The Ocean Class of the Second World War

The Ocean Class of the Second World War written by Malcolm Cooper

and published by Seaforth Publishing - £30 - Hardback - Pages 216

They entered the vanguard of the Allied shipping effort at a time when the German U-boat

threat was at its most dangerous, and British shipping resources were stretched to the limit.

They were deployed in the North Atlantic, on the long supply routes around Africa to the

Middle East, in the Russian convoys, in operations in support of the invasions of North

Africa and Italy and the land campaigns which followed, in the D-Day landings and later

amphibious operations on the south coast of France. Finally, some of the class joined an

invasion force making its way towards Malaya when Japan surrendered in August 1945.

The Oceans paid a heavy price for these accomplishments, one third of the class being

lost to torpedoes, bombs or mines in places as far apart as the Florida coast, the Norwegian

Sea, the Bay of Algiers and the Gulf of Oman.

While these achievements alone would merit an important place in histories of the war at sea, the impact of the Oceans stretched far beyond the direct contribution of the ships themselves. The yards where they were built also served as models for a series of new American shipyards, designed to mass produce cargo vessels with such speed and in such volume as to completely reverse the mathematics of attrition, which had run so badly against the Allies into 1942. Even more important, the Oceans’ blueprints were used as the basis for the American Liberty ship, the 2,700-strong fleet which finally tilted the balance of the war at sea decisively in the Allies’ favour and went on to underpin the post-war renewal of the world merchant fleet.

This comprehensive new history, based on extensive archival research and lavishly illustrated with contemporary photographs, restores the Oceans to their rightful place in history. The ships’ design antecedents are explained, and their ordering, financing and construction are analysed in full. Wartime operations are covered in depth, by theatre and with full details of war losses and other casualties. The book concludes with an assessment of their subsequent peacetime careers and a comparison to other war-built designs. This is a model history of a highly significant class of ship.

The Ocean Class of the Second World War was certainly an interesting book, and a very comprehensively published book. This book looks at the cargo type sea-going ships, the book goes on to explain how Britain had a minimum number of these and so had to try and get a good number of these made as the country headed into WWII. The problem was that Britain had specific specifications it wanted, and where the US was the place to go, they were reluctant to build such ships. This would lead to the UK purchasing a number of yards in the US & Canada to build what they wanted specifically, and eventually, the US would come round to the British way of thinking and would eventually build similar ships to similar designs. The book is fully illustrated with photographs, pictures, plans, drawings and diagrams, the history, story and text supporting all this is informative and detailed. This book is a very good and easy read, one I quite enjoyed learning more about. A certainly recommended read.

Republished from 9th September.

Baldur von Schirach - Nazi Leader and Head of the Hitler Youth

Baldur von Schirach - Nazi Leader and Head of the Hitler Youth written by

Oliver Rathkolb published by Frontline Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 240

Hitler made the eighteen-year-old Baldur von Schirach the offer he was hoping for, telling him

the party needed young men like him. The young man snapped up Hitler’s invitation and

enjoyed a rapid rise through the ranks of the National Socialist Party, marrying Henriette

Hoffmann, the daughter of Hitler’s personal photographer Heinrich Hoffmann.

In 1930 he was appointed “Reich” youth leader, and as Hitler’s loyal servant he harnessed the Hitler Youth for the ‘brown revolution’. He dreamt of a fascist Europe under German leadership and as Gauleiter of Vienna he had the city’s Jewish population deported to the death camps while enriching himself with looted Jewish art collections. But his independence of mind and artistic ideals led to tensions between Berlin and Vienna.

In 1946, Baldur von Schirach stood trial at Nuremberg, where he offered a crafty defence, confessing his role in the rise of National Socialist ideology and attacking Adolf Hitler but denying involvement in the murder of Jews. As a result, he escaped execution and was sentenced to twenty years in prison for crimes against humanity.

In the 1960s, he emerged from Spandau prison to great media attention, but he would later die in obscurity. In this critical biography, Oliver Rathkolb uses previously untapped archive material to examine a controversial figure who used his keen media savvy to paint a favourable picture of himself after the war. The book traces how this key figure in the National Socialist propaganda machine was shaped by the German political milieu – before going on to shape German youth.

Baldur von Schirach was the ‘Reich’ youth leader, a somewhat suspicious character and someone you wouldn’t necessarily trust. Schirach was a young man, only 18 when he was given a position of power and I think his ability to get on with what he wanted gave him a chance to have the power but also allowed him to keep himself at arms length which would come out after the war ended. This after all was a devious and racist person, but like lots of people of this kind, they’re happy to do the crime but will happily do anything to avoid the time. After the war, he got away with only prison time, which shows how some people got away with a lot. His time leaving prison was one he thought he could exploit, but he ended up dying in obscurity, while this might sound good, at the end of the day he got away with murder. A fascinating read into someone who doesn’t get much attention.

Kitty Fisher - The First Female Celebrity

Kitty Fisher - The First Female Celebrity written by Joanne Major and published

by Pen & Sword Books - £22 - Hardback - Pages 208

Generations of children have grown up knowing Kitty Fisher from the nursery rhyme,

but who was she? Remembered as an eighteenth-century ‘celebrated’ courtesan and

style icon, it is surprising to learn that Kitty’s career in the upper echelons of London’s

sex industry was brief. For someone of her profession, Kitty had one great flaw: she

fell in love too easily.

Kitty Fisher managed her public relations and controlled her image with care. In a time when women’s choices were limited, she navigated her way to fame and fortune. Hers was a life filled equally with happiness and tragedy, one which left such an impact that the fascinating Kitty Fisher’s name still resonates today. She was the Georgian era’s most famous – and infamous – celebrity.

This is more than just a biography of Kitty Fisher’s short, scandalous and action-packed life. It is also a social history of the period looking not just at Kitty but also the women who were her contemporaries, as well as the men who were drawn to their sides… and into their beds. In this meticulously researched, lively and enjoyable book we discover the real woman at the heart of Kitty Fisher’s enduring myth and legend.

An interesting read looking at the influence and some could say the start of what a celebrity culture could bring albeit a Georgian one. The book follows the story of Kitty Fisher, a celebrity made famous at the time, this book which also featured other women at the time is a fascinating look not only of women in society back then but also at the social history of the time, a time that was dominated by men, and women stayed indoors. A fascinating read.

Reading Hitler's Mind - The Intelligence Failure that led to WW2

Reading Hitler's Mind - The Intelligence Failure that led to WW2 written by

Norman Ridley and published by Frontline Books - £20 - Hardback - Pages 240

Most strongly associated with Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, it is often stated that

Britain’s policy of appeasement was instituted in the 1930s in the hope of avoiding war

with Hitler’s Nazi Germany. At the time, appeasement was viewed by many as a popular

and seemingly pragmatic policy.

In this book the author sets out to show how appeasement was not a naïve attempt to secure a lasting peace by resolving German grievances, but a means of buying time for rearmament. By the middle of the 1930s, British policy was based on the presumption that the balance of power had already dramatically shifted in Germany’s favour. It was felt that Britain, chiefly for economic reasons, was unable to restore the balance, and that extensive concessions to Germany would not satisfy Hitler, whose aggressive policies intensified the already high risk of war..

The only realistic option, and one that was clearly adopted by Neville Chamberlain, was to try to influence the timing of the inevitable military confrontation and, in the meantime, pursue a steady and economically sustainable programme of rearmament. Appeasement would ‘buy’ that time for the British government.

Crucially this strategy required continuously updated and accurate information about the strength, current and future, of the German armed forces, especially the Luftwaffe, and an understanding of their military strategy. Piercing the Nazis’ veil of secrecy was vital if the intelligence services were to build up a true picture of the extent of German rearmament and the purposes to which it might be put.

The many agents, codebreakers, and counter-espionage personnel played a vital role in maximising the benefits that appeasement provided – even as war clouds continued to gather. These individuals were increasingly handed greater responsibility in a bid to inform British statesmen now scrambling to prepare for a catastrophic confrontation with Germany.

In Reading Hitler’s Mind, Norman Ridley reveals the remarkable efforts made by the tiny, underfunded and often side-lined British intelligence services as they sought to inform those whose role it was to make decisions upon which the wheels of history turned.

This was quite a fascinating read in that it looks at the outbreak of World War Two from a diplomatic viewpoint with regard to the diplomatic services. A department that was in reality underfunded at this time sought to give advice and set the boundaries and aims to the then prime minister Chamberlain. The book also looks at the German intelligence side of things as well as the British role in the run-up to war, and what is good is that we see information about the various conferences and what came about from them. But at the end of the day, Hitler would do what he wanted, so it is intriguing to see how some people were fooled. An excellent book and quite thought-provoking, and certainly a book I would recommend.

Save the Last Bullet - Memoir of a Boy Soldier in Hitler's Army

Save the Last Bullet - Memoir of a Boy Soldier in Hitler's Army written by

Wilhelm Langbein & Heidi Langbein-Allen and published by Pen & Sword Books

- £20 - Hardback - Pages 192

Willi Langbein was just thirteen when the Nazis took him away from his parents under

the pretence of protecting him. Their real reason was to turn him into cannon-fodder for

use against Hitler’s enemies. Deployed to the collapsing Eastern Front in the last days

of the war, Willi, now aged fourteen, and his schoolmates were ordered to stave off the

relentless Russian advance. None were expected to return alive from the final battles

of the Third Reich.

Yet, against all odds, Willi does survive but his ordeal is far from over. He returns home to find everything he knows destroyed. Numb and confused, he is mandated to serve one year of forced farm labour. After his release, he gradually realizes that all he was taught to believe in was a lie and he sinks into depression. Eventually, thanks to his friendship with a kind British soldier, he begins to heal. It begins to dawn on him that he can play a part to ensure that the evil he witnessed is never repeated. Ultimately, he succeeds by earning the Medal of European Merit in 1979 for his contribution to the advancement of European democracy.

Willi’s graphic and moving story, told from a Nazi child soldier’s perspective, is an inspiring memoir of lost innocence and despair, but also of determination and hope restored.

I imagine that what is starting to be done in Russia at the moment, is what happened to Wilhelm Langbein, in that he was taken away from his parents by the state and indoctrinated and taught to believe in the military way. A process by which groups of children are taken forcibly by the state and ‘educated’ to believe what the state wants them to believe, for you then to become a soldier declaring undying obedience to that country. Wilhelm would end up being taken and thrown into the war aged 14, where lucky for him, he survived. He would then be forced into working hard labour where he would strike up a friendship with a British soldier who would in a way give him a chance to see the realities of live and people. Wilhelm would go on to campaign for peace and be rewarded. This is a book about courage, strength and perceverance, an excellent book written by Heidi Langbein-Allen who has done her father proud.

Sniper on the Ypres Salient

Sniper on the Ypres Salient written by Sue Boase and published by

Pen & Sword Books - £22 - Hardback - Pages 224

Just after midnight on 22 April 1916 on the Western Front, a sergeant from the 15th

(1st London) Royal Welsh Fusiliers came sliding and stumbling along the dark, mud-filled

trench towards the four men, huddled together and soaked-through, in the shallow dugout.

He was clutching his postbag in which there were four parcels for one of them, William

McCrae, whose twentieth birthday fell on this day.

A hand-written account by William, my grandfather, was found in my mother’s papers, long after his death. This book describes a year of his time fighting in the First World War, from December 1915 to December 1916.

Two months after his birthday, he was marching towards the Somme, where he was to act as a runner during the key Welsh engagement in the Battle of Mametz Wood. Later, he went on to volunteer and train as a sniper. He continued in this role for over a year, becoming a lance corporal in the 38th Divisional Sniping Company while fighting on the Ypres Salient. His words emphasise the key role snipers played in the collecting of intelligence about the enemy, through close observation and careful reporting.

His account stops abruptly in mid-sentence, just at the point where he indicates he is about to reveal more to us about ‘a new, interesting part of the line to be manned by us Snipers’.

Piecing together clues from his sketches, maps and photos, and this book paints a picture of Williams’ time during the rest of the war. In 1917 he returned to England to train as a temporary officer in the 18th Officer Cadet Battalion at Prior Park, Bath. He came back to the Western Front as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Duke of Wellington’s (West Riding) Regiment, where he was seconded to the 1/5 Lancashire Fusiliers until the end of the war. During this time, it is likely that his interest and experience as a sniper continued, with evidence that he may have taught at one of the Sniping Schools set up across France.

Sniper on the Ypres Salient is a very admirable, fascinating and decent book,

impressive that the author Sue Boase, granddaughter of William McCrae, who

started his story/WWI as a runner at The Somme, he would then go on to

become a sniper and this book follows a year in his life. Being a sniper he

would have been a well-trained, patient and observant person and this comes

out in the book as there is lots of detail and the book clearly shows how

observant he was as the great detail comes out as he has a lot of say and

needed too as his intelligence would help support future plans and attacks.

The book is written in little chunks like you would get in a diary, but the

information is always of interest, and you really do get an idea of what life

was like as a sniper in those conditions. Excellent work by Sue Boase, and a

thoroughly good read. I also loved the glossary at the back of the book along

with the huge links of websites in the sources section too.

Warships of the Soviet Fleet 1939-1945 Vol I Major Combatants

Warships of the Soviet Fleet 1939-1945 Vol I Major Combatants written by

Przemyslaw Budzbon , Jan Radziemski, Marek Twardowski and published

by Seaforth Publishing - £45.00 - Hardback - Pages 352

Seventy-five years after the end of the Second World War the details of Soviet ships, their activities and fates remain an enigma to the West. In wartime such information was classified and after a brief period of glasnost (‘openness’) the Russian state has again restricted access to historical archives. Therefore, the value – and originality – of this work is difficult to exaggerate. It sees the first publication of reliable data on both the seagoing fleets and riverine flotillas of the Soviet Navy, listing over 6200 vessels from battleships to river gunboats, and mercantile conversions as well as purpose-built warships. Divided into three volumes, this first covers major surface warships down to MTBs and armoured gunboats, as well as submarines.

For every class there is a design history analysing strategic, tactical and technical considerations, and individual ship detail includes construction yard, key building dates, commissioning, fleet designations, relocations and ultimate fate. Once a closely guarded secret, the wartime loss of every ship and boat (over 1000) is described. Furthermore, the confusion caused by frequent name changes is clarified by indexes that run to 16,000 items.

By following the ships through both their wartime and earlier history, the book reveals many aspects of Russian history that remain highly sensitive: clandestine co-operation with Weimar Germany and fascist Italy, the NKVD-enforced closure of Soviet borders, the ‘Gulag Fleet’, the faked Metallist sinking that excused the military occupation of Estonia, and the ill-conceived pact with Nazi Germany. Restrictions recently imposed on historical publications in Russia mean this book could certainly not have been published there – as proven by the fact that most of the authors' Russian collaborators preferred not to disclose their identities.

This book has been a really informative and comprehensive read, a lot of time has been taken to present great detail for the reader, like what had been said detail has not often been made available to the west for secretive reasons. For a start I should just say that for some reason I just love a book with a map on the inside cover and this book does, I don’t know why, maybe it reminds me of old history books of the past. 

The book starts off with a great chapter that emphasises Organisation, Ship Types, Fleets, Ship Constructors, Ship Building Programmes, Quality and Performance. This was all really good to read because they set the scene for what was to come about the various ships. The book then goes into the individual types of ships and classes such as Cruisers, Torpedo Boats, Submarines, Monitors and Gunboats. Each ship gets a little history, pictures, plans, diagrams, specifications and any outstanding details that make that ships stand out. This is a fascinating and detailed book that kept me hooked and there is a big realisation as to how big the Russian Navy was and how the Navy was greatly built in reaction to what was going on in WW2. I would highly recommend this book and a brilliant encyclopedic read. In fact, I want to give it 5 Stars.