One of the last unchronicled areas of World War II naval history. Gripping stories of 'against all odds' operations. Well-known author with very successful previous book. As the Third Reich headed for its inevitable destruction, German ingenuity in the naval field turned to unconventional weapons - midget submarines, radio-controlled explosive boats, and various forms of underwater sabotage. Inspired by Italian, and later British successes with human torpedoes and X-Craft, the Germans set up an organisation called ...
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One of the last unchronicled areas of World War II naval history. Gripping stories of 'against all odds' operations. Well-known author with very successful previous book. As the Third Reich headed for its inevitable destruction, German ingenuity in the naval field turned to unconventional weapons - midget submarines, radio-controlled explosive boats, and various forms of underwater sabotage. Inspired by Italian, and later British successes with human torpedoes and X-Craft, the Germans set up an organisation called Kleinkampfverbande ('Small Battle Units'). Utilising an unusual range of devices, some barely beyond the experimental stage, this formation was unique in drawing its personnel from the Navy, regular Army and Waffen SS. Originally envisaged as an all-volunteer elite unit of special forces, it was increasingly diluted by draftees and even military defaulters posted to the K-verbande as punishment. Nevertheless, there was no collapse of morale, even as conditions in both the Mediterranean and northern European theatres became increasingly adverse. By the end, facing overwhelming odds, even their senior commanders regarded some of the attacks as little better than suicide missions. Judged by their effect on the Allied advance, their successes were slight, but the indomitable bravery of those involved makes riveting reading. Pieced together from fragmentary sources, it is a largely untold story, chronicling some of the most desperate operations of the war. Lawrence Paterson, a keen scuba diver, developed an interest in the Kriegsmarine after diving on German wrecks from the Second World War. He has written three previous books on submarines, the last being U-Boat War Patrol published by Greenhill in 2004.
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Seller's Description:
Fair. The item is very worn but is perfectly usable. Signs of wear can include aesthetic issues such as scratches dents worn and creased covers folded page corners and minor liquid stains. All pages and the cover are intact but the dust cover may be missing. Pages may include moderate to heavy amount of notes and highlighting but the text is not obscured or unreadable. Page edges may have foxing age related spots and browning. May NOT include discs access code or other supplemental materials.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good in Very Good dust jacket. 1861762798. Very good condition, both book and dust jacket. A clean and tight copy.; 9.2 X 5.9 X 1.2 inches; 224 pages.
