“Queenstown Bound: U.S. Navy Destroyers Combating German U-Boats In European Waters In World War I”

In World War I, writes Chicoan and naval historian David Bruhn, “German U-boats sank over 5,200 vessels and came dangerously close to choking off Britain’s critical supply of food in the spring of 1917, which could have led to the collapse of the British war effort but for the entrance of the United States into the conflict.”

Once that happened, writes Bruhn, “it quickly became apparent that destroyers and other anti-submarine vessels were the key to defeating the U-boats.” The destroyers “were the most significant U.S. Navy contribution to the war effort. … Initially, American destroyers were all based at Queenstown (since 1920, Cobh, pronounced Cove), Ireland.”

Bruhn tells their story in exacting detail in “Queenstown Bound: U.S. Navy Destroyers Combating German U-Boats In European Waters In World War I” ($35 in paperback from Heritage Books, Inc.). Encyclopedic in scope, there are 177 photographs, diagrams and maps.

“Up to March,1918, only a relatively small part of the formidable American armies that were forming had reached Europe. The Germans had mistakenly believed  that its submarines could prevent the movement of large numbers of troops across the seemingly impassible 3,000-mile watery gulf separating them from the field of battle.” They were wrong. “The U.S. Navy’s ability to get two million U.S. soldiers safely to France changed the course of the war, and of world history.”

At first the destroyers only had the “hand-thrown Mark I depth charge. There being no launchers for the 100-lb weapon, the strongest man in a ship’s crew heaved the ordnance over the vessel’s stern when attacking a suspected periscope, or oil slick.” Germany fought back. In 1918 dozens of American vessels were sunk or damaged.

“Fighting continued with prolonged great loss of life in trenches on land; in the air; and on the sea until the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, when the Great War ended.” Germany signed for peace; “an announcement of an armistice commencing at 1100 hours followed the signing.” It called for Germany to “turn over her submarines to the Allies.”

Peace had come, but at an unimaginable price.

“Sanctuary Not Certain: American, British, Australian, And Canadian Hospital Ships In The European—African—Middle Eastern Theatre In World War II”

“During World War II,” Chicoan David Bruhn writes, “German/Italian aircraft purposely bombed and sank thirteen Allied hospital ships in the European Theatre. A fourteenth hospital ship was sunk by a German mine in the English Channel off Juno beach, during the Normandy invasion.” That meant that wounded “servicemembers could not be assured of safety aboard hospital ships….”

The unheralded story is told in “Sanctuary Not Certain: American, British, Australian, And Canadian Hospital Ships In The European—African—Middle Eastern Theatre In World War II” ($33 in paperback from heritagebooks.com). Replete with photographs, charts, tables and maps, the book chronicles Allied hospital ships including the 24 operated by “civilian Merchant Marine employees of the Transportation Corps” for the U.S. Army.

Hospital ships were “converted passenger liners or troop ships” with clear markings. Many of the U.S. Army ships were named for flowers, like Shamrock and Marigold; others for “deceased Army doctors and Army nurses who had served with distinction”; still others retained their original names. “Each vessel had to be registered officially as to name and characteristics to be readily recognizable by the enemy.”

Details of life aboard hospital ships are hard to come by (no official diaries were required), but Bruhn has compiled a comprehensive account using available evidence. The chapter on the Normandy invasion on June 6, 1944 notes on that day alone there were some ten thousand Allied casualties, “killed, wounded, and missing in action,” including 6603 Americans. The role of British hospital carriers was crucial.

Bruhn writes me that this, his thirty-sixth book (with subjects including “naval history, competitive running, building land yachts, or creating” a Stand Easy “hideaway pub”), will be his last; he and his wife Nancy plan to travel. He’s created a “legacy website,” davidbruhn.com, where viewers can request help “in learning more about a relative’s naval service.”

After Bruhn’s deep dive into naval history, a little shore leave is not uncalled for.

David Bruhn is Nancy Wiegman’s guest on Nancy’s Bookshelf on Northstate Public Radio, mynspr.org, Wednesday, June 25 at 10:00 a.m., repeated Sunday, June 29 at 8:00 p.m.