Fleet 18 Kriegsmarine Southern Command 1941–45

Packed with illustrations, this is the first history of MarinegruppenkommandoSüd, Germany's southern naval command that fought a fast and furious war at the far end of the Mediterranean. As Germany and Italy overran Yugoslavia and Greece in early 1941, the Kriegsmarine established a new theatre command, tasked with establishing German control over the eastern Mediterranean and coordinating actions with the Italian, Romanian and Bulgarian navies. With the invasion of the USSR that summer, the Black Sea would also become a battleground, and Naval Group South would be established. For the first time, Kriegsmarine historian Lawrence Paterson outlines the dizzying array of Kriegsmarine combat units that fought under Naval Group South – S-boats and U-boats, flotillas of escort ships, landing ships, artillery vessels, patrol boats, submarine hunters and minesweepers – and how they operated, including their organization, their complex logistics, and vital intelligence and communications. Combat was frequently fast and furious, ranging from pitched battles with the Soviet Black Sea Fleet and operations supporting Operation Barbarossa to combat against naval units of Tito's Partisans off the Croatian coast. Superbly illustrated with rare photos, artwork of dramatic actions, 3D diagrams and maps, this explores the little-known naval war fought by Germany's smaller craft, at the farthest reach of German naval power in Europe.