ePub The German Fleet at War; 1939-1945 by Vincent P. O'Hara in History

Review

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Excellent!! German navy did more than just send out the Bismarck and UBoats; finally a great book that helps prove that!By Jonathan MattsonI can not believe I have not left a review for this book yet. I absolutely love this book. I had never read anything by Vincent Ohara before – not sure if he was even published before this book – but to finally read a book that makes the point that the German navy had engagements BESIDES the Bismarck was a pleasure. Even though I had and still have a huge pile of books that I mean to read; this book was read right away.As for the actual book itself; I love the style. You get a very systematic method of covering all surface engagements along with a simple but effective map. You can easily compare the ships that took part in each engagement and the results of the engagement. While many people may consider some of the fights to be relatively minor fights between minor naval vessels; I think it all adds up to paint a picture of a german navy that was more than just a UBoats and Capital ships trying to sink merchant vessels.Now if only Mr Ohara would write a nice history like this about the German S Boats during the second world war. I’m dying to find a nice operational history of them!1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Good summary of Germany's surface sea warBy Gerald ChurchillThis 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.4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Some missing in actionBy Tony CThis book is an interesting scorecard of most of Germany's surface fleet actions in WW2.Some well known conflicts are not recorded; as presumably they don't meet the author's criteria. Specifically; no details are provided for either of the actions with Rawalpindi or Jervis Bay; although both vessels were in effect naval ships.A major gap for me was also the small attention given to convoy PQ17; against which the Kriegsmarine assembled it's greatest concentration of surface firepower; including the Tirpitz.I found the action scorecards useful; but would have liked a fuller explanation for some items; such as Gun Factor of each vessel;and in some cases a rationale for the damage assessment .This book is good on tactical detail of many smaller firefights; but doesn't attempt to provide much strategic linkage either between conflicts in the same theatre; or to events in the war as a whole.Although again outside intended scope; some discussion or at least tabulation of the surface fleet performance against commerce would add to the analysis. Afterer all; some of the merchant ships were armed; and attempted to fend off attacks.Having said this; an intriguing account; and worth the price for those interested in this aspect of the 1939-1945 conflict.