Review of
They Fought Under the Sea, by the Editors of the Navy
Times
Five out of five stars
A history of the submarine and its use in war
Devices that
can be used to explore the floor of the ocean have been around a long time. There
are even stories that Alexander the Great himself explored the ocean floor in
an inverted shell that was reasonably airtight. Such devices were used for
exploration as well as recovering treasure from sunken ships.
This book
starts at roughly that point in history and proceeds through the history of the
submarine as a weapon of war. There was an attempt to attack British ships
during the American Revolutionary War, but likely the first effective use of a
submarine to attack and sink a surface ship was during the American Civil War.
Unfortunately, while the target was destroyed, the submarine was also lost with
all hands.
What I found
the most interesting was the number of submarines that the Imperial German Navy
had when the First World War broke out in 1914 and Nazi Germany had when the
Second World War broke out in Europe in 1939. Since the submarines were the
most effective weapon both regimes had against Great Britain, it is baffling
why they did not have many more submarines when those wars started. Especially
when the Second World War started. Had Germany had a much larger fleet of
submarines, they likely could have starved Britain out. Another gruesome fact
is the casualty rate among the German submariners, something close to 90% did
not survive the war.
Submarine
warfare was the most ruthless and unforgiving aspect of both world wars. When a
surface ship was hit and went down, no aid could be provided to the enemy. Many
submarines were damaged by depth charges and the men went to watery graves on
the floor of the ocean.
This book is an
excellent story about a weapon that was far too unappreciated by the decision
makers in Germany. Which is fortunate, for it is one of the few things that
could have led to a German victory in both World Wars.