To the Last Salute: Memories of an Austrian U-Boat Commander

by Georg von Trapp, Elizabeth M. Campbell (Translator), Elizabeth M. Campbell (Introduction)

Overview

The Sound of Music endeared Georg von Trapp (1880-1947) and his singing family to the world, and it also showed how desperately the Nazis wanted Captain von Trapp for their navy. In To the Last Salute we learn why. Trapp's own story of his exploits as a submarine commander during the First World War is as exciting as it is instructive, bringing to stirring life a little-known chapter in the naval history of that war.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780803213500
Publisher:	UNP - Bison Books
Publication date:	05/01/2009
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.80(d)

About the Author

Elizabeth M. Campbell is the granddaughter of Georg von Trapp. A graduate of Middlebury College, she is the director of annual giving and communications at the Cotting School in Lexington, Massachusetts. Campbell lives outside Boston with her two children and their dog.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Meet the Real Captain von Trapp
The World of To the Last Salute
1. Between the Islands
2. U-Boats Mobilized
3. Léon Gambetta
4. Letters
5. Envy
6. Trip to the Hinterland
7. The Bomb Exploded
8. Poor Austrians!
9. Giuseppe Garibaldi
10. Nereide
11. The Prize
12. Gasoline Stupor
13. America Bluffs
14. The First Depth Charges
15. Heroes
16. Curie
17. The Oil Spill
18. Deck Paint
19. Bypassing the Official Channels
20. Unrestricted U-Boat War
21. Reconstruction in the Arsenal
22. The First Steamers
23. Transmission of Orders
24. Fog
25. The Two Greeks
26. Salute to Africa
27. One Comes, the Other Goes
28. Gjenovic
29. Otranto
30. Loot
31. Entertainment on Board
32. U-Boat Trap
33. Sheet Lightning
34. Bravo, Bim!
35. Autumn Journey
36. Internal Duty
37. Intermezzo
38. In the East
39. The Fire Goes Out
40. Durazzo
41. To the Last Salute
Notes

Editorial Reviews

"To the Last Salute is a professional account of submarine operations during World War I by one of the ace skippers of the k-u-k Navy. . . . This work provides an often gripping tale of some long forgotten but interesting naval actions during the Great War."—NYMAS Review

NYMAS Review

[von Trapp] almost certainly always tried to put his best foot forward, and he emerges from his account as a man of great skill, considerable compassion . . . and sufficient tact and tolerance to handle the kind of polyglot crews that sailed for the Dual Monarchy. [H]e became the highest scoring Austro-Hungarian submariner, despite equipment that was sometimes more dangerous to him and his men than to the enemy. He fought on to the end, knowing that the Dual Monarchy he served so well was crumbling.”—Booklist

Booklist

[A] lively, amusing, at-times-gripping memoir of naval warfare in the Mediterranean, and U-boat life. . . . One of its fascinating aspects is the glimpse it offers into the multiethnic makeup of this imperial navy, and the admirable attitudes and behavior of a patriotic officer on the losing side of a great conflict.”—The Atlantic

The Atlantic

Interesting and informative, the text is a rare history of an Austro-Hungarian involved in War. . . . [To the Last Salute] is highly recommended to those interested in the von Trapp family, the musical The Sound of Music, World War I from an Austro-Hungarian view, and U-boats.”—Curled Up With a Good Book

Curled Up With a Good Book

In his personal account, translated by his granddaughter Elizabeth Campbell, von Trapp captures the feeling of a bygone era where chivalry and love of country were paramount. . . . His amazing exploits in the Great War and life-and-death experiences as a commander of various U-boats will enthrall readers.”—Military Heritage

Military Heritage

“[von Trapp] almost certainly always tried to put his best foot forward, and he emerges from his account as a man of great skill, considerable compassion . . . and sufficient tact and tolerance to handle the kind of polyglot crews that sailed for the Dual Monarchy. [H]e became the highest scoring Austro-Hungarian submariner, despite equipment that was sometimes more dangerous to him and his men than to the enemy. He fought on to the end, knowing that the Dual Monarchy he served so well was crumbling.”—Booklist

Booklist

"This book is the hitherto untold prequel to the legendary von Trapp history. In his narrative Captain von Trapp emerges as a patriot, a compassionate commander, and a self-effacing hero."

-William Anderson, author of The World of the Trapp Family

William Anderson