Battle of the Atlantic Notes

Topics: World War II, World War I, U-boat Pages: 4 (1192 words) Published: November 26, 2012
Battle of the Atlantic
The Battle of the Atlantic played a very significant part in World War Two. In World War Two, after the escape atDunkirk and the inspiration of the Battle of Britain, the Battle of the Atlantic was Britain's next nightmare. The Battle of the Atlantic was "the only thing that ever frightened me."

Winston Churchill.
As an island Britain needed to bring in a vast amount of food and military equipment to survive the war. The German submarine force (U-boats) severely damaged our ability to survive the war - hence Churchill’s quote above when he feared we would be starved out of the war. A great deal of our raw materials came from America and therefore had to cross the Atlantic. In normal times this journey could be hazardous because of the weather but in the war the German submarines lead by Admiral Raeder proved a very real threat. Nazi Germany estimated that they needed to sink 150 merchant ships each month to starve us out. German submarines hunted in what were called wolf-packs. British supply ships crossed in convoys and the ships that brought in our food etc. were slow and they could barely protect themselves. After leaving America they were reasonably safe while in American water and they were also more safe when they approached British waters as we could give the ships fighter plane cover. It was in the mid-Atlantic that we were at our most vulnerable and where to start with the U-boats could run riot.

The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest battle in World War 2, which was fought in period from 1939 until the german defeat in 1945. It started in first days of war in 1939 when allied forces decleared naval blockad to Germany, immediately Germany launched counter attack. Struggles have led the greatest intensity from mid-1940 through to the end of 1943. At first in the fighting participated German Navy ( Kriegsmarine ) and German air forces ( Luftwaffe )that attacked Allied merchant ships and convoys. These convoys,...
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