The U Boat War 1914 1918

A history of Germany’s usage of submarine warfare during World War I, by the author of Operation Pacific. In 1914, U-Boats were a new and untried weapon, and when such a weapon can bring a mighty empire to the brink of defeat there is a story worth telling. Edwyn Gray’s The U-Boat War is the history of the Kaiser’s attempt to destroy the British Empire by a ruthless campaign of unrestricted submarine warfare. It opens with Germany’s first tentative experiments with the submarines and climaxes with the naval mutiny that helped bring down the Kaiser. In between is a detailed account of a campaign of terror which, by April, 1917, had the British Empire on the verge of surrender. The cost in lives and equipment was staggering. On the German side, 4,894 sailors and 515 officers lost their lives in action; 178 German Submarines were destroyed by the allies; 14 were scuttled and 122 surrendered. According to the most reliable sources, 5,708 ships were destroyed by the U-Boats and 13,333 non-combatants perished in British Ships. World figures for civilian casualties were never released. The U-Boat War is a savage but thrilling account of men fighting for their lives beneath the sea, and of the boats that changed the face of naval warfare.

This account of the U-boat campaign in the World War I represents the official British history of the war against the German submarine attack on shipping. From a few fragile craft, the U-boats grew to become the greatest menace to Britain's survival.

This is the German side of submarines during WW1. What were the moral issues on both sides?

Robert Grant has made a lifelong study of U-boat operations in the Great War. He explains how the code breakers at the Admiralty's Room 40 were able to break into the German naval codes during World War I, offering the Navy the opportunity to hunt down and destroy U-boats at sea.

The first account is by a journalist reporting for Colliers Magazine as he accompanied the United States destroyer force in the final year of the war. The second account is a fictional work written by Sir Stephen King-Hall.

This work is a landmark history of submarine warfare during World War I. An-ex submariner, the author captures the essence of what is what like to operate in these new and lethal craft. This periscope eye view introduces the reader to the great submarine commanders, the tactics they employed and the often-futile attempts made to sink them.