Nigel Thomas, The German Navy 1935-45 (Osprey, 2025)
As a former sailor, I’m drawn to naval history. But I didn’t know that much about the German Kreigsmarine in World War II, though I knew that it was not all U-boats and Bismarck. So, what better way to get started than to pick up Osprey’s latest Elite series book.
Thomas begins with brief summaries of German naval campaign. Like many of Germany’s forces, the Navy received some combat training in the Spanish Civil War. It is World War II, however, that Thomas concentrates on, with the section broken down into surface operations, submarine ops, the role of the merchant navy, and a brief note on the post-war administration of the service. How the Navy was organised follows before Thomas moves onto the fleet itself, beginning with ships of the line then capital ships, pocket battleships, light cruisers, destroyers, auxiliary cruisers, torpedo boats, speed boats, minesweepers, submarines, special forces, and naval aviation. There is also a section on naval land units, including penal battalions, engineers, and artillery. Also, in line with other services, the Germans allowed foreign nationals to serve in the Navy, most notably from Croatia and Spain. Thomas provides brief descriptions of the various naval uniforms and insignia.
It is this type of straightforward overview that made Osprey a significant military history publisher. It covers all the basics and is easily read in a single sitting. However, there is no in-depth analysis, and the lack of even a rudimentary bibliography is a major disappointment for those who might want to delve further into the subject. Nevertheless, the descriptions of uniforms and Osprey’s typically excellent colour graphics make Thomas’s book an excellent starting point for any reader interested in the Kriegsmarine.
