Hitler, Dönitz, and the Baltic Sea

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"In examining that strategy, Grier answers lingering questions about the Third Reich's final months and also provides evidence of its emphasis up naval affairs and of Admiral Karl Donitz's influence in shaping Hitler's grand strategy. Donitz intended to starve Britain into submission and halt the shipment of American troops and supplies to Europe with a fleet of new Type XXI U-boats. But to test the new submarines and train their crews the Nazis needed control of the Baltic Sea and possession of its ports, and to launch their U-boat offensive they needed Norway, the only suitable location that remained after the loss of France in the summer of 1944." "This work analyzes German naval strategy from 1944 to 1945 and its role in shaping the war on land in the Baltic."--BOOK JACKET.