Synopsis
"Operation Drumbeat: Germany's U-Boat Attacks Along the American Coast in World War II" by Michael Gannon is a gripping historical account that delves into the largely overlooked German submarine campaign against merchant shipping along the U.S. Atlantic coast during the first six months of 1942. The book, authored by a historian and former Catholic priest from Florida, vividly narrates the Kriegsmarine’s Operation Drumbeat, or "Paukenschlag" (German for "drumbeat"), which was launched in the wake of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. With the United States newly thrust into World War II, German Admiral Karl Dönitz seized the opportunity to deploy U-boats from bases in occupied France to strike at the vulnerable American eastern seaboard. Gannon’s narrative centers on this audacious and devastating campaign, which saw nearly 400 Allied freighters and tankers sunk, resulting in the deaths of over 5,000 merchant seamen and sailors—more than double the fatalities at Pearl Harbor—exposing the shocking unpreparedness and complacency of the U.S. Navy during the early stages of the conflict.
The book focuses particularly on the initial wave of the operation, which involved five Type IX U-boats, with a special emphasis on U-123, commanded by the skilled and daring Kapitänleutnant Reinhard Hardegen. Gannon traces Hardegen’s missions as a narrative thread, offering a detailed look at the U-boat’s journey across the Atlantic and its predatory exploits along the American coast. From sinking freighters silhouetted against the bright lights of New York City—where no blackout orders had been implemented—to torpedoing the tanker Gulfamerica just two miles off Jacksonville, Florida, Hardegen’s U-123 operated with near impunity. The book recounts dramatic episodes, such as the U-boat’s close call with a Norwegian factory ship and its tense encounter with the disguised Q-Ship Atik, painting a vivid picture of life aboard the submarine and the relentless danger faced by both the German crew and the Allied mariners they targeted. Through meticulous research, including interviews with Hardegen himself, surviving crew members, and Allied personnel, Gannon brings a human dimension to the technological and strategic aspects of submarine warfare.
Beyond the action-packed recounting of U-boat patrols, Gannon delivers a scathing critique of the U.S. Navy’s response, laying much of the blame at the feet of Admiral Ernest J. King, the chief of naval operations. Despite proven tactics like convoying merchant ships—successfully employed by the British and during World War I—the American naval leadership, under King’s direction, failed to act decisively. Gannon highlights how King’s Anglophobia and reluctance to heed British intelligence warnings, including those from Bletchley Park, left coastal waters virtually undefended. The result was a staggering loss of ships and lives, with U-boats sinking vessels within sight of American shores, their silhouettes stark against un-dimmed city lights. This period, which Gannon dubs the "Atlantic Pearl Harbor," is argued to have been a greater strategic setback for the Allies than the Pearl Harbor attack itself, threatening to sever Britain’s lifeline and cripple the U.S. war effort at a critical juncture.
"Operation Drumbeat" is not just a tale of German triumph and American failure; it also explores the broader implications of this campaign within the Battle of the Atlantic. Gannon weaves together personal stories—of U-123’s crew enduring the claustrophobic intensity of their steel vessel and of Allied sailors cast adrift in lifeboats after torpedo strikes—with a strategic analysis of how close Germany came to altering the war’s course. While the book occasionally delves deeply into Hardegen’s biography, which some might find excessive, it remains a compelling blend of storytelling and scholarship. First published in 1990, it stands as a testament to Gannon’s ability to transform a lesser-known chapter of World War II into a suspenseful and thought-provoking narrative, one that underscores both the bravery of those involved and the staggering cost of early wartime missteps.