Tirpitz

Reviewed by Steven Douglas Mercatante [1]

The story of the Tirpitz, as presented by military historians Niklas Zetterling and Michael Tamelander, is really a metaphor for the experiences endured by many of Germany's Second World War capital ships and the concomitant Allied efforts to destroy them. It is in this look at the struggle between Allied and German maritime assets in one of the Second World War's most hostile physical environments that helps elevate Zetterling's and Tamelander's work on the Tirpitz to more than just another look at one of the Third Reich's largest surface combatants and helps make it a truly enjoyable read.

Zetterling and Tamelander are veteran historians who have produced numerous publications on critical aspects of the Second World War including; books on the Tirpitz' sister ship - the Bismarck, the 1940 campaign in Norway and Germany's Second World War Eastern Front. This wider base of knowledge upon which these two military historians draw upon is certainly evident in their recent work on the Tirpitz. There is no question primary and secondary sources germane specifically to the battleship Tirpitz inform their work, including archival records on the Kriegsmarine from the Bundesarchiv-Militararchiv at Freiburg. However, it is in the larger context from which they approach the subject of Germany's last super-battleship that helps this particular publication stand out.

TIRPITZ: The Life and Death of Germany's Last Super Battleship could have very easily been written to include a breakdown of the ship's design, construction and day to day history. Some readers doubtlessly would prefer more of such technical details and the lack of more than a modicum of such information, though explained by Zetterling and Tamelander as a product of doing so in their previous treatment of the Bismarck, is perhaps this book's salient flaw. However, Zetterling and Tamelander are up front in clearly explaining that this book's focus is on the Tirpitz role in the war at sea once it became operational, the Allied drive to destroy the Tirpitz, and thus the events that unfolded around the ship rather than a focus on the ship itself. After reading TIRPITZ: The Life and Death of Germany's Last Super Battleship it appears the authors have largely succeeded in meeting their stated objectives.

As such, the book's real value is two-fold. First, it provides an excellent starting point for the generalist unfamiliar with the war at sea along Europe's northern periphery and the Tirpitz role in this war. Second, it accurately synthesizes the available work on Allied efforts to destroy the battleship into one, at times, entertaining read. Therefore, it is no coincidence that this book comes alive in its descriptions of the 1942-1944 Allied efforts to destroy the Tirpitz and the battles surrounding the Murmansk-bound convoys during the spring and summer of 1942. The perspectives provided by accounts of those who participated in and were present during these battles bring particular life to the story of these events. These descriptions help broaden this work's appeal to beyond that of a general military history enthusiast but also for those interested in the harshness of life at sea. Even though this particular work reveals little that would be new to those well versed in the literature and available historical record in relation to the Tirpitz; such readers would doubtlessly enjoy the first hand accounts provided by those involved in the battles surrounding the German battleship.

Zetterling and Tamelander's work is well organized into twenty-six easily digestible chapters that mostly stick to a chronological approach of the Tirpitz' life and death with the story picking up after the battleship had been already designed, built and passed its sea trials. Thus, the meat of the book revolves around events during the years 1942-44. There is one major digression from the focus on events in Northern Europe, when the authors describe the British commando raid at St. Nazaire, France. A raid the British Admiralty ordered up to destroy the last remaining dry-dock in Western Europe capable of servicing the Tirpitz. Zetterling and Tamelander bolster the book's content with a number of maps that are well placed proximate to the events described in the text. Though the book is not an operational history per se, it consistently explores the lead up to each battle or campaign including discussions of the larger pressures from higher up the command chain influencing the immediate decision makers and the immensely important role played by the weather in fighting at and near the sea. Finally, though the included black and white pictures are few, those that are included are well chosen and some seem to be unique to this particular book.

Overall, TIRPITZ: The Life and Death of Germany's Last Super Battleship is a book this reviewer enjoyed and does not hesitate to recommend.

1.Steven Douglas Mercatante's Why Germany Nearly Won, A New History of the Second World War in Europe, is currently scheduled for publication by ABC-CLIO's Praeger early in 2012. Why Germany Nearly Won not only explores how close Germany actually came to winning the Second World War, but also why Germany was defeated. This work stems from over two decades researching and studying the Second World War. Steven's writing in the historical field goes beyond his research, and draws upon his experience as a former history teacher, from his undergraduate studies in history at the University of Michigan, from his graduate work in history at Eastern Michigan University, and from his study of International Law at Michigan State University College of Law. Steven has been published numerous times over in the historical and financial/legal field, both online and in a scholarly journal with a 2008 article entitled; The Deregulation of Usury Ceilings, Rise of Easy Credit, and Increasing Consumer Debt, published in volume 53 of the South Dakota Law Review.