German Submarine Operations History by Albert Gayer -III Flotilla Commander

[Felix C]

Available now at the usual establishments.

Translated Gayer’s “Die Deutschen U-Boote in ihrer Kriegführung 1914-1918” originally encompassing four volumes narrating submarine operations to include individual patrols and summaries, technology improvements, tactics and frontline personnel views of strategies developed at the most senior military and political level. The back and forth decisions regarding using submarines to stalk warships or merchant ships are described. The work is particularly useful for presenting the views of front line flotilla commanders who are able to analyze their boat commanders’ experiences. 

It is very much a one volume, lightened version of the official history by Spindler which appeared years afterwards. Have added footnote corrections and maps particularly of submarine planted minefields. A very interesting work and solid English language version until the official history is translated. Priced quite reasonably. The original volumes are beacoup [insert your currency].

Hope you enjoy. Please PM any critique's after purchasing.

Please note the author intended to create 5 to 6 volumes and did not publish events beyond February 1917.  He did present a paper on 1917-1918 events and I added an afterword summarizing his points using data from his paper.

 

 

Edited 7 July , 2020 by Felix C

[AleksanteriS]

Dear Sir,

having read the original booklets, before I look for the translation, may I ask how and where did You get the sources of the missing ones? Have You got information where to look on a possible order not to publish? Or on his suicide...?

Sincerly Yours, Aleksanteri

[Felix C]

He gave a lecture regarding the last phase of the war. A US naval officer provided the text. 

I did not find any further information why no formal book was published concluding the series.

I found the Hamburg civil death notice ledger and it merely provides the address, time and cause of death-suicide. Nothing further. It was early in the morning BTW.

 

Edited 14 January , 2023 by Felix C

[AleksanteriS]

Hi,

(and thanks for the swift reply). I try to discern the lecture. Does Your copy have some kind of dates or reference where it was delivered? Or are they mentioned i Your book (I will visit Freiburg for a very short stay at the turn of the month)?

I ask this, because I ran into Your publication while perusing the net for Gayer at the reading of the booklets. I'm finishing my dissertation in a hurry (after starting it 24 years ago;)) about the politics of historiography of the naval war. I stroke me, how similar the style and method of Gayer is in comparison to Spindler. And their results, too. And as Spindlers last volumes were "banned", I started to wonder why Gayer did not finish the mission the outlined in the foreword to the first booklet (apropos: the form is very similar to the cronistoria of the Italian Navy with the exception that Gayers was a publication and the Italian ones for internal use only: both had to argue quickly, that their navies achieved something...). At  the present I am inclined to notion they were similar due to the fact the submarine arm knew the parameters all too well and the Tirpitzian policy of one truth was not feasible in telling the story of the submarine arm. The failure was of multiple factors and could not be blamed on individuals like for the passive use of the fleet was blamed for von Ingenohl and von Pohl. Gayer & Spindler have done the most objective work I have read so far (excluding Wegener;)).

 

And while one reads this amount of internal strives, on gets paranoid and I started to think of a link between the suicide and the dead-end of the submarine history...Of course, there can be millions of explanations

 

Many thanks for Your reply, Aleksanteri

[Felix C]

I always indicate sources.