THE BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC
Introduction
The battle of Atlantic was the largest and bloodiest battles of the Second World War. The battle began in 1939 after declaration of war against Germany and ended in 1945 when the Nazi Germany was defeated. The battle was between the Allied Forces and Germany forces because they were struggling for the control of the Atlantic Ocean. The Allies wanted to maintain a constant flow of war supplies and men between North America and Europe while the Nazi Germans wanted to cut the supplies which were used in the battle (Syrett, 2018). The Germans ensured the cut of the supplies by sinking several ships that were crossing Atlantic Ocean under the protection of naval escorts. Thousands of Allied convoys were sunk and tens of thousands of people were killed during the six years of the battle.
During the early years of the war, the Germans increased their U-boats from 30 to 300 and improved hunting techniques by adopting wolf packs to attack the Allied convoys. The increase of U-boats and effective hunting techniques led to loss of 454,000 tons of Allied shipments and sinking of 400 ships (Syrett, 2018). The situation posed a great risk on the supply link between North America and Europe because ships were sunk quickly than they could be replaced. Technological advancements played a vital role during the Battle of Atlantic. The Allied forces introduced new long-range aircraft to protect the merchant ships from attacks by the Germans. The Germans on the other hand, developed torpedoes that could be attracted to the noise from the ship propeller.
Both the Germans and Allied Forces continued to struggle for the upper hand in technology so as to increase their chances of victory. The Allies developed radar and sonar (ASDIC) to find the U-boats and weapons while the Germans developed snorkel tubes that enabled the U-boats to operate their diesel engines while moving under water. Improved technology and tactics made the Allies to win the battle against the Germans. The battle of the Atlantic was the most significant battle during the Second World War for the Allied forces because it determined the outcomes of the World War.
Importance of the Battle of the Atlantic
The Battle of the Atlantic was crucial in determining the outcomes of the Second World War. The Allied powers were seeking to blockade the Germans in Europe and transport supplies and men for military powers across the Atlantic Ocean. The Germans on the other hand wanted to frustrate the Allied powers use of the Atlantic Ocean and cut off the supplies by sinking ships and killing of the men (Doherty, 2015). The Allies would have difficulties feeding its population and conducting combat operations against the Germans without the supplies from North America. The Allies could therefore remain powerless and they could not maintain the forces in North Africa and the Mediterranean. Massive resources like oil could have fallen under the control of the Germans, thus giving them more advantage over the Allies. The Allies could not afford to lose the battle because that would translate to defeat in the Second World War.
The Battle of the Atlantic had a great historical significance to both the allies and the entire world. If the Germans would have won the Battle of the Atlanta, then mean that they could have won the Second World War. If the Germans defeated the Allies, the Entire Europe or even other parts of the world could be controlled by the Nazis. The Russians also gained a lot from the British as they helped the Russians secure the Murmansk convoy routes which had been invaded by the Germans. Without the supplies from America, Germans could have kept its invasion of Europe and Russia indefinitely. The Allies, therefore, had to win the battle by all costs so as to ensure that they maintained the control of their territory and avoid indefinite colonization by the Germans. The Battle of the Atlantic therefore, has significant historical value to Europe and consequently the entire world.
The Battle of the Atlantic led to the increase of Canada’s navy. The Canadian navy helped in defending the North American waters. The Canadians also helped guarding the merchant ships traversing from North America to Britain against attack by the Germans. More than 25,000 ships were able to cross the Atlantic safely with the help of the Canadian navy (Churchill, 1950). At the beginning, the Canadian navy had only 3,500 soldiers and 13 vessels. The Canadian navy increased drastically by 1942 with 434 vessels and 95,000 men, and at a point, the Canadas navy was the third largest navy of the Allied forces.
The Battle of the Atlantic also led to improvement of technology depending on the course the battle took. The Allies developed new long-range planes to strengthen the protection of the merchant ships traversing the Atlantic Ocean. The Germans also developed torpedoes that could be attracted to ship’s propeller noise. The Allies in turn invented a device that made a lot noise to divert the torpedoes and ASDIC technologies to find U-boats and sink submarines more effectively. The Germans also invented snorkel tubes that enabled the U-boats to operate diesel engines while moving under water (Doherty, 2015). The technological advancements and tactics are greatly attributed to the victory of the Allies. The technological innovations also led to later improvements in ship industry.
The Battle of the Atlantic was of great importance for the survival of England. During the Second World War, England was importing almost everything ranging from food, medical supplies and other war materials. The convoys traversing across the Atlantic Ocean were the lifeline of Europe. Winning the Battle of the Atlantic was crucial to Europe to feed its population, providing medical assistance to sick and injured people, as well as in winning the World War. If the Germans could succeed in cutting off the supplies from North America, the Allies could be at a great disadvantage (Churchill, 1950). The battle not only ensured the survival of the Allies, but it consequently helped the Allies win the Second World War.
The battle of the Atlantic was unique compared to other battles fought during that period. The battle did not have clearly marked lines or set pieces on either side meeting on a battlefield. The war was marked by a handful of engagements between convoys from either side; it was more of hunters versus raiders rather than military engagements. The battle had no famous names or heroes apart from the top leaders who made decisions to keep the battle going. The battle did not have much fury and notoriety like the Midway, El Alamein, and Moscow Battles. Therefore, the battle holds a crucial historic significance.
Negative Consequences of the Battle of the Atlantic
The Battle of the Atlantic led to great loss of lives and resources. Approximately 30,000 men and 3,000 merchant ships from the Allies and about 28,000 men and 750 U-boat from the Germans. More than 150 Allied warships were sunk and thousands of allied merchant seamen were killed. The Germans also lost four battleships, seven raiders, twenty-seven destroyers, nine cruisers, and about 30,000 sailors (Macintyre, 2006). The Canadians also lost more than seventy vessels and approximately 1,600 merchant sailors. Many civilians were also killed during the battle. Hundreds of civilians were killed at the Atlantic as they tried to evacuate to safer countries to escape bombings. Several passenger ships like the SS City of Benares, Athenia, and the City of Simla were sunk and hundreds of civilians drowned.
The battle also led to long-term effects to the economy of the participants of the war. Millions were spend in buying war supplies and maintaining of the soldiers who participated in the war. The Allies spent millions of dollars on importation of food, medical supplies, and war supplies, which negatively impacted the economy. Daily activities were greatly disrupted by the battle and thousands of people were displaced. The battle also led to gross violations of human rights since many lives were lost and thousands were wounded. Such expenditures, disruption of social life, violation of human rights, and other evils of the wars led to gross economic decline for both participants of battle.
In conclusion, the Battle of the Atlantic was between the Allied Forces and Germany forces because they were struggling for the control of the Atlantic Ocean. The Allies wanted to maintain a constant flow of war supplies and men between North America and Europe while the Nazi Germans wanted to cut the supplies which were used in the battle. The battle of the Atlantic was the most crucial battle for the Allied forces during the Second World War because it determined the outcomes of the World War. The Battle of the Atlantic had a great historical significance to both the allies and the entire world. If the Germans would have won the Battle of the Atlanta, then mean that they could have won the Second World War, and the Entire Europe or even other parts of the world could be controlled by the Nazis. The Battle of the Atlantic also led to gross violations of human rights since many lives were lost and thousands were wounded. The Battle of the Atlantic still holds a critical historical significance to Europe and the entire world.
References
Churchill, W. (1950). The Second World War-Volume 3: The Grand Alliance. JA KUBU.
Doherty, R. (2015). Churchill’s Greatest Fear: The Battle of the Atlantic 3 September 1939 to 7 May 1945. Pen and Sword.
Macintyre, D. (2006). The battle of the Atlantic. Grub Street Publishers.
Syrett, D. (2018). The Battle of the Atlantic and Signals Intelligence: U–Boat Situations and Trends, 1941–1945. Routledge.