Tirpitz: The Life and Death of Germany's Last Super Battleship - Hardcover

Zetterling, Niklas

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1935149180 ISBN 13: 9781935149187

Publisher: Casemate Publishers, 2009

Synopsis

The Germans, for their part, had learned not to pit their super battleships against the strength of the entire Home Fleet outside the range of protecting aircraft. Thus they kept Tirpitz hidden within fjords along the Norwegian coast, like a Damocles Sword hanging over the Allies’ maritime jugular, forcing the British to assume the offensive. This strategy paid dividends in July 1942 when the Tirpitz merely stirred from its berth, compelling the Royal Navy to abandon a Murmansk-bound convoy called PQ-17 in order to confront the leviathan. The convoy was then ripped apart by the Luftwaffe and U-boats, while the Tirpitz returned to its fjord. In 1943, the British launched a flotilla of midget submarines against the Tirpitz, losing all six of the subs while only lightly damaging the battleship. Aircraft attacked repeatedly, from carriers and both British and Soviet bases, suffering losses—including an escort carrier—while proving unable to completely knock out the mighty warship. Trying an indirect approach, the British launched one of the war’s most daring commando raids—at St. Nazaire—in order to knock out the last drydock in Europe capable of servicing the Tirpitz. Of over 600 commandos and sailors in the raid, more than half were lost during an all-night battle that succeeded, at least, in knocking out the drydock. It was not until November 1944 that the Tirpitz finally succumbed to British aircraft armed with 10,000-lb Tallboy bombs, the ship capsizing at last with the loss of 1,000 sailors.

About this title

About the Author

Niklas Zetterling is a military historian and researcher at the Swedish Defense College. His previous books include Bismarck, The Korsun Pocket, and The Drive on Moscow, 1941.

Review

“... accurately synthesizes the available work on Allied efforts to destroy the battleship into one entertaining read... comes alive in its descriptions...well organized...” (Globe at War)

“...effectively weaves the story of the battleship into the pattern of the war...A very good account of the Tirpitz and of the naval war in the North Atlantic and Norwegian waters. (The NYMAS Review)

“...a riveting story...well structured and keeps the reader engaged...” (Nautilus: A Maritime Journal of Literature, History and Culture)

“The authors have woven Tirpitz’s story quite well and in doing so explain the strategic implications and dramatic battles surrounding the super battleship. Their book is an excellent study of an aspect of naval strategy the Germans used with such aplomb....a welcome addition to my library.” (Naval Historical Foundation)

"...a thorough treatment, including material from interviews with survivors of their sinkings and the impact they had on the naval war in the Atlantic." (Seapower)

Edition details

• Publisher: Casemate Publishers
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1935149180
• ISBN 13: 9781935149187
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 256