The

by ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 25, 1955

With Defeat at Sea by C. D. Bekker, currently reviewed, high lighting the German naval battles of the World War II, the Altmark affair has again come to light. Where Defeat at Sea is disappointingly dull reading, this is an exciting and dramatic account of a gripping sea adventure, a documentary history of the secret supply ship of the pocket Nazi raider, the Graf Spee. Captain Dan of the Altmark was instructed to stand by at intervals, not only to deliver supplies of fuel, provisions and ammunition, but to take off prisoners after the sea battles. All nine of these memorable battles are challengingly presented; 300 prisoners had been transferred to the Altmark before the Graf Spee met her end in Montevideo. The Altmark tried to weave a safe course back to Hamburg. She almost made it but was caught in Norwegian waters, where the British cruiser won the issue against presumed Norwegian neutrality, and boarding the Altmark shouted down the hold, ""The Navy's here!"" The experience for the prisoners had been a bitter one. Conditions were almost unbearable, for the hold was not equipped and the discipline was harsh. The story is holding, from first to last. The authors, journalists both, secured much of their material from first hand interviews, which lends an immediacy to the telling.

Pub Date: Oct. 25, 1955

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Macmillan

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1955

Categories: NONFICTION