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Correspondence
Roosevelt and Churchill: Their Secret Wartime
Francis L. Loewenheim, Harold D. Langley, and Manfred Jonas (Editors). New York: Saturday Review Press (E. P. Dutton), 1975. 8°5 pp. Illus. $17.50.
Reviewed by Thomas H. Etzold
(Professor Etzold received his Ph.D. in American diplomatic history from Yale University. His thesis dealt with U. S. -German relations in the late 1930s. Dr. Etzold has written and reviewed widely on diplomatic history, foreign policy, and military affairs. He 11 now Associate Professor of Strategy at the U. S. Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island.)
The editors have selected 548 documents out of more than 1,700 messages and letters that passed between Roosevelt and Churchill from September 1939 t0 April 1945. The documents appear chronologically in this edition, with footnotes to identify people mentioned, cross-reference among the documents printed and unprinted, and introduce background information and references. The book opens with three chapters discussing the various relationships be- t'Veen Churchill and Roosevelt: their personal relationship, established in the hundreds of messages and in 120 days in each other’s company and so essential to Wartime cooperation; their military relationship, in which differences of experience and personality, as well as of strategy, resources, and geographical position, showed clearly and sometimes disturbingly; and their political and diplomatic relationship, in which lay the §reatest disagreements of all, some of t'diich would live on in postwar arguments and problems with Communism, colonialism, nationalism, and economy. Then come the documents in four gfoups, each headed by an extended ,note summarizing the course of the war and the highlights of the documents for the period covered in the section. The hook closes with a lengthy chronology of World War II keyed to the correspondence, along with a large bibliography which contains almost solely English-language sources.
The larger generalizations supported by this correspondence, such as the demonstration that Churchill was not a Russian-hater or the first Cold War warrior, will interest almost all potential users. The editors also proclaim flatly that Roosevelt "never had any secret plan to take the United States into war in 1940-1941, nor did he make secret commitments to that effect.”
Most interesting for military professionals, perhaps, is the illumination of that indistinct but important line between civilian and military authority, politics and war, and diplomacy and strategy. The editors conclude, and the documents show, that FDR and Churchill had no overall political strategy to parallel their grand military strategy, and that in fact they gave far more attention to the latter. Roosevelt and Churchill, the editors write, "neglected the integral relationship of war, politics, and diplomacy.” Yet they concerned themselves sometimes with the most minute details of a particular military operation, even to the point of corresponding repeatedly about allocation of one or two ships here, another four submarines there. Shades of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam decade? Perhaps, and perhaps not. Despite these leaders’ inclinations to intervene in military operations erratically, from highest to lowest levels, one marvels not at how little they understood what they were doing, but at how much they knew. Perhaps they erred and lacked foresight, especially in matters of postwar political affairs, but both men possessed rare abilities to master detail, to work long hours, and to make difficult decisions—all admirable qualities in a war leader.
A volume such as this, so complicated in organization and sweeping in content, presents a special problem to readers. So perhaps it is well to suggest that there are three ways to profit from
this volume according to the time, knowledge, or requirements of the individual reader. One can, of course, read the book from cover to cover, a worthy proposal. Secondly, one can be content to acquire the volume and to use it as a reference book, working from the index and bibliography to find material on a question as reflected in the correspondence and in notes and sources; but, using this method, it is well to remember that the published correspondence represents less than a third of the collection, and that the collection itself is but one source on the many topics, great and small, of interest for the study of World War II. Finally, and perhaps most appropriately for the majority of military readers, it is possible to read the authors’ opening three chapters with care and then the summaries of material and history which preface each of the four groups of
documents. From such a beginning, one can return, in conjunction with other reading, to the volume again and again to follow up specific points and topics by use of index and bibliography. In this latter way, especially if the reader uses the editors’ bibliography as a guide to further reading, he will profit most from the addition of this large volume to his library.
Im Kiistenvorfeld (In Coastal Waters)
Admiral Friedrich Ruge, Federal German Navy (Retired). Munich, West Germany: J. F. Lehmanns Verlag, 1974. 143 pp. Illus. 20 DM. (Approx. $7.95) paper.
Reviewed by Captain Andreas Wiese, Federal German Navy
(Captain Wiese entered the Kriegsmarine (navy) in 1938 and, as an ensign and lieutenant, served in minesweepers during World War II. He had assignments in the Ministry of Defense, Navy Staff, spent three years (1971-1974) in Washington as naval attache, and now serves as liaison officer to the Merchant Navy in Hamburg.)
Vice Admiral Friedrich Ruge, Federal Germany Navy (Retired), at age 80, has drawn on his experience as a naval officer in World War I, student of technology, an expert on minesweeper operations, admiral in World War II, naval advisor of General Rommel, historian, first Chief of Navy Staff, Chief of Naval Operations (1956-1961), architect of the new German Navy, and professor of political science to write. Im Kiistenvorfeld (In Coastal Waters).
For the first time in the history of minesweeping and escorting naval forces, an historian, using official documentation, is describing the actions of this special kind of naval warfare. The extraordinary value of this book is based on the fact that in the beginning of World War II Admiral Ruge commanded all German minesweepers and, as the German-occupied coastline expanded, was as "Befehlshaber der Sich- erung West” in charge of all German minesweeping, escorting, surveillance, and ASW naval forces from the Dutch- German border to the French-Spanish border. Yet, Admiral Ruge has been wise enough to wait for more than 30 years before publishing accounts of his own activities. The result is an accurate and, when necessary, self-critical analysis.
In Coastal Waters effectively underlines the minesweeping and escorting forces’ operational significance for the German Navy. Admiral Ruge points out that the best deep-water strategy is useless when naval operations are blocked by mines in coastal waters. What would have happened to German submarine warfare in World War II if most of the U-boats had been destroyed by British mines? What would happen to U. S. strategic submarine operations, for instance, if the coastal waters off U. S. ports were mined by the Soviet Navy?
Every nation with shallow coastal approaches will learn from this publication what effort is required to avoid having great strategical plans collapse shortly after ships leave port. Only one German submarine was lost to mines in the French coastal waters through June 1944, although Admiral Ruge’s forces escorted about 3,600 incoming/outgo- ing submarines in transits through these waters. The significance of this feat is put into perspective somewhat by the fact that the British put approximately 76,000 mines into the sea during the war.
Having a naval historian writing about his own activities as "Befehlshaber der Sicherung West” gives us the opportunity to learn just how many ideas and improvisations a force commander
must generate in wartime. No naval academy in the world is teaching this subject. For example, Admiral Ruge s command increased from seven to 28 squadrons. Not only was he faced with "normal” problems associated by accofl1' modating such rapid growth, but about 50% of his boats were captured froM
0ccupied nations. These vessels had to be converted for their new missions, befitting and new construction required chat the shipyards of the occupied counties be retooled and geared up to meet the needs of the German Navy.
In addition to material problems, the crews of the squadrons had to be motivated for this special kind of service, during World War II, assignments to destroyers, torpedo boats, and subma- tines were most sought after as more publicity and status were associated with open-water operations. After all, who would be excited about navigating night after night between sand banks and Wfecks, sweeping mines and escorting convoys under enemy fire?
Admiral Ruge succeeds in explaining fhe human and social problems that he aod his crews were confronted with and which he, for instance, helped solve by creating special rest and recreation areas.
historian without the admiral’s background would have found himself Unable to deal with this subject.
Of special interest is to learn inside facts about "Operation Sealion,” the breakout of the battleships Schamhorst, Gneisenau, and the heavy cruiser Prinz Engen through the English Channel, and fbe attacks on St. Nazaire and Dieppe.
Friedrich Ruge the technician points °ut by the example of mine warfare to wbat degree technical improvements mfluence the course of war and by what countermeasures the other side must empl0y to regain dominance—a basic planning premise.
The publication suffers, somewhat, rom limitations resulting from present- lnS general historical facts about all German naval minesweeping and escorting forces in the beginning of the ^ar, whereas the detailed descriptions °cus on the activities in the coastal p'aters off the Dutch, Belgian, and rench coastlines after Germany’s occupy area had expanded. But, 48 imprests photos at the end of the book make a good supplement.
Being acquainted with Admiral Ruge more than 30 years, I am sure lm ustenvorfeld will not be his last book, cfowever, this work deserves study by 'tal planners on both sides of the rlantic. Admiral Ruge has gotten a §reat deal of information and insight °Uto 143 pages.
Naval Wargames:
World War I and World War II
Barry J. Carter. New York: Arco Publishing Company, 1975. 140 pp. Ulus. $10.00.
Reviewed by Commander M.G.M.W. Ellis, Royal Navy
(Commander Ellis is serving in an exchange post with the U. S. Navy as a member of the faculty at the Naval War College. He has been teaching in the Naval Operations Department since 1974.)
"They are only models and the sea may be any surface which is conveniently to hand, but when the grey warships slip out of port at the start of a war game they become something different.” Barry Carter’s illuminating first sentence reveals that, although nearly all the games he describes could be played with pencil and paper, the magic of the grey shapes is clearly irresistible to most true amateur naval war-gamers who equip themselves with fleets of accurate scale models, even if this means that inconveniently large playing areas sometimes have to be set up.
Realism in tactics is also taken very seriously by naval war-gamers, but this always militates against practical playability, a theme Carter frequently returns to. Most naval war game rules are derived from those made by Fred Jane (of Fighting Ships fame) in 1901, and the American, Fletcher Pratt, in 1940. But as weaponry has become more complex, so game rules have become more difficult to formulate. Thus, many war-gamers prefer to stay in the 1900-1945 era, and, even then, as Carter admits: "It sometimes makes for a better game if only one carrier is assigned to a player, so that the moves are not dominated by air battles.” This is regrettable, but with the advent of the pocket electronic calculator, perhaps, the amateurs will be able to once more investigate modern tactics.
The author explains his own set of rules which are admirably simple, reasonably realistic, and very playable. For anyone wishing to take up this pastime, they are, at the very least, a starting point for the discussion. Modification of the rules is also part of the fun of wargaming.
There are also graphic descriptions of some games played using these rules, beginning with a hypothetical attack on an Austro-German Adriatic convoy in 1915 by Italian and British forces. The battle is described in rousing terms and after 17 moves, or some three hours of play, the convoy wins through to its objective. Whether this was due to an unlucky roll of the dice against the Italian battle cruiser Roma’s 12-inch salvos in move 11, the British commander becoming bored by mathematics in move five and failing to calculate the U-boat’s furthest-on circles, or the good damage control of the Austrian flagship Radetsky, are questions left to the inevitable post-battle inquest, which can be as interesting as the game itself. These action scenes are the centerpiece of the book, which is rounded off with a chapter on various commercial games, including the amazing "USN” which allows for nothing less than the Pacific War between 1941 and 1943, with playing pieces for every U. S. and Japanese warship of the period. There are also helpful notes on model-making firms, war-gaming books and journals, and war-gaming societies in Britain, North America, and Australasia.
The ships of this theater are only models, but in the hands of Barry Carter and his fellow enthusiasts, when the grey warships slip out of port at the start of a war game they obviously do become something very different.
Books of Interest to the Professional
133
Compiled by Professor Jack Sweetman, Associate Editor
Naval affairs
A Dictionary of Ships of the Royal Navy of the Second World War
John Young. Cambridge, England: Patrick S«phens, 1975. 192 pp. Ulus. £3.95 (Approx. *9.88).
f his handy little reference provides specifica- tlons and notes on the ultimate disposition °f the several thousand ships which served in the Royal Navy between 3 September 1939 and 15 August 1945. An introductory Fleet List section groups these ships by type and class; the main body of the book arranges them in alphabetical order.
® The Encyclopedia of Sea Warfare from the First Ironclads to the Present Day
*an Parsons (Editor). New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1975. 256 pp. Maps. Illus. $17.95 ($14.30).
chronological history rather than an ency- dopedia per se, this large-format pictorial Ascribes war at sea over the last 125 years, 'v>th emphasis on the period since 1914. Among the contributors are Oliver Warner, Captain Geoffrey Bennett, Captain Donald Nacintyre, and U. S. Naval Institute Senior Editor Frank Uhlig, Jr. The foreword is by Admiral of the Fleet Earl Mountbatten of Eurma.
The Encyclopedia of Air Warfare
hn Parsons (Editor). New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1975. 256 pp. Maps. Illus. $17.95.
r companion to the Encyclopedia of Sea arfare, this volume traces the history of war in the air from World War I through the Vietnam and 1973 Arab-Israeli wars. Although devoted primarily to air force °perations, it also treats the development ar,d impact of naval aviation. Unfortunately, rhe individual chapters are not identified by author, but one assumes those dealing with haval air are the work of Captain Donald "lacintyre, the only contributor to both hooks.
EuU Fathom Five: Wrecks of the Spanish
Armada
Colin Martin. New York: The Viking Press, 1975. pp. Maps. Illus. Append. Bib. $12.50.
Th‘ •
n's is really two books in one. The first is a° account of the discovery and exploration °f three ships of the Spanish Armada lost off the coast of Ireland in September 1588. The second is an analysis of the new light the artifacts recovered—especially ordnance- shed on the reasons for the Armada’s disastrous defeat. The author is director of Britain’s first Institute of Maritime Archaeology, at the University of St. Andrew’s, Scotland, and was a full-time member of the three Armada expeditions between 1968 and 1973.
Die Geschichte der deutschen Schiffsartillerie
Paul Schmalenbach. Herford, West Germany: Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft, 1975. 202 pp.
Illus. Append. Bib. 38 DM (Approx. $14.65).
Beginning with the primitive cannon carried by the ships of the Hanseatic City of Liibeck in 1362, the development of German naval gunnery is traced down through the centuries to the Bundesmarine of today, focusing on the last 75 years. The author entered the German Navy in 1928, served as gunnery officer in the cruiser Prinz Eugen in World War II, and was subsequently chief of the West German Gunnery Research Center.
The Phantom of Scapa Flow
Alexandre Korganoff. London: Ian Allan, 1974. 235 pp. Maps. Illus. Append. £3.95 (Approx. $9.88).
During the night of 13/14 October 1939 the (7-47, commanded by Lieutenant Gunther Prien, penetrated the British fleet base at Scapa Flow and sank the battleship Royal Oak in a daring surface attack. Of that, at least, there is little doubt. But Prien and everyone else on the deck of the (7-47 were convinced that they had also hit a second capital ship, which the British have steadfastly denied; and some of the Royal Oak’s survivors insist that their ship was sunk by an internal explosion, not a torpedo. French journalist Korganoff attempts to lay to rest these and other phantoms of Scapa Flow.
United States Cruisers
Louis Davison. Pensacola, Fla.: Louis Davison, 1975. 24 pp. Illus. $3.50 (paper).
Intended primarily for waterline modelers, this slim volume contains photographs, simplified plans, and historical notes on every class of U. S. cruiser from the ABC Squadron of the 1880s (a member of which appeared on the cover of the December 1975 Proceedings) to the Long Beach (CGN-9).
MARITIME AFFAIRS by America’s Maritime Heritage
Eloise Engle and Lieutenant Commander Arnold S. Lott, U. S. Navy (Retired). Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 1975. 371 pp. Illus. Bib. $11.50 ($9.20).
Designed to supplement high school history texts, this work treats all aspects—naval, cultural, and mercantile—of America’s Maritime Heritage. The result is a book which even adults can read with pleasure and profit. Specialists will note an occasional factual error, but these are more than offset by the breadth of the coverage. Eloise Engle (Mrs. Eloise Paananen) is the author of 16 previous books; co-author Lott is Senior Book Editor of the Naval Institute Press.
The Best of Sail Trim
Boston, Mass.: Sail Books, 1975. 280 pp. Illus. $11.95.
An anthology of 54 articles from Sail magazine reflects the latest thinking on sail selection, design, trim techniques, and aerodynamics.
Boat Handling
The Editors of Time-Life Books. New York: Time-Life Books, 1975. 176 pp. Illus. Append. Bib. $11.95.
A second volume of the Time-Life Library of Boating explains sail and power-boat handling, the rules of the road, highway towing and launching techniques, and offers common-sense tips for boaters in tight places.
BOOK ORDER SERVICE
Members may order books of other publishers through the Naval Institute at a 10% discount off list price. (Prices quoted in this column are subject to change and will be reflected in our billing.) The postage and handling fee for each such special order book of a United States publisher will be 50<t; the fee for a book from a foreign publisher will be $1.00. When air mail or other special handling is requested, actual postage and handling cost will be billed to the member. Books marked [5]are Naval Institute Press Books. Books marked 0 ate Naval Institute Book Selections. All prices enclosed by parentheses are member prices. Please use the order blank in this section.
Guide to Port Entry
Colin L. Pielow (Editor). Reigate, England: Shipping Guides, Ltd., 1975. 1,471 pp. Maps. Illus. £26.00 (Approx. $65.00).
The third, enlarged edition of this massive guide provides technical information of interest to shipmasters for literally thousands of ports throughout the world. Its organization is alphabetical by country and port.
Kohlers Flotten-Kalendar 1976: Das deutsche Jahrbuch der Seefahrt
Fregattenkapitan der Reserve Hans Georg Prager, Federal German Navy (Editor). Herford, West Germany: Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft, 1975.
256 pp. Maps. Illus. 12,80 DM (Approx. $4.95) paper.
The 75th anniversary edition of this German annual contains over 60 short articles on naval and maritime subjects, past and present. Among the latter are accounts of the laying of the North Sea pipeline, offshore oil extraction, and new shipbuilding techniques. There is also a calendar of maritime events of 1974. The illustrations include two dozen exceptionally well-reproduced color photos.
Last Days of Sail on the West Coast: San Francisco Harbor
Walter MacArthur. Seattle, Wash.: Shorey Publications, 1974. 138 pp. Illus. $7.50 (paper).
The facsimile reprint of a work first published in 1929, this book describes the decline of West Coast sail and catalogues the vessels remaining in operation at that date. San Francisco was then the home port of the largest sailing fleet in existence.
Longboat to Hawaii
Commander Alexander Crosby Brown, U. S. Naval Reserve, Retired (Editor). Cambridge,
Md.: Cornell Maritime Press, 1974. 254 pp. Maps. Illus. Append. Bib. $12.50.
On 3 May 1866, the clipper ship Hornet was destroyed by fire in mid-Pacific. Forty-three days and eight hours later her indomitable captain, Josiah Mitchell, brought her longboat and 15 starving survivors ashore in the Hawaiian islands after an epic, 4,000-mile voyage begun with ten days’ provisions. The editor interweaves the diaries kept by Captain Mitchell and two of his passengers with a contemporary account by Mark Twain to chronicle their ordeal and endurance.
Racing for the America’s Cup, 1974: The View from the Candy Store
Theodore A. Jones. New York: Quadrangle/The New York Times Book Company, 1975. 177 pp. Maps. Illus. Append. $12.50.
The human drama as well as the actual contest are reported in this account of the 1974 America’s Cup race between the New York Yacht Club’s Courageous and the Australian challenger Southern Cross. The "Candy Store” is a Newport waterfront bar.
Sharks and Shipwrecks
Hugh Edwards. New York: Quadrangle/The New York Times Book Company, 1975. 127 pp. Illus. $12.50.
Australian author-diver Hugh Edwards edited this anthology of 17 first-person narratives of underwater adventure. All occurred off the coasts of Australia and New Zealand, and the majority deal with shark attacks or the exploration of old shipwrecks. Probably the most gripping of the former is Henri Bource’s account of the loss of his leg-
Ship Painting & Corrosion: Proceedings of the First International Ship Painting and Corrosion Conference and Exhibition, London, May 2-3, 1974
Derek H. Deere (Editor). London: Benn Brothers, 1974. 199 pp. Illus. £25.00 (Approx. $62.50). Sponsored by Shipping World & Shipbuilder magazine, the conference whose proceedings this volume records brought ship owners, builders, and repairers together with paint manufacturers, steel preparation firms, an research organizations to discuss problem5 and progress in ship painting and corrosion prevention. Some 21 papers were presente and discussed.
MILITARY AFFAIRS
The War of Atonement: October 1973
Major General Chaim Herzog, Israeli Army Reserve. Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown, 1975.
300 pp. Maps. Illus. $10.00.
One of Israeli’s most distinguished soldiers, twice Director of Military Intelligence (1948' 1950 and 1959-1962), presents a militaT history of the latest Arab-Israeli war. Although the bulk of the book is devoted to the land campaign, there is also a chapter on air and naval operations. The conclusion considers the lessons and implications ot tn war.
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