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Wolfpack
- Author
- Roger Moorhouse
- Narrator
- Roger Moorhouse
- Publisher
- Hachette Audio
- Publish Date
- 21 October 2025
- Run Time
- 13 hours 53 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
Winston Churchill once remarked that the only threat to truly frighten him was the peril of Nazi U-boats. Over the course of World War II, Germany’s submariners sank over three thousand Allied ships, nearly three-quarters of Allied shipping losses in all theaters of the war. In the process the submariners endured horrific conditions and suffered a 75 percent death rate, the highest of any arm of service in the conflict. Yet their story has never been told in full.
In Wolfpack, historian Roger Moorhouse tells the story of the Battle of the Atlantic from the point of view of the German submariners. He tracks these men from the enthusiasm of the war’s early days, buoyed with optimism about their cause, through the challenges of the Allied counterthreat, to the final horrors of enemy capture and death in the depths. It is a story of courage, certainly, but also of fear, privation, and—ultimately—failure.
Drawing extensively on war diaries, archival records, and the voices of the German submariners themselves, Wolfpack is a story of technological brilliance, dramatic naval engagements, and extraordinary human endurance.
Critics Review
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“Moorhouse excels at the details. Drawing on diaries, letters, memoirs, and archives, he delivers gripping accounts of training, operation, living conditions, tactics, accounts of captains, crewmen, victims, and often tragic actions, all overlaid with a heavy dose of Nazi politics.”—Kirkus
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“The ‘Allied version of history’ tends to be repeated ad infinitum, and the search goes on for realistic interpretations of the Second World War. By writing an account of the Battle of the Atlantic from the perspective of German U-boatmen, Roger Moorhouse has done much to restore the emotional balance and to complete an inclusive picture. Very readable, humane, comprehensive, well sourced, and gripping.”—Norman Davies, author of Europe: A History
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“A fascinating exploration of the real war experienced by German submariners—the sights, the smells, the highs, the lows, and their greatest fears.”—John C. McManus, author of The Dead and Those About to Die
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“Roger Moorhouse is becoming a major authority in his field. Wolfpack is a significant contribution and rightly places the U-boat campaign at the heart of Germany’s strategy during the Second World War. Compellingly written, he seamlessly blends fascinating technical detail with human experience—often profoundly moving—and authoritative strategic insight. Wolfpack is a superb work of history.”—James Holland, author of Normandy '44
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“In this impeccably researched and beautifully constructed book, Roger Moorhouse tells the thrilling but ultimately tragic story of Germany's U-boats in the Second World War. Fighting bravely in cramped and claustrophobic conditions, Hitler's Wolfpacks came close to throttling Britain's supply lines in 1941. But thereafter, thanks to radar, convoys, and codebreaking, the U-boatmen's sacrifice—resulting in a scarcely credible death rate of 75%, the highest of the war—produced increasingly diminished returns. This superb history tells the story from a new perspective.”—Saul David, author of Operation Thunderbolt
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“A thrilling account from a master of Second World War history.”—Dan Snow, host, HistoryHit podcast
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Details
- Author
- Roger Moorhouse
- Narrator
- Roger Moorhouse
- Duration
- 13 hours 53 minutes
- Release Date
- 21 October 2025
- ISBN
- 9781668652305
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Hachette Audio
- Genre
- Naval forces and warfare, Military history, European history
Synopsis
From a top scholar of World War II, the “​fascinating”​ (John C. McManus) definitive history of Germany’s U-boat campaign that challenged British naval supremacy and brought international trade to its knees Winston Churchill once remarked that the only threat to truly frighten him was the peril of Nazi U-boats. Over the course of World War II, Germany’s submariners sank over three thousand Allied ships, nearly three-quarters of Allied shipping losses in all theaters of the war. In the process the submariners endured horrific conditions and suffered a 75 percent death rate, the highest of any arm of service in the conflict. Yet their story has never been told in full.  In Wolfpack, historian Roger Moorhouse tells the story of the Battle of the Atlantic from the point of view of the German submariners. He tracks these men from the enthusiasm of the war’s early days, buoyed with optimism about their cause, through the challenges of the Allied counterthreat, to the final horrors of enemy capture and death in the depths. It is a story of courage, certainly, but also of fear, privation, and—ultimately—failure.    Drawing extensively on war diaries, archival records, and the voices of the German submariners themselves, Wolfpack is a story of technological brilliance, dramatic naval engagements, and extraordinary human endurance. 
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