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Hitler's Grey Wolves: U-Boats in the Indian Ocean Hardcover – January 1, 2004

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 harbour of Georgetown. In total, nearly fourty 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 theatre of war held a real chance to swing the tide of battle in North Africa in favour 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 exlusively from boats destined to and returning from Japanese-controlled Malaysia, laden with material exchanged between the two major partners of the Triple Axis Alliance.

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About the Author

Lawrence Paterson is the author of U-Boat War Patrol (185367575X), First U-Boat Flotilla (1557502951) and Second U-Boat Flotilla (0850529174). Greenhill Books

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Greenhill Books/Lionel Leventhal; First edition (January 1, 2004)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1853676152
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1853676154
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.35 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1.25 x 9.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #3,915,606 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #33,363 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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4.6 out of 5

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Patrick

Learned Much

Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2013

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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

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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

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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

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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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Pappashanga

Suicide Pact

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 10, 2013

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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.

S

worth reading

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 13, 2015

Verified Purchase

Fascinating history that I wasn't aware of.

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