The U-Boat Commanders
Knight's Cross Holders, 1939-1945
Published on 7. October 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
336 pages
978-1-3990-2181-4 (ISBN)
Description
The Knight's Cross (Ritterkreuz) was one of the highest decorations given for extreme acts of valour to all ranks of the German armed forces during the Second World War. Few awards captured the respect and admiration of the German public as the Knight's Cross - it was the greatest honour one could achieve.
In the perilous and close-knit world of the U-boat crews the award of the decoration to their captain was an event of particular pride and sometimes it was even added to the boat's insignia. In all, there were 123 recipients, including their commander-in-chief Karl Doenitz, and Jeremy Dixon's highly illustrated book is the ideal guide to all these men and their wartime service.
A graphic text accompanied by almost 200 archive photographs describes the exploits of each of them, including those who received the higher grades of the award. Full details are given of their tours of duty, the operations they took part in, how they won their award, how many ships they sank and their subsequent careers.
In the perilous and close-knit world of the U-boat crews the award of the decoration to their captain was an event of particular pride and sometimes it was even added to the boat's insignia. In all, there were 123 recipients, including their commander-in-chief Karl Doenitz, and Jeremy Dixon's highly illustrated book is the ideal guide to all these men and their wartime service.
A graphic text accompanied by almost 200 archive photographs describes the exploits of each of them, including those who received the higher grades of the award. Full details are given of their tours of duty, the operations they took part in, how they won their award, how many ships they sank and their subsequent careers.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
South Yorkshire
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 230 mm
Width: 150 mm
Thickness: 29 mm
Weight
426 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-3990-2181-4 (9781399021814)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Jeremy Dixon has been interested in Nazi Germany for over thirty-five years and has written several books on the subject. His first book Commandersof Auschwitz detailed the careers of the SS officers who served at Auschwitz concentration camp. It was followed by books dealing with Luftwaffe generals who won the Knight's Cross, a two-volume study of recipients of Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, and the third which details the holders who served in the Fallschirmjaeger, Germany's elite parachute unit. His most recent publication is The U-Boat Commanders: Knight's Cross Holders 1939-1945.