The Graveyard of The Kriegsmarine: German naval operations in and around Norway in WWII

With its fleet scuttled at the end of the First World War, Germany faced rebuilding within the constraints of the Versailles Treaty. With limitations on both tonnage and personnel, the German navy found innovative ways to counter the treaty. From pocket battleships to welded cruisers, the navy was slowly reborn.With the coming of the Third Reich came open repudiation of the treaty and the beginning of Plan Z, a fleet intended to challenge those of France or Britain by 1947. The start of the war in 1939 saw many projects stalled at the planning stage.Knowing that maritime trade was Britain’s lifeblood, the Germans aimed to use their navy to impose a stranglehold on its enemy. From 1940 Norway became a vital area for German naval forces. Outnumbered and badly handled by a leader who knew nothing of naval strategy, the Kriegsmarine was frittered away in a series of pointless actions, pyrrhic victories and disastrous encounters.This book gives the reader an overview of the actions that took place in and around Norway from 1940 to the end of the war. Read more