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U-Boot Krieg
Ein unvergleichliches Werk epischer Fotografie - ein großes historisches Dokument.
Okkupation - Atlantikstützpunkte - Bomben und Bunker - Die U-Boote verkriechen sich - Das Kampfboot VIIC - Ausrüsten zur Feindfahrt - Torpedos - Auslaufen - Marsch ins Operationsgebiet - Der Kommandant und die Besatzung - Brückenwache - Prüfungstauchen - Operation per Funk - Normaltag - Suchkurse - Sehrohrangriff - Sturm - Sturmbegegnung - Navigation - Sägen am Geleit - Alarm - Überwasserangriff - Wasserbomben - Rückmarsch - Der Krieg geht weiter - Das Ende der Atlantikstützpunkte - Desaster - Letzte Zuflucht Norwegen
Okkupation - Atlantikstützpunkte - Bomben und Bunker - Die U-Boote verkriechen sich - Das Kampfboot VIIC - Ausrüsten zur Feindfahrt - Torpedos - Auslaufen - Marsch ins Operationsgebiet - Der Kommandant und die Besatzung - Brückenwache - Prüfungstauchen - Operation per Funk - Normaltag - Suchkurse - Sehrohrangriff - Sturm - Sturmbegegnung - Navigation - Sägen am Geleit - Alarm - Überwasserangriff - Wasserbomben - Rückmarsch - Der Krieg geht weiter - Das Ende der Atlantikstützpunkte - Desaster - Letzte Zuflucht Norwegen
308 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1976
1 person is currently reading
112 people want to read
About the author
Lothar-Günther Buchheim
35 books36 followersLothar-Günther Buchheim (February 6, 1918 – February 22, 2007) was a German author, painter, and art collector. He is best known for his novel Das Boot (1973), which became an international bestseller and was adapted in 1981 as an Oscar-nominated film.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 28, 2024
Buchheim is probably unique in his credentials for reporting on what went on inside the German U-boats or submarines in the Second World War. Given a camera, he was ordered to join a submarine crew and produce documentation that could be used for propaganda purposes.
One fact is critical for understanding the material in this book. No branch of the German military had a higher death rate that the submarine forces. The casualty rate was 75%, most of which were fatalities. The men that crewed the boats were all volunteers, they went to sea knowing that it was likely they would never return.
A voyage generally lasted two months, during which the men never bathed and some of the crew never viewed anything outside their boat. They worked in very cramped conditions, and sometimes spent days where they were in tense and potentially deadly combat situations. They also knew that when they torpedoed a ship, the men on that ship were almost certainly doomed.
The photos in this book show the men going about their jobs. While some of them show the men at ease, most demonstrate them active at their posts and at times when they are hunting and being hunted. The tension and anxiety are visible on their faces.
There is also a textual description of the U-boat war from the last prewar years through the first action in September of 1939 until the end of the war in Europe in 1945. Once again, the reader is reminded of the narrow-mindedness of the military. The German leadership insisted on building capital ships such as the “Bismark” when it should have been clear from World War I that the only real naval weapon that the Germans had that could threaten England was the submarine. One is left wondering how the war would have been different if all the resources used to build the “Bismark” were used to build additional submarines instead.
One fact is critical for understanding the material in this book. No branch of the German military had a higher death rate that the submarine forces. The casualty rate was 75%, most of which were fatalities. The men that crewed the boats were all volunteers, they went to sea knowing that it was likely they would never return.
A voyage generally lasted two months, during which the men never bathed and some of the crew never viewed anything outside their boat. They worked in very cramped conditions, and sometimes spent days where they were in tense and potentially deadly combat situations. They also knew that when they torpedoed a ship, the men on that ship were almost certainly doomed.
The photos in this book show the men going about their jobs. While some of them show the men at ease, most demonstrate them active at their posts and at times when they are hunting and being hunted. The tension and anxiety are visible on their faces.
There is also a textual description of the U-boat war from the last prewar years through the first action in September of 1939 until the end of the war in Europe in 1945. Once again, the reader is reminded of the narrow-mindedness of the military. The German leadership insisted on building capital ships such as the “Bismark” when it should have been clear from World War I that the only real naval weapon that the Germans had that could threaten England was the submarine. One is left wondering how the war would have been different if all the resources used to build the “Bismark” were used to build additional submarines instead.
August 7, 2023
Excellent. Great photos, interesting commentary, exactly the right amount of detail (for me) and an excellent summary of the war and the importance of the U-boats at the end of the book.
Want to read
September 22, 2010Bruce mentioned this book as a WWII geek must-have and pointed to this article on it.
March 12, 2011
Photographic diary of a WWII German U-Boat mission taken by the the future author of "Das Boot".
September 5, 2011
A wonderful set of photos that help get at life inside of the German U-boat corps. Also some thoughtful essays on the people, equipment, and meanings of the Kriegsmarime's silent service.
November 6, 2012
Excellent read. I read it 3 or 4 times.
December 31, 2016
Classic study by an authority.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews