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Hitler's Gray Wolves: U-Boats in the Indian Ocean Hardcover – May 16, 2017

by Lawrence Paterson (Author)

4.6 18 ratings

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Next to nothing has been written about the U-boat war in the Indian Ocean. This is the story of a forgotten campaign. The battle began in August 1943, when a German submarine arrived in the Malaysian harbor of Georgetown. In total, nearly forty U-boats were assigned to penetrate the Indian Ocean, serving alongside troops of the occupying Imperial Japanese forces.

The Japanese allowed U-boats to use Malaysia as an operational station. From that base, they mixed with Japanese forces on a hitherto unseen scale: a move which spread the U-boat war throughout the vast Indian Ocean and into the Pacific. Success in this theater of war held a real chance to swing the tide of battle in North Africa in favor of Rommel, but the Germans essentially did too little too late.

The joint action also gave U-boats the opportunity to penetrate the Pacific Ocean for the first time, attacking shipping off the Australian coast and hunting off New Zealand. Plans were even afoot for an assault on American supply lines. The cooperation' also brought into stark relief the fundamental differences of German and Japanese war aims. After the crews of Italian supply submarines joined the Germans and Japanese, relations between the fighting men of the three main Axis powers were often brutal and almost constantly turbulent.

Stories of U-boats laden with gold and treasure stem almost exclusively from boats destined to and returning from Japanese-controlled Malaysia, laden with material exchanged between the two major partners of the Triple Axis Alliance.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Nearly forty German submarines, the vaunted U-boats, were sent to the Indian Ocean in the summer of 1943. Little is known and less has been written about this aspect of WWII. But if this Nazi venture into that war theatre had succeeded, it might have dramatically changed the course of Rommel's battle in North Africa, potentially leading to a German victory there. Hitler's Gray Wolves tells the story of that largely unknown campaign.
Philip Kaplan, author of Grey Wolves: The U-Boat War 19391945

"This is an informative, engaging book about an inherently interesting topic which Paterson has also filled with many entertaining flourishes and intriguing sidelights." Stone & Stone

"I do recommend this book for its comprehensiveness, readability,...the detailed character portraits of the major players and the implied tribute it pays to brave men who gave so much for almost nothing and, mostly, got scant thanks for it."
The Naval Review

"A well-written, straightforward narrative with numerous original photographs."The Journal of Military History

"The author clearly knows his subject well." Nautical Magazine

About the Author

Lawrence Paterson has written eleven non-fiction histories of Germany’s Second World War U-boat service, inspired largely by his lifelong interest in the Second World War and working as a Scuba instructor, diving the wartime wrecks off France.

When not writing, Lawrence tours with the heavy metal band, Raven Lord, as their drummer.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Carrel Books (May 16, 2017)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1510717765
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1510717763
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.1 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.3 x 1 x 9.2 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #5,133,632 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #10,042 in Naval Military History
- #13,729 in German History (Books)
- #40,608 in World War II History (Books)

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4.6 18 ratings

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Lawrence Paterson

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I have been writing non-fiction Second World War Kriegsmarine history books since 2000; my first book published by Pen & Sword in 2002.

It’s a subject that has always interested me – not just military history but the Wehrmacht and Waffen SS in particular. This probably stems from both my Grandfathers; one of whom fought in the Australian Army during World War One at Gallipoli, the Somme and Paschendale to name but three, the other in the Royal Navy and Royal New Zealand Navy during World War Two in the Mediterranean Sea, Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Growing up in New Zealand there were many veterans of that conflict that lived nearby and the war still seemed very raw to most New Zealanders even 30 years after its end. However, rather than be part of the ‘black hat/white hat’ approach to Germans and other former enemies, both of my Grandfathers taught me that war is a very complex and personal experience and that most events were ‘shades of grey’. It is rarely a simple ‘good guy versus bad guy’ thing – regardless of whether the cause that soldiers serve is a just one or not. That lesson stays with me today.

The desire to write about the U-boat service first began when I was living near Brest in Brittany, France. I am a scuba diving instructor and spent a great deal of time diving on wrecks left behind by the Kriegsmarine, all in the shadow of the huge U-boat bunkers created in Brest’s military harbour. Encouraged by authors Jon Gawne and Robert Strauss I submitted the proposal for the ‘First U-Boat Flotilla’…and it went from there.

It has since been my privilege to write about many aspects of the Wehrmacht and also finish my first book on Allied forces about the remarkable men of Operation Colossus and the birth of the British Airborne service.

Some of my books have been translated into French, German, Finnish, Spanish, Dutch, Czech, Latvian, Japanese and Polish.

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Patrick

Learned Much

Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2013

Verified Purchase

In an evil world, these men served a cause they didn't truly comprehend, with great bravery and horrendous losses. When one discovers that the Allies were privy to nearly all their signals, the ethnocentrism of their ally Japan, and their absence from Germany for years, grudging admiration must arise. A great account job of detailed aspects of the machinations of these Fascist countries, and how their own hubris eventually destroyed them no matter how great the efforts of their military and industrial forces. Scary to read how, had the secret weapons technologies been more successfully delivered to Japan, what a much tougher time America might have faced in order to defeat them. The allied sailors and airmen who destroyed those cargoes in transit deserve much praise.

Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2017

Verified Purchase

A very worthwhile purchase. It demonstrates the difficulties the Germans had with their Japanese allies. The harsh cruelties they inflicted not only to the local population but to their own men.The careless approach to hygiene, with the handling of ammunition, or supplies of decent fuel oil. The Jap army seldom co-operated with the Jap Navy. They infuriated Karl Donetz when he discovered they wouldn't start air patrols until 10 am.

Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2021

Verified Purchase

I enjoyed this book very much. Fairly well written and informative. Interesting insights and stories.

Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2019

EXCELLENT

A Lesser Known Aspect of WW2

Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2011

Verified Purchase

This is a narrative history of German U-boat operations in the Indian Ocean during World War 2. Germany, in an effort to war against Allied merchant shipping, reached an agreement with Japan to establish a base in Malaysia, with other smaller bases in Indonesia. German subs would transit out from their bases in Europe, attack allied shipping in the Atlantic and Indian oceans, then refit and rearm in the Far East. Ultimately the campaign was doomed by the overwhelming logistical challenges, the improvement of Allied anti-submarine efforts, and the lack of support and sometimes the barely contained hostility of the local Japanese commanders. It's not exactly a fun read, but it's more easy going than a scholarly study and can be enjoyed by those with an interest in naval history, especially the lesser known aspects of WW2.

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T-Shadow

Good read

Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2018

Verified Purchase

Learned something I knew nothing about.

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Marc L. Tavasci

The lesser known U-boat war

Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2020

The war against the German U-boats was one of the pivotal battles in World War II, and dozens upon dozens of books have been written about it. But there was a part of this overall battle which hasn't received as much ink, and that's the U-boat attacks in the Indian Ocean and the cooperation between all three Axis powers (Germany, Japan and Italy) in this naval arena. Fortunately, this book has helped fill that gap and shed some more light on this part of the U-boat war.

The Germans started sending U-boats around the southern tip of Africa into the Indian Ocean in 1943 and continued to do so (or at least attempt to) right up to the last days of the Third Reich. Just reaching the Indian Ocean was a demanding task for most U-boats as they had to avoid ever-increasing Allied air and naval forces, not to mention carefully monitor their fuel levels. Mid-ocean re-fueling was a necessity for many boats and added another level of stress into what was becoming by this point an almost suicidal job. Almost all of the U-boats which attempted to make the run from Europe to Japanese-controlled bases in Malaysia, Indonesia and/or Singapore carried a variety of supplies and goods for exchange, along with passengers of various import. The same is true of the boats returning to Europe--they were crammed with raw materials and vital substances for the Third Reich in almost every available inch of space. Plus, they were still tasked with carrying out attacks on Allied shipping as well.

The author has done a really good job of documenting all of the various missions undertaken by the U-boats, as well as their successes and oftentimes, demise. There is a really nice amount of information about life at Pacific bases such as Singapore, Jakarta and Penang, along with some good pictures. While the Japanese, Italians and Germans were on the same side, they didn't exactly see eye to eye in a variety of ways, and this provides some interesting reading.

If the U-boat war interests you, then pick this one up. It's not overly long, but definitely worth the read.

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Top reviews from other countries

Pappashanga

Suicide Pact

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 10, 2013

Verified Purchase

This is a very thorough account of u boats in the area around southern Africa and the Far East. It is clearly written and informative.Factually it dispells many myths. The most striking thing for me is the sheer waste of human life. The u boats sink a ship,hundreds die. An aircraft attacks a u boat. It manages to damage the u boat so much that it sinks,killing the crew. While attacking the u boat the aircraft is damaged and all its dozen or so crew are killed. In the case of the Indian Ocean u boats one may be forgiven for asking,"For what?"
If the Allies hadn't had Ultra, a lot more merchant ships would have been sunk. Being aboard one of these was almost like taking a suicide pill.
There are interesting observations on German-Japanese cooperation-not too good.
All in all a valuable book for anyone interested in a little-known part of WW2.