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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.
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10 September 2019

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.
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
"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
-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
- The raiders prepare
- The Orion’s Atlantic war
- The Hauraki Gulf operation
- The Pinguin’s first victories
- The Northeast Passage
- The Tasman Raider
- The Far East Squadron
- The Australian minefields
- The Indian Ocean pursuit
- Nauru and the phosphate ships
- Hilfskreuzer Kormoran
- The castaways of Emirau Island
- Von Luckner, spies and the fifth column
- Return to Nauru and intrigue in Japan
- The raider war in Antarctica
- The Kormoran in the Atlantic
- Remote encounters and the islands of despair
- Tanker hunt in the Arabian Sea
- A new operational area
- The voyage of the Adjutant
- Destination Bordeaux
- The Galapagos Islands raider
- Encounter off Shark Bay
- The Kormoran–Sydney battle
- The fleet of lifeboats
Epilogue
Appendixes: the raiders
Glossary
Notes
Bibliography
Index