Douglas Reeman has written plenty of novels about naval warfare during World War II, but this is the first one -- that I've read, anyway -- that is written from the perspective of the Germans.

Specifically, it focuses on the officers and men of U-991, a submarine with a tried and tested crew and a veteran captain, Commander Rudolf Steiger, who recently lost his previous U-boat in action against the British. Steiger seems, at first, a strict, ruthless and unyielding U-boat commander who, in 1944, finds himself pondering his place in a world without war ... in the off chance he should survive and Germany should lose.

Other characters include Steiger's second in command, a lieutenant grappling with the disgrace of a brother recently executed for cowardice, and a concentration camp escapee who has assumed the identity of a dead gunner. The book, when not at sea, is set in the occupied French port city of St Pierre, and Reeman also introduces readers to some of the French citizens who are trying to get by in a town no longer their own.

There are no heroes in this book, given that the characters are almost all Nazis, and each is doing his best to defeat the Allies and further Hitler's global conquest. Even so, Reeman makes them very human, exposing their various passions, fears and foibles. The hopeless romance, the secret shame, the fanatical devotion to duty.

Their mission to disrupt Allied shipping coincides with D-Day and overlaps the attempted assassination of Hitler by German officials -- two momentous events that throw the naval service into disarray. The officers and men of U-991 must decide if their loyalty lies with their country, the madman at its head, or their captain.

As always, Reeman puts readers at the heart of the action, feeling the claustrophobic thrill, tension and fear of submarine warfare.

I will say, the two romances shoehorned into the book feel unnecessary, although one actually turns out to be quite sweet and tragic. The other is a bit forced and unnatural, with nothing about either character making their instant love feel real.

But With Blood & Iron is an excellent book, with an unusual point of view that works much better than I expected it would. Far removed from the evil men who ruled Nazi Germany, the crewmen of U-991 are far more relatable than I thought possible. Although this was one of Reeman's early novels, first published in 1964, McBooks Press is ensuring it and other novels in Reeman's catalogue are staying in print.