Dispatches in this volume include those relating to the sinking of the German battleship Graf Spee in the Battle of the River Plate in 1939, the loss of the battleships HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse in the Far East, the sinking of the German battle cruiser Scharnhorst in 1943, the attack on Tirpitz by midget submarines, the contribution by British Pacific Fleet to the assault on Okinawa in 1945 (which included four Royal Navy battleships), and the sinking of Bismarck in 1941.This unique collection of original documents will prove to be an invaluable resource for historians, students and all those interested in what was one of the most significant periods in British military history.

“Outstanding . . . covers the major units starting with the Deutschland Class, through the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, to the Bismarck and Tirpitz.” —WW2 Cruisers The Kriegsmarine’s capital ships—Deutschland, Admiral Scheer, Graf Spee, Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Bismarck, and Tirpitz—continue to generate intense interest among warship enthusiasts, despite the fact that no new source of information has been unearthed in decades. What has come to light, however, is a growing number of photographs, many from private albums and some that lay forgotten in obscure archives. These include many close-ups and onboard shots of great value to modelmakers, as well as rare action photos taken during wartime operations. This book is a careful selection of the best of these, but on a grand scale, with around one hundred images devoted to each ship, allowing in-depth coverage of its whole career, from launching and fitting out to whatever fate the war had waiting for it. For sake of completeness, there are even sections reproducing the various design studies that led to each class, while an appendix covers the uncompleted Graf Zeppelin, Germany’s only attempt to build an aircraft carrier, the vessel which clearly displaced the battleship as the capital ship of the world’s navies during the war. Essays on technical backgrounds and design origins by the well-known expert Siegfried Breyer and explanatory captions by Miroslaw Skwiot draw out the full significance of this magnificent collection of photos. “Highly recommended for those who wish to admire seven of the most magnificent warships built anywhere in the twentieth century. We will certainly never see their like again.” —Journal of the Australian Naval Institute

After the end of World War I, the German Navy came up with the concept of the Panzerschiffe, or Pocket Battleship, as a method of circumventing treaty limitations on the size and types of ship Germany was permitted to build. New, more modern production methods, where welded construction prevailed over the older riveting process, were combined with the development of modern engines capable of fast speeds and a very powerful armament, far superior to that on any enemy Cruisers. This book covers these three sister ships, the 'Deutschland', the 'Admiral Graf Spee' and the 'Admiral Scheer', which formed the core of the Kriegsmarine's fighting power at the start of World War II.

This is a comnpendium volume of three Battle Summaries or Naval Staff Histories produced soon after the war by the Naval Historical Branch of the Admiralty. Originally classified and designed for internal use only, these histories are published here for the first time. The documents in this book cover the actions during the period 1939-1941 that resulted in the sinking or immobilising of the German Warships Birsmark and Graf Spee, and record the struggle to rid the seas of the menace of the armed merchants raiders.

Berlin was the nerve-centre of Hitler's Germany - the backdrop for the most lavish ceremonies, it was also the venue for Albert Speer's plans to forge a new 'world metropolis' and the scene of the final climactic bid to defeat Nazism. Yet while our understanding of the Holocaust is well developed, we know little about everyday life in Nazi Germany. In this vivid and important study Roger Moorhouse portrays the German experience of the Second World War, not through an examination of grand politics, but from the viewpoint of the capital's streets and homes.He gives a flavour of life in the capital, raises issues of consent and dissent, morality and authority and, above all, charts the violent humbling of a once-proud metropolis. Shortlisted for the Hessell-Tiltman History Prize.

This is a compendium volume of three Battle Summaries or Naval Staff Histories. The documents in this book cover the actions during the period 1939-1941 that resulted in the sinking of the German warships Bismark and Graf Spee.