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False Flags

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False Flags tells the epic story of the 'pirate war' waged by the German raiders the Orion, Komet, Pinguin and Kormoran during the early years of World War II.
  • 10 September 2019
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Now available in paperback, False Flags tells the epic story of German raider voyages to the South Seas during the early years of World War II. In 1940 the raiders Orion, Komet, Pinguin and Kormoran left Germany and waged a & pirate war' in the South Seas - part of Germany's strategy to attack the British Empire's maritime trade on a global scale. Their extraordinary voyages spanned the globe and are maritime sagas in the finest tradition of seafaring. The four raiders voyaged across the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans as well as the Arctic and Antarctic. They sank or captured 62 ships in a forgotten naval war that is told here in its entirety. The Orion and Komet terrorised the South Pacific and New Zealand waters before Pearl Harbor when the war was supposed to be far away. The Pinguin sank numerous Allied merchant ships in the Indian Ocean before mining the approaches to Australian ports and capturing the Norwegian whaling fleet in Antarctica. The Kormoran raided the Atlantic but will always be remembered for sinking the Australian cruiser Sydney off Western Australia, killing all 645 sailors on board in tragic circumstances. False Flags is also the story of the Allied sailors who encountered these raiders and fought suicidal battles against a superior foe as well as the men, women and children who endured captivity on board the raiders as prisoners of the Third Reich.
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Price: $22.99
Pages: 320
Publisher: Exisle Publishing
Imprint: Exisle Publishing
Publication Date: 10 September 2019
Trim Size: 9.25 X 6.00 in
ISBN: 9781925335804
Format: Paperback
BISACs: HISTORY / Wars & Conflicts / World War II / General, HISTORY / Military / Naval, HISTORY / Military / Strategy, HISTORY / Maritime History & Piracy, Maritime history, Military history, Second World War
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"Few writers have attempted to present a balanced, strategic overview of (the German raider) operations, but in False Flags, Stephen Robinson has written a thoroughly researched account of the auxiliary cruisers’ war,"
-Royal United Services Institution Victoria

"False Flags does one important thing — it demonstrates just how omnipresent German vessels were in Australian waters"
-The Weekly Times

"extensive archival research of German, British, Australian and New Zealand naval records uncovering never before accessed eyewitness accounts and declassified intelligence reports. Beautifully written"
-Have a Go News

"False Flags is the epic story of German commerce raiders that sailed into the South Seas during the early years of the Second World War ... an excellent addition for all book collectors."
-Australian Warship

"Stephen Robinson undertook extensive research for this book in the German, British, Australian and NZ naval records. He uncovered never-before-accessed eyewitness accounts and declassified intelligence reports. Many of the crews and passengers of the ships targeted by the raiders ended up as prisoners of war, while others were set adrift in life rafts."
-Australian Defence Magazine

Introduction 

  1. The raiders prepare
  2. The Orion’s Atlantic war
  3. The Hauraki Gulf operation
  4. The Pinguin’s first victories
  5. The Northeast Passage
  6. The Tasman Raider
  7. The Far East Squadron
  8. The Australian minefields
  9. The Indian Ocean pursuit
  10. Nauru and the phosphate ships
  11. Hilfskreuzer Kormoran
  12. The castaways of Emirau Island
  13. Von Luckner, spies and the fifth column
  14. Return to Nauru and intrigue in Japan
  15. The raider war in Antarctica
  16. The Kormoran in the Atlantic
  17. Remote encounters and the islands of despair
  18. Tanker hunt in the Arabian Sea
  19. A new operational area
  20. The voyage of the Adjutant
  21. Destination Bordeaux
  22. The Galapagos Islands raider
  23. Encounter off Shark Bay
  24. The Kormoran–Sydney battle
  25. The fleet of lifeboats

Epilogue

Appendixes: the raiders

Glossary

Notes

Bibliography

Index