The U-Boat Commanders (Hardback)
Knight’s Cross Holders 1939–1945
Imprint: Pen & Sword Maritime
Pages: 336
Illustrations: 210
ISBN: 9781526718730
Published: 28th May 2019
Author interview
Catch up: Listen to author Jeremy Dixon discussing the book on RTE's Seascapes podcast.
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| Other formats available - Buy the Hardback and get the eBook for free! | Price |
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| The U-Boat Commanders ePub (29.8 MB) Add to Basket | £6.99 |
The Knight’s Cross (Ritterkreuz) was one of the highest decorations given for extreme acts of valour to all ranks of the German armed forces during the Second World War. Few awards captured the respect and admiration of the German public as the Knight’s Cross – it was the greatest honour one could achieve.
In the perilous and close-knit world of the U-boat crews the award of the decoration to their captain was an event of particular pride and sometimes it was even added to the boat’s insignia. In all, there were 123 recipients, including their commander-in-chief Karl Dönitz, and Jeremy Dixon’s highly illustrated book is the ideal guide to all these men and their wartime service.
A graphic text accompanied by almost 200 archive photographs describes the exploits of each of them, including those who received the higher grades of the award. Full details are given of their tours of duty, the operations they took part in, how they won their award, how many ships they sank and their subsequent careers.
As featured in
Ships Monthly - July 2023
Having read other publications about the U-Boat war it was interesting to learn more about the men behind the mission, who survived and their subsequent post WWII life.
Review by Bob Dean
As always, well researched plus it is the sort of book one can dip into from time to time as there isn’t a plot to follow. Enjoyable and informative.
Author interview, click here to listen
RTÉ Radio, maritime programme Seascapes
Author Jeremy Dixon’s exhaustive research has produced an impressive biographical anthology of the more than 120 U-boat commanders who were awarded the coveted Knight’s Cross during the Second World War.
Maritime Engineering Journal, Summer 2020
When researching WWII U-boat history you get to a point where you need a good reference book. Well, this is it. This is not a book about every single U-boat and every U-boat commander. But just about all major U-boat actions and key commanders are present in The U-Boat Commanders: Knight´s Cross Holders 1939-1945 by Jeremy Dixon.
Lars Gyllenhaal
Read the full review here
The book gives a valuable insight to the courage, determination and skill of these commanders and their crews. Well worth a read
World of Warships, April 2020 - reviewed by Charles Waters
A very interesting reference book that acts as a guide to the main operations of U-Boats during World War II.
Miniaturas JM
Read the full Spanish review here
As featured by The Naval Review
Print & online
With so many books written about them, U-boats are one of the most interesting single subjects of the Second World War. This book focuses on the top of the top U-boat commanders of Hitler's navy, those awarded the Ritterkreuz (Knight's Cross.) A very well researched and written book it includes photos of the men with the details of their careers. It has a biography of every man and lists the other awards earned through their career. For those who survived their post war life is also included. This is a fantastic reference for anybody interested in U-boats and is a must for the serious war researcher.
MaritimeQuest
Read the full review here
Featured in
Barrow and Furness Submariners Association
This book contains graphic text and photographs—many from the author’s personal collection—that will appeal to those undertaking research, U-Boat enthusiasts, or indeed anyone interested in reading about the bravery of men facing overwhelming odds. This well-researched and well-presented book is very deserving of your consideration as the authoritative reference for the achievements of U-Boat Commanders who were awarded the Knight’s Cross.
Australian Naval Institute
Read the full review here
A solid, readable and informative resource.
A Question Of Scale, Seb Palmer
Read the full review here
The author has provided well-research text, together with a large number of images from archive stocks. This is both a recognition of extreme courage and a graphic insight into the skill, determination, persistence, raw courage, and comradeship.
Firetrench
Read the full review here
A fascinating insight into the service careers of some of the most feared U-Boat captains of WWII – the 123 Knight’s Cross Holders.
Scale Modelling Now
Highly recommended
Watch the full video review here
A book that you browse with pleasure and that reports, albeit briefly, with extreme detail the careers of all the submariners who received the prestigious German decoration.
Old Barbed Wire Blog
Read the full Italian review here
A good book offering full biographies of the U-Boat commanders who won some of Germany’s highest honours in WW2. A seriously good reference book linking the commanders, their U-Boats and their victims. Despite some of them being indicted for war crimes they all considered they were doing their duty.
Michael McCarthy
Michael McCarthy. Battlefield Guide
About Jeremy Dixon
Jeremy Dixon has been interested in Nazi Germany for over thirty-five years and has written several books on the subject. His first book Commandersof Auschwitz detailed the careers of the SS officers who served at Auschwitz concentration camp. It was followed by books dealing with Luftwaffe generals who won the Knight’s Cross, a two-volume study of recipients of Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, and the third which details the holders who served in the Fallschirmjäger, Germany’s elite parachute unit. His most recent publication is The U-Boat Commanders: Knight’s Cross Holders 1939-1945.
This is a study of the officers who were promoted to the rank of general and who were also awarded the Knight’s Cross during the early period of Hitler’s assault upon the Soviet Union. This takes us from the great onslaught of Operation Barbarossa, through to Hitler’s decision to abandon his attempt to capture Moscow and adopt a temporary defensive stance due to the early onset of winter. Such was the scale of operations during these momentous first six months of the war on the Eastern Front there were endless opportunities for officers to display courage and leadership. This resulted in…
By Jeremy DixonClick here to buy both titles for £45.00
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