Geirr H. Haarr

In the aftermath of the declaration of war in September 1939, the first seven months of the conflict seemed anticlimactic. While the major powers of Europe were now officially at war, there were no major clashes between Germany, France, and Britain. As anticipation gave way to boredom, some people began calling it a "phony war," with the civilians at home and the soldiers clustered at the front waiting for the fighting to begin.

For the navies, however, the "phony war" was a myth. From the start of the conflict warships were sent out to assert control over the oceans and disrupt enemy commerce. Though this combat took place throughout much of the Atlantic Ocean and elsewhere, during these months the fighting was concentrated in the waters between Britain and Germany. It is this part of the war that forms the subject of Geirr Haarr's book. In considerable detail he describes the campaigns waged by Royal Navy and the Kriegsmarine as they sent out their ships and planes to interdict merchant ships, sow mines, and challenge the presence of their foes. What emerges from these chapters is of two sides learning how to engage their respective enemies, often with new or improved technologies that changed the nature of naval warfare from what their forces had experienced just two decades previously. Yet in many ways the two sides continued to fight with the old assumptions, with the Kriegsmarine's leader, Erich Raeder, pining for a surface fleet he would never possess, and the Royal Navy asserting a wasteful offensive approach towards engaging the resurgent threat of the U-boats.

Perhaps the most fascinating part of the book in this respect is how these months served to foreshadow the rest of the naval war that was to follow. Yet this point is one of many that Haarr leaves unmade. While the book is full of details (though not all of it accurate), it is sorely lacking in analysis that would connect all of this information into conclusions about the the relative performance of the two sides, or how these events shaped broader developments both then and later. For those seeking operational details about this part of the war the book is a treasure, but the absence of this sort of broader examination prevents Haarr's book from becoming a truly definitive study of its subject.… (lisätietoja)

The first book by Norwegian author Geirr H. Haarr is a detailed examination of the German invasion of Norway. Told mostly from the Norwegian point of view with a great deal of the German perspective thrown in. The Allies get less attention but this is fine considering most other English language sources on the invasion cover the British (and to a lesser extent the French) stories quite thoroughly. In short this book was excellent. The author carefully covers the events that lead up to the invasion, bringing clarity to what was a very confusing interconnected chain of events, many happening simultaneously and effecting multiple participants. What comes through is that neither the Germans or Allies had clear cut motivations for invading Norway, the Gemans were able to overcome this ambiguity and formulate a daring, brazen plan to invade Norway. The British, who had planned their own intervention in Norway were never able to overcome the murky and contradictory motivations which lead to much confusion and ineffective action in the initial days of the invasion. What comes through clearly is that Norway was totally unprepared for war physcially, mentally and emotionally. With a few exceptions (which proved disastrous for the Germans) Norwegian soldiers and sailors were extremely hesitant to fire on invading German units even though those units were deep within Norwegian territorial waters and despite warnings from multiple intelligence sources of the impending German invasion (and in Trondheim despite direct orders from the Naval High Command to open fire on approaching German ships!) The reactions of the Norwegians make for fascinating if not frustrating reading. The German invasion was put together on a shoe-string and in the face of British maritime supremacy. The thought of what might have happened to the Germans had the Norwegians been alert and willing to resolutely defend their positions is intriguing. Alas that's a story for Harry Turtledove. In the end the Norwegians could not recover from decades of neglect of the military and a strategy too invested in maintaining neutrality and not defending the nation. Despite a few obvious errors in picture captions and a odd lack of maps for each of the major invasion areas (especially considering the detailed coverage of the invasion actions) I highly recommend the book for anyone interested in World War II history or naval history and would say it is a must-read for fans of the Norwegian Campaign or anyone interested in joint operations.… (lisätietoja)