Battle of the Atlantic Mark Belianski, Meghan Hennedy, Sankalp Katta, Kartik Mahajan, Shilpa Narayanan “... the only thing that ever really frightened.

Battle of the Atlantic

Mark Belianski, Meghan Hennedy, Sankalp Katta, Kartik Mahajan, Shilpa

Narayanan

“... the only thing that ever really frightened me during

the war was the U-boat peril.”-Winston Churchill

Background

● Germany does not have the same naval power as Allied powero Goal is to destroy Ally foreign supplies in order to

prevent the army

Thesis

The Battle of the Atlantic allowed for the Allies to secure convoy routes between Britain/France and the United States; this ultimately strengthened their defense and attack mechanisms to help win the war against the Axis.

Who fought the battle?

V.S.

Axis Aims in the war

1.Force British Surrender2.Prevent Allies from securing convoy

routes in the Atlantic

Allies’ Goals

1.Blockade Axis Europe2.Secure sea movements3.Acquire and maintain the ability to

project military forces overseas

Timeline09/1939Start of Battle of Atlantic

09/1939-06/19401st Phase- Interception of Ally ships

06/1940-05/1941 U boats directed against Britsh

05/1941-12/19413rd Phase- U boat released for antisubmarine operations

01-07/19424th Phase- Entry of US into the war after the Japanese attack

07/1942-03/19435th Phase- US switches U-boats back to Atlantic route

06-08 19436th Phase- Allies try to block U-boat transit in Bay of Biscay

09/1943-03/19457/8th Phase- Germans attempt to use weapons and Allies invade Normandy

● Submarines● Known as Wolfpacks● Extremely effective at destroying its target

● Donitz lead the operations

German U-Boats

Admiral General Karl Dönitz● Promoted to Commodore and was given full

command of German U-Boats in January of 1939● Believed that a campaign dedicated to sinking

British merchant ships would knock Britain out of any future wars● Liked to attack at night on the surface

Important People

● Effective blockade set up by Britain and France● U-Boats intercepted Merchant ships and sank

them● Karl Donitz oversaw the U-Boats and their

operations

The Beginning (Autumn 1939- Fall of France)

● US, though technically neutral, was helping Britaino US Provided Britain with essential materials

Food, Raw materials, Ammunition, Tanks, etc.

Cash-and-Carry Britain couldn’t pay for materials so they

set up lend-lease system Britain received aid from Canada as well

Lend-Lease Act (1941)

THE U-BOAT PERIL(September 1939 to May 1940)- Battle began at start of British Involvement

in war- Submarine U-30 sinks British Passenger

ships

1,100 deadLocation of First Attacks

DEMO

● Britain lost a significant Naval Power in France● Italian and German Onslaught blockaded Suez

canal and Mediterranean routeo Alternative route around the Cape of Good

Hope● North Atlantic route becomes important

May-June 1940 (Fall of France)

British at this stage

- Falling apart and needing help

● United States enters war officially o American convoy ships were unguardedo U-Boats saw these unguarded ships and

attacked them

United States Entry (Fall of 1941)

● Help from Canada’s expanding military came just in timeo Canadian naval and air forces filled void left in

North Atlantic by the departure of U.S. forces to the Caribbean and Pacific

Canadian+US Assistance (1942)

Important PeopleWinston Churchill● Was Prime Minister in Great Britain throughout

WWII● Worked with U.S. President Roosevelt and Soviet Union

leader Joseph Stalin to create Allied war strategies● Said that the Battle of the Atlantic was the only time

he thought Britain would surrender (due to the intimidating German U-Boats)● Regarded as one of the best statesmen of the 20th century

● Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt planned strategy at the Casablanca conferenceo Introduction of new naval forces and different

tactics gave the Allies an Upper hand

● Germany was defeated in May

Casablanca Conference and the End of the War(1943)

DEMO

● Allied victoryo The Allies had incredibly superior resources in

shipbuilding and aircraft productiono Anti-submarine detection equipment and

weaponso Allied signals intelligence crucial to victoryo 785 U-boats sunk

● Longest campaign in WWIIo Total of 69 months

Results of the Battle

Impact of the Battle

● Britain/France and the U.S. had routes to exchange weaponry.o It was difficult for the Germans to attack on

Britain/France.● Role of the Atlantic fleets of U.S. Navy and Royal Navy

rose to significanceo Supported Operation Overlord and D-Day

Works CitedAxelrod, Alan. “Battle of the Atlantic.” Encyclopedia of World War II, Vol. 1. New York: Facts On File, 2013. Modern World History Online. Web. 16 Mar. 2015.Battle of the Atlantic. Digital image. Grognard. Grognard, n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2015Hickman, Kennedy. “Battle of the Atlantic.” About Education. About.com, n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2015. Hickman, Kennedy. "Karl Doenitz - Bio of World War II German Naval Commander." About Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2015.History.com Staff. "Winston S. Churchill." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 18 Mar. 2015.Macpherson, Ken, and John Burgess. “Battle of the Atlantic.” Maritime Command Museum. Maritime Command Museum, n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2015Milner, Marc. “Battle of the Atlantic World War II.” Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2015Polmar, Norman, and Thomas B. Allen. World War II: The Encyclopedia of the War Years, 1941-1945. New York: Random House, 1996. Print. Rohwer, Jürgen. “Battle of the Atlantic.” World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2015.Theil, Anne. Convoy System. Digital image. PBWorks. PBWorks, n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2015.