Well here I go again, I'm a war behind. Today I recieved a book I ordered titled 'To The Last Salute'  Memories of an Austrian U-boat Commander. This is the memoir of Georg von Trapp, if the name sounds familiar then you've probably seen the movie 'Sound of Music' it's Herr von Trapps family thats being chased across the Alps.

   It's a short book at 188 pages with pictures scattered throughout. This is the first publication in English, and it was done by Elizabeth M. Campbell who is Georg von Trapps granddaughter. These memoirs were originally published in 1935.

                            From the book:

          In his many guises Trapp describes life as captain of Austro-Hungarian U-boats in the Mediterranean and Adriatic seas, emerging by turn as the Imperial Austrian naval officer; the witty observer of international politics; and the indefatigable and ultimately heartbroken patriot opposing the Allied enemy.

        He relates deadly duals with submarine sweepers, narrow escapes and excruciatinly close calls, and the spectacular sinking of cargo and warships.....

         A picture of a lost time, a portrait of a remarkable character, a window on early submarine warfare.

         Well my tea is done and the house is quiet, I'm off with my book to the recliner.

 This was a great book, the U-boat men of the Austro-Hungarian empire were a pretty hardy bunch. von Trapp spent all his time in the Adriatic and Mediterranean. When the war started he was in command of an outdated U-boat that wasn't much more then a plain old tube with an engine in the stern, he was amazed when he saw Hersings German U-boat, that it had bulkheads that sealed off the engines, had sleeping quarters not only for the officers but the men also. von Trapp and his first officer were issued old air mattress's that didn't even hold air for very long, although von Trapp states that they were comfortable if you could "fall asleep fast" and slept on the deck. The men didn't get air mattress's.

  von Trapp was very reluctant to show Hersing his boat but felt it only appropriate, on seeing the Austro-Hungarian boat Hersing stated "I would refuse to put to sea in this crate"

   He also talks about what they called 'gasoline stupor' apparently their boats were not exhausted very well and after an hour or two of being submerged half the crew would be passed out. In the book it states that this was a contributing factor in his death in 1947.

   He does finally end up with a captured French submarine and life gets a little better for von Trapp and crew. He does however run afoul of the top brass as he tries to get a German 88mm deck cannon for his boat and has to do some fancy talking to cool the situation down.

   At the end of the book you can feel von Trapps pain as his beloved empire falls apart, and you feel very sad as he describes seeing the Austro-Hungarian flag being lowered for the last time never to be raised again. "Bis zum letzten Flaggenschuss"

   A book about a dedicated Officer who loved his country and his men.