Between 1939 and 1945 some 1.5 million men had served in the Kriegsmarine. Of this number, over 65,000 were killed, over 105,000 missing and a further 21,000 wounded. When the War ended in May 1945, hardly any Kriegsmarine existed. Only two influential Warships were still operational. The rest of the Fleet had either been destroyed at sea or in their bases, or sunk by their own crews. As fewer and fewer vessels became available, men recruited solely for the sea, were given a gun and orders to go and fight the battle on land! German Naval ground units also provided a critical service during WW2. They manned massive guns along the Atlantic Wall and Naval Flak and Artillery units across Europe. There were also countless Naval Infantry, Engineer and Communications units. Of the 40,600 men who served on the U-boats, 30,246 were lost or missing and over 5000 were taken into captivity and imprisoned. U-boat men were considered a high risk by the Allies (simply due to the propaganda and mith that surrounded the U-boat Arm) and they were held in captivity for much longer periods than other German servicemen. Some were still in custody in 1948, even after many of the famed SS prisoners had been released. The men who served on the U-boats, were mostly volunteers at a very young age. They endured atrocious conditions, confined in a dank dark atmosphere for weeks on end. They sailed to all corners of the Globe, from the Arctic to the South Atlantic and every area of the Atlantic and the Pacific. They breathed impure, damp and sometimes toxic air, slept and worked in the same dirty, wet clothes that they left port in, never being able to change or even wash. Ate mouldy and foul tasting food and generally suffered deteriorating health as their patrol went on. The psychological affect that this had on an idividual, coupled with the general fear of their vulnerability in battle, caused men to go on patrols never expecting to return. Later in the War as Allied technology advanced, fear became reality, as many U-boats were destroyed leaving port or shortly after. Much of this was due to the inexperience of the crews. Most experienced veterans had either been killed in battle or promoted to higher ranks. Most men died in what must have been horrific and terrifying circumstances. Being hunted and destroyed in the freezing cold waters, or being entombed in the U-boats, falling to the sea bed, waiting until the boat fills with icy salt water, or until the air is no more! Although the U-boat Arm came very close to winning the battle of the Atlantic. It lost the Propoganda War from the outset. The propoganda was so effective, that many still believe it and perceive the Ubootwaffe as blood thirsty killers who torpedoed hospital ships and machine gunned survivors in their life rafts. In reality, the Ubootwaffe fought as clean a War as any of their Allied counterparts. In fact, many Allied men survived the War because of the bravery and determination that the U-boat crews showed toward their enemy. This includes the rescue of hundreds of survivors of a stricken ship, whilst under heavy attack by US warplanes. Giving co-ordinates of damaged vessels, which wilst putting themselves at risk of detection, helped the survivors. There are many many stories of such incidents, but only one true story which involved several brutal KM officers, gunning a life raft. These men were tried Post War and shot for their crimes. Unfortunately thanks to propoganda, these are the images that stick in many people's minds. The vast majority of Naval men were not National Socialist Party Members, but were ordinary seamen. Some were so hostile towards the regime, that they were shot for their non-complience views! National Socialism did not affect the Navy. Spending long times away from land, or whilst in training, helped to encourage professionalism rather than any need for political justification.