As frequently happens with MMP books, I was delightfully surprised to see this latest title arrive in the mails. The naval war in the Adriatic is something about which I knew pretty much nothing. I only knew that the Austro-Hungarian Navy had submarines and that was about it.

Thanks to this latest book, I now know a great deal more. In fact, I was really surprised by the events that took place and how effective the Austro-Hungarian (A-H) submarine force was, and how totally ineffective their capital ships were. Basically, the big battleships and heavy cruisers stayed in port for the duration of the war. The theory was that a 'fleet in being' was better than one that was slowly destroyed by fleet actions.

The A-H navy was not large and the A-H industrial base was pretty weak and inefficient. It took forever for things as simple as submarines to be built and for damaged ships to be repaired. This was not helped by a lack of money to spend on such things.

A-H entered the war with small coastal submarines that held few men and few torpedoes. However, it was considered to be the elite force in their Navy. Officers and men were highly motivated and despite engines that fouled the interior and batteries that gave off gas, these small boats were more effective than any other vessels in the initial months and years of the war. Several submarines were on order from much more efficient German shipyards, but the start of the war had the Germans commandeer these boats for their own use. It was not until later that German boats were sent by rail to A-H as replacements and only after their use in open seas was found to be wanting.

Thanks to a lack of a convoy system during the early years, A-H submarines were able to sink quite a few cargo boats. Many of them were sailing vessels and many sunk using deck guns rather than torpedoes. Once ships started travelling in convoys, sinkings became harder to come by. Still, these slow subs managed to sink quite a few ships and escorts.

The author goes into great detail concerning submarine operations, which mostly took place in the Adriatic. Some later boats had the range to travel into the Mediterranean itself, but those ventures were few in number. German submarines also operated out of Austrian ports, using fake A-H serial numbers during these operations.

The book also covers the different types that were operated. This includes a considerable number of line drawings of the various classes and boats. We are also treated to a goodly number of period photos of these boats. These truly show how small these boats were. Also included are stats on the individual boats as well as a table of losses and warships sunk and damaged. The only thing I would add would be a map as few of us are knowledgeable about with the Adriatic.

In all, it is an outstanding look at an aspect of WWI of which few of us are aware. It makes for a superlative read and is a book to which I give my highest recommendation. Even if you do not like naval books, you will like this one.

February 2012

Review book courtesy of Mushroom Models Publications where you can order your copy. Australian readers can get theirs from Platypus Publications, and US readers can get theirs from Casemate Publishing.

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