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Otto Kretschmer was only in combat from September 1939 until March
1941 but was Germany's highest-scoring U-boat commander sinking 47
ships totaling 274,333 tons. This definitive work details his
personal story and the political backdrop from his earliest days.
After completing his officer training and time on the training ship
Niobe he served aboard the light cruiser Emden. In December 1934,
he was transferred to the light cruiser Koeln, then in January 1936
made the move to the fledgling U-boat service. Hisfirst operational
posting was to the 2nd U-Flotilla's Type VII U35 where he almost
being drowned during training in the Baltic Sea. During the Spanish
Civil War, Kretschmer was involved in several patrols as part of
the international non-intervention force. He demonstrated a cool
approach to combat: his mantra 'one torpedo for one ship'proved
that the best way for his boat to succeed against a convoy was to
remain surfaced as much as possible, penetrating the convoy and
using the boat's high speed and small silhouette to avoid
retaliation. His nickname 'Silent Otto' referred to his ability to
remain undetected and his reluctance to provide the regular radio
reports required by Doenitz: he had guessed that the Allies had
broken German codes. Alongside his military skill was a character
that remained rooted in the traditions of the Prussian military.
_ The author is a sympathetic narrator and he has told his story
with genuine verve and style [His] South Tyrolean origins, and his
role in the Brandenburg Division make the book very distinctive._'
Roger Moorhouse. The Brandenburgers were Hitler's Special Forces, a
band of mainly foreign German nationals who used disguise and
fluency in other languages to complete daring missions into enemy
territory. Overshadowed by stories of their Allied equivalents,
their history has largely been ignored, making this memoir all the
more extraordinary. First published in German in 1984, de
Giampietro's highly-personal and eloquent memoir is a vivid account
of his experiences. In astonishing detail, he delves into the
reality of life in the unit from everyday concerns and politics to
training and involvement in Brandenburg missions. He details the
often foolhardy missions undertaken under the command of Theodor
von Hippel including the June 1941 seizure of the Duna bridges in
Dunaburg and the attempted capture of the bridge at Bataisk where
half of his unit were killed. Translated into English for the first
time, this is a unique insight into a fascinating slice of German
wartime history, both as an account of the Brandenburgers and
within the very particular context of the author's South Tyrolean
origins. Given the very perilous nature of their missions very few
of these specially-trained soldiers survived the Second World War
and much knowledge of the unit has been lost forever. Widely
regarded as the predecessor of today's special forces units, this
fascinating account brings to life the Brandenburger Division and
its part in history in vivid and compelling detail.
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