Attack on Orleans - (Military) by John A Klim (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Author Jake Klim chronicles the attack from the first shell fired to the aftermath and celebrates the resilience of Orleans at war.

On the morning of July 21, 1918--in the final year of the First World War--a new prototype of German submarine surfaced three miles off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The vessel attacked an unarmed tugboat and its four barges. A handful of the shells fired by the U-boat's deck guns struck Nauset Beach, giving the modest town of Orleans the distinction of being the only spot in the United States to receive enemy fire during the entire war. On land, lifesavers from the U.S. Coast Guard launched a surfboat under heavy enemy fire to save the sailors trapped aboard the tug and barges. In the air, seaplanes from the Chatham Naval Air Station dive-bombed the enemy raider with payloads of TNT.

Review Quotes

"Like many war stories, the 1918 attack on Nauset Beach in Cape Cod was tucked away in the dusty archives of history. In Attack on Orleans, Jake Klim skillfully resurrects this harrowing battle in an action-packed page-turner about ordinary Americans whose extraordinary bravery has earned them a place alongside America's most celebrated heroes."

--John McCain

About the Author

Jake Klim was born and raised on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, just twenty miles from the village of Orleans. As a child, he had read snippets about the attack on Orleans in local periodicals, but always wanted to know the full story. Thus began a lifelong fascination with American history. Today he is a television producer and writer based in North Bethesda, Maryland. He has worked on productions for History Channel, the Military Channel, National Geographic Channel and WILD, among many others.