Kriegsmarine Books

About Kriegsmarine

The Kriegsmarine was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945, serving as one of the three main branches of the Wehrmacht. It was formed as a successor to the Reichsmarine following Germany's remilitarization under Adolf Hitler and marked a dramatic expansion in naval ambition and capability. Operating under the command of Grand Admiral Erich Raeder and later Karl Dönitz, the Kriegsmarine sought to challenge Allied naval dominance despite starting from a relatively weak position. One of its most iconic elements was its fleet of U-boats (submarines), which played a central role in the Battle of the Atlantic. These submarines waged a relentless campaign against Allied shipping, threatening supply lines across the Atlantic and earning the nickname “wolfpacks.” Though initially successful, advancements in Allied convoy tactics and anti-submarine technology turned the tide of the campaign. The Kriegsmarine also fielded battleships like the Bismarck and Tirpitz, both of which were seen as symbols of German naval power, though they met with limited success. The navy’s surface fleet was often outmatched by the Royal Navy and lacked the numbers to dominate open-sea engagements. By the end of the war, the Kriegsmarine was heavily diminished. After Germany’s surrender in 1945, the Kriegsmarine was disbanded and later replaced by the Bundesmarine (now the Deutsche Marine) in West Germany. While known for technological innovation and strategic impact in submarine warfare, the Kriegsmarine was also complicit in enforcing Nazi ideology and contributed to broader war efforts under Hitler's regime.