casualties.We learn of instances where the weak gallantly fought back such as the duel between Captain Bissett-Smiths Otaki (with one gun) and the heavily armed German surface raider Mwe. Although he went down with his ship, Captain Smith was posthumously awarded the VC, and remains the only merchant seaman so honored.War under the Red Ensign contains many inspiring and shocking accounts of war at sea and is a gripping read.
Author: Paul Ward
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Ltd
ISBN: 9780861932399
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 246
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Book Description
It is generally assumed that the language of patriotism and national identity belongs to the political right, but the emergence of socialism in the 1880s shows clearly that the left also drew on such ideas in its formative years to legitimate a particular form of socialism, one presented as a restoration of an English past lost to industrial capitalism. The First World War dealt a severe blow to this radical patriotism: though the anti-war left continued to use radical patriotic language in the early years, the war degraded patriotism generally, while the Russian Revolution gave internationalism a new focus, and also threatened the dominant concept of British socialism. Moderate Labour sought to prove their fitness to govern, and concentrated on the `national interest' rather than oppositional Englishness, while the left of the movement looked to Soviet Russia rather than the English past for models for a future socialist society. PAUL WARD is lecturer in Modern British History at Royal Holloway, University of London, and Visiting Lecturer at the University of Westminster.
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Armed Forces
Languages : en
Pages : 854
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Book Description
Author: Bernard Edwards
Publisher: Pen and Sword Maritime
ISBN: 139904222X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 215
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Book Description
The war years 1939 – 1945 were the most perilous in the long history of the British Merchant Navy. The figures speak for themselves. With 2,535 ships sunk and 36,749 merchant seamen lost, the proportional casualty rate was higher than any branch of the Armed Forces except for Bomber Command. The danger to the lightly armed merchant ships came from enemy air attacks, surface warships, raiders and, of course submarines. Prisoners were seldom taken so the crews of stricken vessels had to fend for themselves. Those who survived enemy action faced death by drowning, exposure and lack of food and water. Compiled mainly from experiences related direct to the author, this inspiring book draws on first-hand accounts of the lucky few who survived. With extraordinary honesty and modesty their stories describe the events leading up to the enemy attack, the actions and the aftermath. Readers will be struck by the courage and fortitude of these men who often suffered extreme hardship and privation. Too many died before reaching land or being rescued. These men are without doubt the unsung heroes of the Second World War and this fine book is an overdue recognition of their sacrifices and courage.
Author: Bernard Edwards
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1844689778
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 229
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Book Description
The capture by the German surface raider Atlantis of the British steamer City of Baghdads secret code books in July 1940 enabled the Nazis to de-cypher Admiralty convoy plans with deadly effect. This book describes the resulting appalling Allied losses suffered by four convoys during the Autumn of 1940. Admiral Donetz, aware of the movements of the Allied convoys, marshaled as many of his U-boats as possible. The first convoy, SC2, consisting of 53 merchant men was attacked in early September by four U-boats. Due to poor weather only five ships were lost. Shortly after HX72, with 41 ships, sailing from Nova Scotia, lost eleven ships to five Type VIIC U-boats. Top Aces Otto Kretschremer and Joachim Schepke, who penetrated inside the columns, accounted for nine. No less than nine U-boats attacked SC7 in October 1940. Of 35 merchant men a staggering 20 were lost. HX79 also fared terribly despite being a fast convoy with ten escorts, losing twelve ships. In total forty-eight merchant men were sunk and seven more damaged without any U-boat losses at all. The Wolf Packs Gather is an authoritative account of the darkest hours of the War in the Atlantic. It describes not only the German tactics but the inadequacies of what few escorts there were and the heartbreaking loss of defenseless life.
Author: Bernard Edwards
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473840759
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 358
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Book Description
On 17 September 1942 Admiral Karl Donitz, C-in-C U-boats, issued the following directive:To all Commanders - 'All attempts to rescue members of ships sunk, therefore also fishing out swimmers and putting them into lifeboats, righting capsized lifeboats, handing out provisions and water, have to cease. Rescue contradicts the most fundamental demands of war for the annihilation of enemy ships and crews'.This order ended what had hitherto been a war in which the opposing factions treated each other with a certain respect, seaman to seaman, showing mercy where mercy was due. It also marked the point at which the Battle of the Atlantic became a dirty war of attrition, with the U-boats hunting in packs snarling and snapping at the heels of the hard-pressed convoys. Ships began to go down like corn before the reaper, men were dying in their hundreds in the cold grey waters of the great ocean. This was a battle without quarter. A battle the U-boats would have won had it not been for the grit and determination of the convoy escorts and the unflagging resilience of the men who manned the vulnerable merchant ships.This book faithfully records the progress of the Battle of the Atlantic, which began within hours of the declaration of war on 3 September 1939 and continued without let-up until the last torpedo was fired on the night of 7 May 1945, just one hour before Germany surrendered. The story is told from both sides of the periscope.
Author: Bernard Edwards
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473887100
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 247
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Book Description
In November 1942, Britain and America launched Operation TORCH, the ambitious invasion of French North Africa.To convey 70,000 troops and their equipment required 600 merchant ships crossing the U-boat infested North Atlantic. The need for their protection meant withdrawing escorts from the routine convoys. Amongst those left without adequate defence were RB 1 and SC 107, both eastbound from America, and SL 125, northbound from Freetown. All three were at sea at the same time as the TORCH convoys.
Author: Bernard Edwards
Publisher: Pen and Sword Maritime
ISBN: 1399097873
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 232
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Book Description
The British Merchant Navy dominated the world trade routes in the years leading up to the Second World War. The star players of the fleet were the cargo liners, faster and larger than the tramps and offering limited passenger accommodation. On the outbreak of war these cargo liners became crucial to the nation’s survival using their speed and expertise to evade Nazi warships, raiders and U-boats. Initially operating alone, but increasingly relying on Royal Navy protected convoys, these key elements of the Merchant Navy plied the oceans and seas despite mounting losses, throughout the war years. This superbly researched book describes numerous dramatic incidents. Some ended in disaster such as the New Zealand Shipping Company’s Turakina which was sunk after a running battle with the German raider Orion. Others were triumphs for example Operation Substance when six fast cargo liners succeeded against all the odds in reaching besieged Malta with vital supplies. The common denominations in all these historic voyages were the courage and skilled seamanship of the Merchant Navy crews. As Running The Gauntlet vividly illustrates, their contribution to victory, too long overlooked, cannot be overstated.
Author: Germany. Auswärtiges Amt
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Germany
Languages : en
Pages : 1076
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Book Description
Author: Bernard Edwards
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 147389607X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 255
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Book Description
On the outbreak of war in 1939 Admiral Donitzs U-boat flotillas consisted of some thirty U-boats fully operational, with only six to eight at sea at any one time. Their activities were restricted mainly to the North Sea and British coastal waters. When France fell in the summer of 1940, the ports in the Bay of Biscay gave direct access to the Atlantic, and the ability to extend their reach even to. The Royal Navy was unable to escort convoys much beyond the Western Approaches. In a short time, the Allies were losing 500,000 tons of shipping a month, every month. Donitz now looked over the far horizons, Americas Eastern Seaboard, the coasts of Africa, and the Mediterranean, where Allied merchantmen habitually sailed alone and unprotected. There was a rich harvest to be gathered in by the long range U-boats, the silent hunter-killers, mostly operating alone. This book tells their story.
