False Flags tells the epic
untold story of German raider voyages to the South Seas during the early years
of World War II. In 1940 the raiders Orion, Komet, Pinguin
and Kormoran left Germany and waged a ‘pirate war’ in the South Seas — part
of Germany’s strategy to attack the British Empire’s maritime trade on a global
scale. Their extraordinary voyages spanned the globe and are maritime sagas in
the finest tradition of seafaring. The four raiders voyaged across the
Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans as well as the Arctic and Antarctic. They
sank or captured 62 ships in a forgotten naval war that is now being told in
its entirety for the first time. The Orion and Komet terrorised
the South Pacific and New Zealand waters before Pearl Harbor when the war was
supposed to be far away. The Pinguin sank numerous Allied merchant ships
in the Indian Ocean before mining the approaches to Australian ports and
capturing the Norwegian whaling fleet in Antarctica. The Kormoran raided
the Atlantic but will always be remembered for sinking the Australian cruiser Sydney
off Western Australia, killing all 645 sailors on board in tragic
circumstances. False Flags is also
the story of the Allied sailors who encountered these raiders and fought
suicidal battles against a superior foe as well as the men, women and children
who endured captivity on board the raiders as prisoners of the Third Reich.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
1 The raiders prepare
2 The Orion’s Atlantic war
3 The Hauraki Gulf
operation
4 The Pinguin’s first victories
5 The Northeast Passage
6 The Tasman Raider
7 The Far East Squadron
8 The Australian
minefields
9 The Indian Ocean pursuit
10 Nauru and the phosphate
ships
11 Hilfskreuzer Kormoran
12 The castaways of Emirau
Island
13 Von Luckner, spies and
the fifth column
14 Return to Nauru and
intrigue in Japan
15 The raider war in
Antarctica
16 The Kormoran in the Atlantic
17 Remote encounters and the
islands of despair
18 Tanker hunt in the
Arabian Sea
19 A new operational area
20 The voyage of the Adjutant
21 Destination Bordeaux
22 The Galapagos Islands
raider
23 Encounter off Shark Bay
24 The Kormoran–Sydney battle
25 The fleet of lifeboats
Epilogue
Appendixes: the raiders
Glossary
Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the Author :
Stephen Robinson studied Asian history and politics before working at the Department of Veterans’ Affairs researching British atomic weapons tests and as a policy officer in the Defence Department. An officer in the Australian Army Reserve, he has also instructed at the Royal Military College.
Review :
"This is a fascinating book. The story is well supported by historic photographs, maps and the use of eyewitness reports.”
"Few writers have attempted to present a balanced, strategic overview of (the German raider) operations, but in False Flags, Stephen Robinson has written a thoroughly researched account of the auxiliary cruisers’ war,"
"Deception, violence and waste are the ingredients of war...Stephen Robinson’s handsome, well documented book is full of events that illustrate this... Raiders were fighting ships disguised as merchantmen, crewed by trained naval seaman deeply committed to serving the German war effort. Like Caribbean pirates from the days of sail in some Boy’s Own world, they masked their evil intent by sailing under assumed flags... before hoisting aloft the German Navy flag, like a modern day Skull and Cross Bones, and savaging an unwary prey." - Outstanding 2 page review Click here to read the review.
"False Flags does one important thing — it demonstrates just how omnipresent German vessels were in Australian waters"
"Stephen Robinson undertook extensive research for this book in the German, British, Australian and NZ naval records. He uncovered never-before-accessed eyewitness accounts and declassified intelligence reports. Many of the crews and passengers of the ships targeted by the raiders ended up as prisoners of war, while others were set adrift in life rafts."
"extensive archival research of German, British, Australian and New Zealand naval records uncovering never before accessed eyewitness accounts and declassified intelligence reports. Beautifully written"
"A meticulously researched and fascinating history of a now largely forgotten aspect of World War II."
"False Flags is the epic story of German commerce raiders that sailed into the South Seas during the early years of the Second World War ... an excellent addition for all book collectors."
"an excellent history."
"anyone with an interest in naval history will find this book well worth a read."
