The cruisers of the Imperial German Navy (Kaiserlische Marine) were active throughout the First World War and saw action all around the globe, tying up valuable Allied naval resources out of all proportion to their number. Drawing on first-hand accounts and original research in German archives, the author here describes in detail some of their most significant and/or audacious battles. Some are well known, such as their role at Jutland, Goeben's attack on the Russian fleet (which brought Turkey into the war) and the sagas of Konigsberg and Emden; but others have been unduly neglected. Gary Staff deliberately focuses on the latter to bring new material to the attention of the reader and to demonstrate the global span of the cruisers' activities. The blow-by-blow accounts of the action (drawing heavily on first-hand Allied and especially German accounts) are supported by dozens of photographs, many previously unpublished, from the author's own impressive collection. The battles described include: Helgoland Bight, August 1914; Coronel, November 1914; Falklands December, 1914; Doggerbank, January 1915; Goeben and the Russian fleet, Black Sea, May 1915; Ostergarn July 1915; Jutland, 1916; Second Heligoland Bight, November 1917; Imbros, January 1918. AUTHOR: Gary Staff, an airline pilot by profession has been studying the Imperial German Navy for much of his life. He is the author of German Battlecruisers 1914-1918 and Battle for the Baltic Islands 1917. ILLUSTRATIONS: 50 b/w photographs *
The cruisers of the Imperial German Navy (Kaiserlische Marine) were active throughout the First World War and saw action all around the globe, tying up valuable Allied naval resources out of all proportion to their number. Drawing on first-hand accounts and original research in German archives, the author here describes in detail some of their most significant and/or audacious battles. Some are well known, such as their role at Jutland, Goeben's attack on the Russian fleet (which brought Turkey into the war) and the sagas of Konigsberg and Emden; but others have been unduly neglected. Gary Staff deliberately focuses on the latter to bring new material to the attention of the reader and to demonstrate the global span of the cruisers' activities. The blow-by-blow accounts of the action (drawing heavily on first-hand Allied and especially German accounts) are supported by dozens of photographs, many previously unpublished, from the author's own impressive collection. The battles described include: Helgoland Bight, August 1914; Coronel, November 1914; Falklands December, 1914; Doggerbank, January 1915; Goeben and the Russian fleet, Black Sea, May 1915; Ostergarn July 1915; Jutland, 1916; Second Heligoland Bight, November 1917; Imbros, January 1918. AUTHOR: Gary Staff, an airline pilot by profession has been studying the Imperial German Navy for much of his life. He is the author of German Battlecruisers 1914-1918 and Battle for the Baltic Islands 1917. ILLUSTRATIONS: 50 b/w photographs *
Gary Staff is a former airline pilot but he has been fascinated with naval history, and specifically with the Imperial German Navy (Kaiserlischmarine) for decades. He has visited archives in Britain, Germany and elsewhere to study, and often translate for the first time, official documents relating to this subject. His previous books for Pen & Sword are The Battle for the Baltic Islands 1917; Battle on the Seven Seas and German Battlecruisers of World War One. He lives in Australia.
It is the author's contention that the German version of events, upon which the majority of the book is based, has greater integrity and is unfettered with bias compared with equivalent British accounts. Unquestionably, the eye witness statements constitutes the most fascinating and absorbing parts of the narrative. The quotations chosen graphically portray the quite terrifying experience of being within the confines of a steel warship under sustained heavy fire. The author also succeeds in conveying the pride and dedication of the crew members as they continued to fight, usually against a superior enemy, often in the sure knowledge that their ship was doomed. (Warship - Naval Books of the Year)
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