Hitler knew that the "life line" between the United Kingdom and the United States across the Atlantic was vital to Britain and the Soviet Union staying in the war (the US provided supplies and other merchandise to the countries). Therefore, he ordered U-Boats (submarines) to attack British and American supply ships. This marked the start of the Atlantic Battle.
In the first four months of World War II, the Germans sank 87 ships. After seven months into the war, the Germans had sunk over 681 Allied ships. This led to the Allies using convoys (groups of ships traveling together for mutual protection). With the technological advances of sonar and radar, the Allies were about to detect German subs easily and therefore, destroy them. Once the Germans were at a disadvantage, they were losing submarines faster than they could build them. At the same time, the United States was mass-producing ships, ending the struggle for the Atlantic in 1943.
In the same year, and roughly the same time (after Pearl Harbor, the Japanese attack on the military base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii), the Allies launched Operation Torch, an attack on North Africa that was to be led by future president Dwight D. Eisenhower. The Operation's goal was to open up another front against the Axis Powers (the Allies were pressured by Stalin, from the Soviet Union). Opposite Eisenhower was Rommel, the acclaimed "Desert Fox" from Germany. By May 1943, the last German troop surrendered in North Africa.
- Paul and Tiffany
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Wow, Germans sunk so many ships!
ReplyDeleteNice summary of two battles.
So the seaborne war ended long before the Allies were near Berlin. Interesting how the only thing the Allies had to do to stop Uboats was detect them. I would think that German submarines would have some way of defending themselves. I like how you introduce the people, with their future titles right beforehand.
ReplyDeleteNicely summarized.
ReplyDeleteNicely structured. Good facts, I just can't believe the Germans did that much damage to the Allied Powers and couldn't defeat them. Well written.
ReplyDeleteNice job with summarizing the Atlantic Battle. Its good how you started off with Hilter and the early beginnings of the war...
ReplyDeleteFwa. That's a lot of ships rotting on Atlantic Ocean floor. (Not so good for the environment.)
ReplyDeleteIt's wierd (and scary) how technology helped the US so much. I mean, the Germans were probably MASSSSSS-producing all those submarines, and yet, they couldn't keep ahead of the US sinking rate.
Good structure, nice facts. Flowed very well.
ReplyDeleteYour writing is very fluid and makes for easy reading. Also, it was nice how you did not just list straight facts.
ReplyDeleteit was great how you made the writing flow.
ReplyDeleteInstead of stating the obvious facts, you made this interesting to reda.
It would have been more informative if you had included the fact that the United States discovered that the Germans were in the process of improving their U-Boats to stay underwater for a nearly unlimited time. This would have raised the tensions in the Atlantic Battle.
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