Atlantis – The Story of a German Surface Raider

Atlantis – The Story of a German Surface Raider by Ulrich Mohr as told to A.V. Sellwood 1955 Werner Laurie is a meticulously documented first‑hand account of one of Nazi Germany’s most effective commerce raiders during the Second World War, published in London in 1955 by Werner Laurie. Written by Ulrich Mohr, the former adjutant (first officer) of the German auxiliary cruiser Atlantis, and rendered into a compelling English narrative with the skilled collaboration of British naval historian and journalist Arthur V. Sellwood, Atlantis – The Story of a German Surface Raider provides an authentic and vivid inside view of naval warfare on the high seas.

In Atlantis – The Story of a German Surface Raider, Mohr recounts the exploits of the Atlantis — a disguised armed merchant raider commissioned by the Kriegsmarine in March 1940 — during her extraordinary 622‑day career at sea before her sinking by HMS Devonshire in November 1941. The vessel, operating under strategic camouflage and false identities, captured or sank numerous Allied merchant ships across the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans, disrupting supply lines and engaging in psychological and tactical naval warfare. Mohr’s narrative chronicles life aboard this secretive warship, offering both operational detail and personal insight into the challenges, dangers, and ingenuity that defined the Atlantis’s mission.

This 1955 Werner Laurie edition is structured with a substantive introductory section, approximately 246 pages of text, and a series of photographic plates and maps that enhance the reader’s understanding of Atlantis’s operational theatre. Mohr’s perspective as an officer on board gives Atlantis – The Story of a German Surface Raider both historical credibility and narrative immediacy, combining factual wartime reportage with reflective commentary on the human elements of naval conflict.

For collectors of Second World War naval history, military memoirs, and classic accounts of naval operations, Atlantis – The Story of a German Surface Raider by Ulrich Mohr as told to A.V. Sellwood 1955 Werner Laurie remains a significant and engaging work. It stands as a testament to the striking contrasts of maritime warfare — strategy and subterfuge, isolation and camaraderie — and preserves the voice of one of the key participants in the Atlantis’s storied career.

Condition: Very Good – This Third Impression in black cloth boards shows some shelf wear and the spine text is quite badly faded.