Title: The Golden Horseshoe: Wartime career of Otto Kretschmer.
Author: Terence Robertson
ISBN: 1-85367-558-X
Publisher: Greenhill Books
Stars:5 (out of 5)
OK, I haven't read a U-boat memoir in awhile so I dug this one out of my "too read" box. I had picked this one up at a small Military show for $18.
This book is one of the better U-boat memoirs I have read. I wanted to keep reading it and actually read it all night here....4am when I finished it.
The book starts off with Otto Kretschmer's life and early training. It was new to read (for me) that Kretschmer was in the same early cadre with Prien and Schepke. These 3 were the first acknowledged "aces" in the early part of the war. The book goes on to mention how these 3 were responsible for quite of bit of damage to the Allied war effort in sunk and damaged ships. I liked the way that he came up with his U-Boats symbol of the Horseshoe.
The book is in 17 chapters and talks on certain Patrols, Kretschmer meeting w/Hitler, and ultimately the destruction of his U-boat (U99) and capture. The book talks of how Kretschmer came up with his daring convoy attacks and how they succeded.
The last couple of chapters talk about Kretschmer as a POW and how he was interogated, treated and then sent to a Canadian POW camp, where he staged a 'brawl' with the guards over a camp order.
I could not put the book down as he describes setting up each attack and who the ultimate victim was. This includes 3 armed merchant ships and a destroyer. He survived the war as the highest tonnage scoring U-Boat ace in WWII.
Definately Recommended for all.
Review: The Goldern Horseshoe
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sniper1shot
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krichter33
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Golden Horseshoe is excellent, one of my favorite!!! U Boat Ace by Vause, about Wolfgang Luth, as well as Lone Wolf by Mulligan, about Werner Henke, are also excellent reads. Right now I'm finishing Ace of Aces the autobiography of Reinhard "Teddy" Suhren. It is very good, another great read. Hell, there are a lot of good U boat books out there, Iron Coffins, U Boat Commander, The Laughing Cow, Grey Wolf Grey Sea, Odyssey of a U Boat Commander, ect.... Great subject. I love all of it!!! 