"Among the military leaders of the Second World war, Grand Admiral Karl Doenitz remains a deeply enigmatic figure. As chief of the German submarine fleet he earned Allied respect as a formidable enemy. But after he succeeded Hitler - to whom he was unquestionaly loyal - as head of the Third Reich, his name became associated with all that was most hated in the Nazi regime. Yet Doenitz deserves credit for ending the war quickly while trying to save his compatriots in the East - his Dunkirk-style operation across the Baltic rescued up to 2 million troops and civilian refugees."--Book jacket.