Black Flag: The Surrender of Germany's U-Boat Forces - Hardcover

Paterson, Lawrence

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0760337543 ISBN 13: 9780760337547

Publisher: Zenith Pr, 2009

Synopsis

On the eve of Germany's surrender in May 1945, Grossadmiral Karl Dönitz commanded thousands of loyal and active men of the U-boat service. Still fully armed and unbroken in morale, enclaves of these men occupied bases stretching from Norway to France, where cadres of Uboat men fought on in ports that defied besieging Allied troops to the last. At sea U-boats still operated on a war footing around Britain, the coasts of the United States and as far as Malaya.

Following the agreement to surrender, these large formations needed to be disarmed – often by markedly inferior forces – and the boats at sea located and escorted into the harbours of their erstwhile enemies. Neither side knew entirely what to expect, and many of the encounters were tense; in some cases there were unsavoury incidents, and stories of worse. For many Allied personnel it was their first glimpse of the dreaded U-boat menace and both sides were forced to exercise considerable restraint to avoid compromising the terms of Germany's surrender.

One of the last but most dramatic acts of the naval war, the story of how the surrender was handled has never been treated at length before. This book uncovers much new material about the process itself and the ruthless aftermath for both the crews and their boats.
 

About this title

About the Author:

LAWRENCE PATERSON has written ten books on various aspects of the U-boat war, most recently Dönitz’s Last Gamble, published by Seaforth UK) in 2008.

Review:

World War II Forum“In Black Flag Lawrence Paterson presents the complete story of the final days of the U-Boats and how their surrender was accomplished....Patterson’s research has been thorough and meticulous. He reports on the experiences of dozens of U-boats and what they experienced at the time they were surrendered and of whether their crews were well treated or abused....Paterson also addresses the destruction of the German U-boat fleet following the war and the disposition of the few U-boats that were not scuttled.
”Black Flag is a very readable account of the final days of Germany’s U-Boat fleet and students of the Kriegsmarine and submarine warfare, in general, will certainly want to add it to their collections. Novice readers, however, may find the level of detail overwhelming and should consider developing a stronger knowledge base before delving into this excellent study of the surrender of the undefeated German submarine navy as World War II drew to a close.”

Book News“As Germany surrendered to the Allies in May of 1945, there were still thousands of Germans manning the dreaded U-boats operating off the coasts of Europe, the United States, and even as far away as Malaya. Managing the surrender of these forces without compromising the terms of the German surrender required restraint on both sides, although a number of unfortunate incidents nevertheless occurred. This volume describes the process of the surrender at sea and on land and discusses the fates of the U-boat crews and officers after their surrender.”

Stevo’s Book Reviews on the Internet“On the eve of Germany's surrender in May 1945, Grossadmiral Karl Dönitz commanded thousands of loyal and active men of the U-boat service. Still fully armed and unbroken in morale, enclaves of these men occupied bases stretching from Norway to France, where cadres of Uboat men fought on in ports that defied besieging Allied troops to the last. At sea U-boats still operated on a war footing around Britain, the coasts of the United States and as far as Malaya. Following the agreement to surrender, these large formations needed to be disarmed – often by markedly inferior forces – and the boats at sea located and escorted into the harbors of their erstwhile enemies. Neither side knew entirely what to expect, and many of the encounters were tense; in some cases there were unsavory incidents, and stories of worse. For many Allied personnel it was their first glimpse of the dreaded U-boat menace and both sides were forced to exercise considerable restraint to avoid compromising the terms of Germany's surrender. One of the last but most dramatic acts of the naval war, the story of how the surrender was handled has never been treated at length before. This book uncovers much new material about the process itself and the ruthless aftermath for both the crews and their boats.”

About this edition

• Publisher: Zenith Pr
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0760337543
• ISBN 13: 9780760337547
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 196