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Wielding the Dagger The MarineKorps Flandern and the German War Effort, 1914-1918
Mark D. Karau
ISBN: 0-313-32475-1
ISBN-13: 978-0-313-32475-8
280 pages
Praeger Publishers
Publication: 10/30/2003
List Price: $85.00 (UK Sterling Price: £58.95)
Discount Price: $42.50 Sale Price for U.S. Customers Only. Save 50%. Ends 12/31/2009.
Availability: In Stock
Media Type: Hardcover
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects:
Description: In August 1914, Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz convinced the German armed forces to create a new unit, called the MarineDivision Flandern, to garrison the Belgian coastline and prepare naval bases in for the implementation of a naval guerrilla war against Great Britain. The Germans called their strategy Kleinkrieg, or little war, and they intended to whittle away at British naval superiority by using their submarines and destroyers. Later expanded into the MarineKorps, the unit soon found itself in the middle of a land war as well. What had been intended as a garrison unit found itself on the frontlines when the war stalemated.

The British had traditionally seen Belgium as a dagger pointed at the throat of England, and the Royal Navy feared what use the Germans might make of the position. The result was an active naval campaign in the English Channel. Karau brings to light the contributions of the MarineKorps Flandern, a force often neglected by historians. He examines the role of the MarineKorps in both land and naval wars and reaffirms the increasingly important role played by aircraft in the Flanders theater. If Belgium was a weapon pointed at the British throat, were the Germans properly equipped to wield the dagger?
Table of Contents:
  • List of Maps
    List of Tables
    Preface
    Introduction
    Creation of the MarineKorps
    Building the Naval Bases and Fortifying the Coast
    The Creation of the Flanders Flotillas
    The Year of Transition
    Fall K: The MarineKorps and Dutch Neutrality
    The Decisive Year
    Endgame
    Conclusion
    Appendices
    Maps and Figures
    Bibliography
About the Author: MARK D. KARAU is an instructor of history at University of Wisconsin Colleges. His published articles include pieces in Relevance: The Journal of the Great War Society and The Journal of Military History.
LCC Class: 940
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