A Times and Waterstones Book of the Year
'A superb work of history' JAMES HOLLAND
'A thrilling account from a master of Second World War history' DAN SNOW
A landmark history of the U-Boat war told through the experiences and recollections of the U-Boat crews themselves.
Winston Churchill famously remarked that the threat of the German U-Boats was the only thing that had “really frightened” him during World War Two. The U-Boats certainly claimed a bitter harvest among Allied shipping: nearly 3,000 ships were sunk, for a total tonnage of over 14 million tonnes, nearly 70% of Allied shipping losses in all theatres of the war. With justification, then, they are an integral part of the traditional narrative of the Battle of the Atlantic; a story of technological brilliance, dramatic sinkings, life and death, and – of course – the sinister, unseen threat of the U-Boats themselves.
For Allied seamen during the war, the U-Boat was a hidden menace, a faceless killer lurking beneath the waves; and the urgent needs of survival afforded them little time or energy to consider the challenges and privations of their enemy. History, however, affords us that time and energy, and any pretence of comprehensiveness demands that we consider what life was like for the crews of those most claustrophobic vessels; packed into a steel hull, at the mercy of the enemy, of the elements – and of basic physics.
Germany’s U-Boat crews posted the highest per-capita losses of any combat arm during World War Two. Some 30,000 German submariners were killed – over 75% of the total number deployed – the vast majority of whom have no grave except the seabed. Using archival sources, unpublished diaries and existing memoir literature, this book will give the U-Boatmen back their voice, allowing their side of the narrative to be aired in a comprehensive manner for the first time.
With that testimony, Wolfpack takes the reader from the heady early days of the war, when U-Boat crews were buoyed with optimism about their cause, through to the challenges of meeting the Allied counterthreat, to the final horror of defeat, when their submarines were captured by the enemy or scuttled in ignominy. Using the U-Boatmen’s own voices to punctuate an engaging narrative, it tells their story; of courage, certainly, but also of fear, privation and – ultimately – failure.
About the Author :
Roger Moorhouse is a historian and author specialising in Nazi Germany, Poland and World War Two in Europe. After studying history at the School of Slavonic and East European History, London University, Roger graduated with an MA in 1994. Thereafter, he worked as researcher for Professor Norman Davies for many years, co-authoring with him the history of Wroclaw (Breslau) “Microcosm: Portrait of a Central European City”, which was published in three languages in 2002.
A fluent German speaker, Roger is a specialist in modern German and Polish history, particularly the Third Reich and World War Two. He has written a number of books in this capacity, including Killing Hitler (2006), Berlin at War (2010), The Devils’ Alliance (2014) and the critically acclaimed First to Fight (2019), which was awarded the Polish Foreign Ministry History Prize in 2020. Roger’s books have appeared in more than 20 languages.
Review :
A Times and Waterstones Book of the Year
'If you love the film Das Boot, this is the book for you, superbly evoking the courage and terror of life on a U-boat during the Second World War. Drawing on a vast range of archives and memoirs, Roger Moorhouse recounts the struggle for the seas from an unfamiliar German perspective. Above all, though, he brings back to life the ordinary men who served in such cramped and claustrophobic surroundings, breathless with tension as they heard the distant thump of Allied depth charges'
Dominic Sandbrook,
The Times
'Roger Moorhouse is becoming a major authority in his field. Wolfpack is a significant contribution and rightly places the U-boat campaign at the heart of Germany’s strategy during the Second World War. Compellingly written, he seamlessly blends fascinating technical detail with human experience – often profoundly moving – and authoritative strategic insight. Wolfpack is a superb work of history'
James Holland
'A thrilling account from a master of Second World War history'
Dan Snow
‘In this impeccably researched and beautifully constructed book, Roger Moorhouse tells the thrilling but ultimately tragic story of Germany's U-boats in the Second World War … This superb history tells the story from a new perspective’
Saul David
‘The 'Allied Version of History' tends to be repeated ad infinitum, and the search goes on for realistic interpretations of the Second World War. By writing an account of the Battle of the Atlantic from the perspective of German U-boatmen, Roger Moorhouse has done much to restore the emotional balance and to complete an inclusive picture. Very readable. Humane, comprehensive, well sourced and gripping’
Norman Davies
'This is a book that, once read, will leave the reader with the impression that they didn’t really know anything about the U-Boat war at all, and that now they do'
Robert Lyman
