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Wolfpack: Inside Hitler’s U-Boat War
From a top scholar of World War II, the definitive history of Germany's U-boat campaign that challenged British naval supremacy and brought international trade to its knees
Winston Churchill once remarked that the only threat to truly frighten him was the peril of Nazi U-boats. Over the course of World War II, Germany's submariners sank over three thousand Allied ships, nearly three-quarters of Allied shipping losses in all theaters of the war. In the process the submariners endured horrific conditions and suffered a 75 percent death rate, the highest of any arm of service in the conflict. Yet their story has never been told in full.
In Wolfpack, historian Roger Moorhouse tells the story of the Battle of the Atlantic from the point of view of the German submariners. He tracks these men from the enthusiasm of the war's early days, buoyed with optimism about their cause, through the challenges of the Allied counterthreat, to the final horrors of enemy capture and death in the depths. It is a story of courage, certainly, but also of fear, privation, and--ultimately--failure.
Drawing extensively on war diaries, archival records, and the voices of the German submariners themselves, Wolfpack is a story of technological brilliance, dramatic naval engagements, and extraordinary human endurance.
Winston Churchill once remarked that the only threat to truly frighten him was the peril of Nazi U-boats. Over the course of World War II, Germany's submariners sank over three thousand Allied ships, nearly three-quarters of Allied shipping losses in all theaters of the war. In the process the submariners endured horrific conditions and suffered a 75 percent death rate, the highest of any arm of service in the conflict. Yet their story has never been told in full.
In Wolfpack, historian Roger Moorhouse tells the story of the Battle of the Atlantic from the point of view of the German submariners. He tracks these men from the enthusiasm of the war's early days, buoyed with optimism about their cause, through the challenges of the Allied counterthreat, to the final horrors of enemy capture and death in the depths. It is a story of courage, certainly, but also of fear, privation, and--ultimately--failure.
Drawing extensively on war diaries, archival records, and the voices of the German submariners themselves, Wolfpack is a story of technological brilliance, dramatic naval engagements, and extraordinary human endurance.
480 pages, Hardcover
First published October 21, 2025
70 people are currently reading
333 people want to read
About the author
Roger Moorhouse
42 books179 followersLiving the Dream. Historian and author of an international bestseller - "Berlin at War" was #1 in Lithuania :-) - as well as a few other books, such as "Killing Hitler", "The Devils' Alliance" and "First to Fight" - the last of which won the Polish Foreign Ministry History Prize in 2020.
I write mainly about Nazi Germany and wartime Poland, but I fear that might scare some people off, so I'll just call myself a writer of history books.
My current book (published in the UK in August 2023) is "The Forgers", which is the fascinating story of the Ładoś Group - a ring of Polish diplomats and Jewish activists operating out of wartime Switzerland - who were forging Latin American passports to help Jews escape the Holocaust. It is a VERY interesting subject - so I would urge you to get a copy!
I hope you enjoy my books. Any questions or queries or just wholesome praise, do let me know...
I write mainly about Nazi Germany and wartime Poland, but I fear that might scare some people off, so I'll just call myself a writer of history books.
My current book (published in the UK in August 2023) is "The Forgers", which is the fascinating story of the Ładoś Group - a ring of Polish diplomats and Jewish activists operating out of wartime Switzerland - who were forging Latin American passports to help Jews escape the Holocaust. It is a VERY interesting subject - so I would urge you to get a copy!
I hope you enjoy my books. Any questions or queries or just wholesome praise, do let me know...
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 25, 2025
Superb overview of the trials and tribulations of the U-boat arm of the German Navy in the Second World War. I was lucky enough to pick up a copy at a festival pre the official publication and finished it quickly as the author has a very effective narrative pace and the story is fascinating. You get a very good sense of what life was like on board a u-boat, and how the technology and tactics evolved during the war. Highly recommended.
January 29, 2026
Excellent historic account of the U-Boat war. This is admittedly the fonly work of non-fiction on the submarine war I’ve read so I don’t have any other writings to compare it to, but it came across as well researched and paced. Prior knowledge has come from various documentaries and portrays in film and TV.
The writing style leant more towards the human story rather than dry facts, which is the way around I prefer. Yes, there were clear chronological details about the development and building of the various submarines models, individual submarines, dates of patrols and statistics around sinking but the text would try to go back to first hand accounts, diaries and even when describing facts, Moorhouse would always try to humanise the experience.
Ultimately, the experience for the submariners was a uniquely challenging one and I would say the most psychologically challenging of any sector of the war. Months at sea, may of the crew rarely seeing daylight, an impossibly cramped existence full of unimaginable levels of stench with combinations of oil, recirculated air, body odour, rancid food and of course the smell of the toilets - all tinged with the smell of fear. The combined stress in that confined coffin resulted in the highest percentage of losses of any armed force in the entire war… 75% of the German submariners failed to return. Their remains never recovered or family even knowing where or why they’d died.
The book delved into the bizarre laws of the sea, chivalry and the darker moments in their campaign. Rules that were sometimes and often (by both sides) broken especially when it comes to sinking freight and non-military ship along with the logistics of picking up survivors/radioing details that a ship has been sunk to the allies. The press coverage, propaganda and media-spin was excellent covered with some key events.
Similar to the British bomber pilots, the U-Boat veterans received a less-welcome response from the public. Perhaps too eager to forget about some of the more controversial and underhand nature of the way they delivered death as the unseen enemy, made more complicated as the defeated. At the beginning of the war, the U-Boat captains and crew were heralded as the Heroes of the Third Reich. Idolised during the so-called ‘Happy Times’ as they tightened the noose around Great Britain as she struggled alone before the Royal Navy, Coastal Command and RAF started to adapt tactics and find ways to beat them.
An aspect I had never considered was what happened the U-Boat crews that were on patrol when Germany surrendered. This final chapter was one of the most interesting of all as it dealt with the psychology of the crew, their fears of surrendering to the Soviets, the use of Black Flags for surrendering, Captains scuttling their U-Boats and some of the decisions made on if they could make it to either surrender to the British/American forces or find a way to escape to South America and reinvent themselves. One particularly unique account told of a couple of Japanese soldiers who happened to have been picked up choosing to end their own lives rather than face the shame of surrendering.
One of the highest praises for this book is how it kept its focus. By not focusing much on the allied experience, they felt like a mysterious ‘enemy’ and threat to the U-Boats throughout. Initially easy prey then a formidable opponent. Too many documentaries that are meant to be on the Wolfpacks get completely sidetracked on the allied side, going into great details on the development of tactics and countermeasures utilised by the RN leaving you feeling like you haven’t got into the experience of day-to-day life of the submariner.
The writing style leant more towards the human story rather than dry facts, which is the way around I prefer. Yes, there were clear chronological details about the development and building of the various submarines models, individual submarines, dates of patrols and statistics around sinking but the text would try to go back to first hand accounts, diaries and even when describing facts, Moorhouse would always try to humanise the experience.
Ultimately, the experience for the submariners was a uniquely challenging one and I would say the most psychologically challenging of any sector of the war. Months at sea, may of the crew rarely seeing daylight, an impossibly cramped existence full of unimaginable levels of stench with combinations of oil, recirculated air, body odour, rancid food and of course the smell of the toilets - all tinged with the smell of fear. The combined stress in that confined coffin resulted in the highest percentage of losses of any armed force in the entire war… 75% of the German submariners failed to return. Their remains never recovered or family even knowing where or why they’d died.
The book delved into the bizarre laws of the sea, chivalry and the darker moments in their campaign. Rules that were sometimes and often (by both sides) broken especially when it comes to sinking freight and non-military ship along with the logistics of picking up survivors/radioing details that a ship has been sunk to the allies. The press coverage, propaganda and media-spin was excellent covered with some key events.
Similar to the British bomber pilots, the U-Boat veterans received a less-welcome response from the public. Perhaps too eager to forget about some of the more controversial and underhand nature of the way they delivered death as the unseen enemy, made more complicated as the defeated. At the beginning of the war, the U-Boat captains and crew were heralded as the Heroes of the Third Reich. Idolised during the so-called ‘Happy Times’ as they tightened the noose around Great Britain as she struggled alone before the Royal Navy, Coastal Command and RAF started to adapt tactics and find ways to beat them.
An aspect I had never considered was what happened the U-Boat crews that were on patrol when Germany surrendered. This final chapter was one of the most interesting of all as it dealt with the psychology of the crew, their fears of surrendering to the Soviets, the use of Black Flags for surrendering, Captains scuttling their U-Boats and some of the decisions made on if they could make it to either surrender to the British/American forces or find a way to escape to South America and reinvent themselves. One particularly unique account told of a couple of Japanese soldiers who happened to have been picked up choosing to end their own lives rather than face the shame of surrendering.
One of the highest praises for this book is how it kept its focus. By not focusing much on the allied experience, they felt like a mysterious ‘enemy’ and threat to the U-Boats throughout. Initially easy prey then a formidable opponent. Too many documentaries that are meant to be on the Wolfpacks get completely sidetracked on the allied side, going into great details on the development of tactics and countermeasures utilised by the RN leaving you feeling like you haven’t got into the experience of day-to-day life of the submariner.
October 24, 2025
Wolfpack: Inside Hitler’s U,Boat War by Roger Moorhouse is a riveting, authoritative, and deeply human account of one of World War II’s most harrowing campaigns. Told through the eyes of Germany’s submariners, Moorhouse delivers the definitive chronicle of the U-boat offensive that nearly severed Britain’s lifeline and reshaped the global struggle for control of the seas.
Combining meticulous research with cinematic storytelling, Moorhouse immerses readers in the claustrophobic reality of submarine warfare the silence before attack, the thunder of depth charges, the unrelenting cold and fear that haunted every dive. Drawing from diaries, mission logs, and survivor testimonies, he reconstructs the evolution of the “wolfpack” strategy and its ultimate unraveling as Allied innovation and endurance prevailed.
More than a chronicle of naval tactics, Wolfpack is a study in courage, delusion, and mortality a reminder that technological brilliance and human valor often collide with the moral abyss of war. Readers of Antony Beevor, Max Hastings, or James Holland will recognize Moorhouse’s masterful blend of scholarship and narrative drive. In Wolfpack, history surfaces not as distant record but as a living, breathing struggle one that still echoes beneath the waves.
Combining meticulous research with cinematic storytelling, Moorhouse immerses readers in the claustrophobic reality of submarine warfare the silence before attack, the thunder of depth charges, the unrelenting cold and fear that haunted every dive. Drawing from diaries, mission logs, and survivor testimonies, he reconstructs the evolution of the “wolfpack” strategy and its ultimate unraveling as Allied innovation and endurance prevailed.
More than a chronicle of naval tactics, Wolfpack is a study in courage, delusion, and mortality a reminder that technological brilliance and human valor often collide with the moral abyss of war. Readers of Antony Beevor, Max Hastings, or James Holland will recognize Moorhouse’s masterful blend of scholarship and narrative drive. In Wolfpack, history surfaces not as distant record but as a living, breathing struggle one that still echoes beneath the waves.
December 9, 2025
To paraphrase Antony Swofford, all war movies celebrate war. Do all books with Hitler in the title celebrate him? To his credit, the author works to add complexity and nuance to the story of U-Boat sailors, working both to dispel the myths of the ruthless Nazi (the navy in general and U-Boat service in particular were comparatively less Nazi-fied than other parts of German society) and the myth of the U-boat crews as hapless victim, as well. It was an ugly and, quite literally, stinky war. It did little to affect the war's ultimate outcome. And it is an interesting mirror-image to the American undersea war in the Pacific-- just as brutal to merchant mariners and deadly dangerous to submariners, but with a far lower casualty rate for the later and much more war-winning effect.
November 24, 2025
I have read many WWII submarine warfare histories. I believe this is the first one to concentrate on the German experience and it is valuable for that reason. As in the Pacific theater, the killing went on long after the ability to replace resources was so much greater for the Allies than for Japan or Germany made the outcome inevitable. The conditions inside the U-boats were awful; this topic was not covered to any extent in my previous reading. In addition, the statistics presented here are devastating for the crews including the high rate of U-boats being lost on the very first combat patrol.
November 19, 2025
No spoilers,
I must admit there are plenty of material on the Battle of the Atlantic, but those are mainly from the allied side. That is to expected since history is always written in glorious light of the victors. However, I was surprised to learn so much about what the uboat fleet and their crews went through during the war. For anyone who is truly interested in this subject. I would recommend giving this title a read.
I must admit there are plenty of material on the Battle of the Atlantic, but those are mainly from the allied side. That is to expected since history is always written in glorious light of the victors. However, I was surprised to learn so much about what the uboat fleet and their crews went through during the war. For anyone who is truly interested in this subject. I would recommend giving this title a read.
January 1, 2026
Brilliant book written from the German perspective. The conditions experienced by the uboatmen were horrific and the chances of survival the least of any service in army in ww2.
January 2, 2026
A brilliantly written account of the German U-Boat war in WWII.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews