The Adventures of the U-202; An Actual Narrative
New York, N.Y. The Century Co., 1917. Presumed First Edition, First Printing Thus. Hardcover. vii, [1], 202, [2] pages. Cover has some wear and soiling. Spine frayed at top. Includes Preface, as well as chapters on Our First Success; An Eventful Night; The Sinking of the Transport; Rich Spoils; The Witch-Kettle; A Day of Terror; A Lively Chase; The British Bull-Dog; and Homeward Bound! The author held the rank of Captain-Lieutenant, and was the Commander of U-202. His bestselling book was Kriegstagebuch U 202 (published 1916), translated by Barry Domvile as U boat 202. (The title “U 202” was fictional; a German submarine with this name did not exist). The book was one of the most widely spread works of German World War I literature. Edgar von Spiegel von und zu Peckelsheim (October 9, 1885 – May 15, 1965) was a German submarine commander in World War I, Consul in New Orleans and Marseille in World War II and writer. He wrote several, mainly autobiographical naval warfare books. The most successful one was “Kriegstagebuch U 202“ (U boat 202. The war diary of a German submarine, 1916). It sold 360,000 copies in Germany and was also a success in the United States. Baron Edgar von Spiegel originated from the German noble family “Spiegel von und zu Peckelsheim“. He grew up in East Prussia and completed military training at a marine cadet school. In 1903 he joined the German imperial navy as a midshipman. In 1911 he served as Oberleutnant zur See on the small cruiser SMS Cormoran. The cruiser helped to suppress the Sokehs Rebellion in Ponape, German New Guninea. Von Spiegel was the leader of the local police during the suppression. In World War I von Spiegel was promoted to Captain lieutenant. From September 1914 to February 1916 he served as commander of the submarine U-32. From February to April 1917 he commanded the submarine U-93. In a battle with the British Q-ship HMS Prize, commanded by Lieutenant William Edward Sanders, SM U-93 was badly damaged. Edgar von Spiegel and two men of his crew went overboard. They were rescued by the Q-ship and spent the rest of the war as prisoners in United Kingdom. After World War I von Spiegel returned to Germany. In the Weimar Republic he started working in the shipping industry and then made a changeover to the automobile industry. In the late 1920s he worked as general manager of the Graham-Paige Automobile GmbH in Berlin, a subsidiary of the American automobile manufacturer Graham-Paige. In Nazi Germany, von Spiegel served in the German diplomatic service. In the years 1936/37 he worked in the Department Ribbentrop at the German embassy in London. Since 1937 he was Consul (Generalkonsul) in New Orleans. Because of spy activities the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated him. Baron von Spiegel operated in the consulate building "Van Benthuysen Elms Mansion". He probably briefed German submarines in the Gulf of Mexico via radio about merchant vessels leaving the port of New Orleans for England. Baron Edgar von Spiegel wrote several, mostly autobiographical, books about his experiences in the Imperial German Navy. In his first book Kriegsbilder aus Ponape. Erlebnisse eines Seeoffiziers im Aufstande auf den Karolinen (War pictures from Ponape. Experiences of a naval officer in the rebellion on the Caroline Islands, 1912) he described his involvement in the suppression of the Sokehs Rebellion in Ponape. His book U-Boot im Fegefeuer (Submarine in Purgatory, 1930) described von Spiegel's prisoner of war after the sinking of his submarine U 93. Condition: Fair.
Keywords: U-boat, Submarine Warfare, Torpedo, Convoy, Merchant Shipping, Naval Operations, Undersea Warfare, North Sea, Kreigsmarine
[Book #82354]
Price: $100.00