It is an interesting thing about conflicts. To many of us, when we think of certain aspects of them, we tend to focus on only one side of the story. Not only that, but our focus can change during the playing out of events.

Take the war at sea during WWII. When one thinks of the European theater, the part of the conflict that sticks in our minds is that of U-boats. Not the surface actions, not the invasions, but the war-long, day to day struggle of commerce and the submarine.

It is also true to say that the greatest percentage of loss of life of any German combat arm was that which was suffered by the submariner. Roughly 80% of those who went to sea in U-boats did not return. Yet even at the very end of the war, men were still volunteering to go into battle in these boats.

It is safe to say that the U-boatwaffe was probably the least political part of the German military. The head of the Navy made sure of this and aggressively kept Nazis out of his boats. This additional freedom allowed his commanders to pursue their missions without an additional cloud over their heads.

Gordon Williamson is a writer of note who has done a masterful job of putting together the entire German submarine effort into one book. He covers the service from the end of WWI to the end of WWII in logical steps, taking us on a journey that covers the men, the equipment, and the bases from which the U-boats sailed. We also learn of the various successes and failures; those new ideas that worked and the ones that caused problems. In a war as technological as was WWII, it was a constant effort to try to stay one step ahead of the enemy. The pendulum of success often swung back and forth with great rapidity. Eventually, it was overwhelming numbers on one side that sealed the fate of the U-boat fleet.

Full of quality period photographs, superb art work and maps, Wolfpack is a riveting and superbly written book that you really need to have on your shelves.

March 2006

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