Code Name Caesar: The Secret Hunt for U-Boat 864 during World War II

Jerome Preisler

ISBN 10: 028564257X / ISBN 13: 9780285642577

Published by Profile Books Ltd, United Kingdom, 2014

About this Item

As World War II was nearing its end Hitler desperately tried to land a decisive blow against the Allies. He ordered U-Boat U-864 to transport blueprints, parts and scientists to Japan, providing the Japanese with Germany's most advanced rocket and aircraft technology. It was a decision that could have lengthened the war. With this technology the Japanese would divert more Allied troops to the war in the Pacific and give Germany time to regroup. British codebreakers based at Bletchley Park discovered Hitler's plan and, working with the Norwegian resistance movement, the RAF sent its 'Dambuster' squadron on bombing raids against German naval installations in an attempt to destroy the U-Boat and its deadly cargo. However, U-864 evaded all attempts to destroy it and was able to slip out to sea. Off the Norwegian coast the British submarine HMS Venturer lay in wait for the U-Boat, and the two would engage in a cat-and-mouse battle that would change the course of the war. It is the only recorded instance of a submarine being sunk by another submarine while both were submerged and many of the men abroad HMS Venturer would be awarded for their courage by King George VI. Jerome Preisler and Kenneth Sewell recreate one of the least-known, but most crucial, victories of World War II. Drawing on military and naval archives, interviews with those involved and archive photographs Code Name Caesar brings the tense, action-packed underwater battle alive with all the suspense of a thriller.

Seller Inventory # GOR010201109

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Code Name Caesar: The Secret Hunt for U-Boat 864 during World War II
• Publisher: Profile Books Ltd, United Kingdom
• Publication Date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 028564257X
• ISBN 13: 9780285642577
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Fine
• Weight: 358 grams

About this title

Synopsis

As the Allies pressed forward both in Europe and the Pacific in the waning days of World War II, a little-known battle took place under the frozen seas off the coast of Norway...and changed the course of the war.

By February of 1944, both Germany and Japan were falling back under constant attack from Allied forces. The end would have been inevitable, if not for a desperate, audacious plan by the German High Command.

The Germans would pack a submarine—boat U-864—with their most advanced rocket and jet aircraft technology, a group of Japanese and German scientists, and tons of mercury for use in missile and torpedo detonation systems. With this, Japan could re-establish air superiority in the Pacific, forcing the Allies to divert troops and material long enough for Germany to re-group and prepare a final defense of the Fatherland.

Unknown to them, British codebreakers, working hand-in-hand with the Norwegian underground, had discovered what the Axis powers were up to. Chasing U-864 and her cargo throughout the North Atlantic, the British bombed German naval bases and hidden installations in an attempt to destroy the submarine and her hidden cargo. But in the end, she was able to head out to sea and attempt to complete her mission.

The British submarine HMS Venturer was waiting for her. In a cat-and-mouse silent battle beneath the waves, they hunted one another, each waiting to strike. The Venturer won the game, sinking U-864 and becoming the only submarine in history to sink another sub in underwater combat.

This is the action-packed, dramatic account of one of the unsung greatest victories in military history, and of a historical moment in the annals of naval warfare.

About the Author

Jerome Preisler is the author of over twenty books including the New York Times bestselling series, Tom Clancy’s Power Plays. He lives in New York.

Kenneth Sewell is a former submariner and the co-author of Red Star Rogue: The Untold Story of a Soviet Submarine’s Nuclear Strike Attempt on the U.S.