The Iron Pirate

Douglas Reeman is one of the most prolific and reliable authors of nautical/naval fiction. "The Iron Pirate" is one of his books set during World War II and shows that he is as comfortable describing the German Kriegsmarine's war as he is with Britain's Royal Navy experience of that conflict. The story here relates to Nazi Germany's cruiser war - the use of its surface ships as commerce raiders against Allied shipping and convoys in the Atlantic, particularly. Well written and easy to read, Reeman's fiction can perhaps be faulted for complicating his well-described naval actions with somewhat less well etched character development among members of his supporting cast (as compared to his much better presented leading characters). Nevertheless, I have also found it possible to pick up any of Reeman's naval-military novels with confidence that it will be a satisfying read.

"In war it is inevitable that only one side can triumph, but honour and self-sacrifice are not the sole attributes of the victors". Douglas Reeman's words, from the prefatory blurb, put this novel accurately in context. Surprisingly and most effectively, its hero is not a Royal Navy skipper or even an American sailor, but the captain of a German cruiser. In 1944, when many Germans can already see the writing on the wall, Kapitaen zur See Dieter Hechler takes Prinz Luitpold, a Hipper class 8-inch cruiser, on a last daring commerce raid across the Atlantic. The Hippers, formidable on paper, did not live up to their promise - partly due to unreliable machinery, and even more to inconsistent, vacillating official policy. This book suggests how much better they could have done in the hands of resolute and independent commanders. Even Hechler finds himself under the thumb of an unpleasant Nazi admiral with a fraction of his talent (a recurrent theme in Reeman's books), possibly a fatal handicap when it comes to the inevitable confrontation with the individually weaker but more numerous British warships. As usual Douglas Reeman's expertise shows through every page. His description of life in Nazi Germany after four years of total war is no less deft and convincing. This is a splendid yarn of war at sea, but it also has a powerful human dimension. Sacrifice, cruelty, compassion, forgiveness... all the emotions of human beings pushed to, and beyond, their limits. Regardless of who they are, or which country's flag is fluttering from the mast.