Battle of the Atlantic

Battle of the Atlantic
Vikram Mohan
The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest military campaign of World War
II. It started in 1939 and ended with the defeat of Germany in 1945. Britain
needed to bring in a lot of provisions and military supplies over the Atlantic,
and the Germans attacked the British ships using U-Boats (military
submarines). The UK, being an island nation, was heavily dependent on
provisions from their allies. This was a form of economic warfare, with
Germany hoping to weaken Britain by weakening their economy and
eradicating their war provisions. After 6 years, the Germans lost, defeated
by the Allies, but with great losses. They were defeated by an unlucky
blockade mishap. They lost 3,500 merchant ships and 175 warships as
opposed to just 738 German U-Boats. Essentially, the Battle of the Atlantic
was a battle for control of the North Atlantic. This wasn't the largest
battle, but it played a significant role because the North Atlantic was the
route that was used to bring supplies to Canada and the U.S. Without this
route Britain would have been unable to continue fighting the war and
Germany probably would have been victorious.
"The Battle of the Atlantic was the only thing that ever frightened me" - Winston
Churchill
This is a quote from Winston Churchill, UK’s Prime Minister at the time. He’s widely regarded as one of
the greatest wartime leaders ever. Winston Churchill said this after the Battle of the Atlantic,when a lot of
Britain’s supplies weren’t reaching them and their war provisions were getting lower and lower.
Germany’s U-B oats were constantly attacking Britain’s vessels which were shipping provisions. The
Germans attacked the British vessels with U-B oats, which were like war submarines. Germany ended up
launching over 1,000 U-Boats. This was called the Battle of the Atlantic, and it is the longest standing
military campaign of all time. At that point, if enough provisions didn’t arrive soon, Britain would have lost
the Battle of the Atlantic and event ually World War II.
What Winston Churchill means by this is that out of the many battles of World War II, this is the only war
that he actually feared Britain would los e and be forced to surrender. The German U -Boats were stronger
than the British vessels and Germany was extremely persistent.Winston Churchill as well as the rest of
Britain and their allies were rendered almost helpless, and a lot of Britain had lost hope in winning the
Battle of the Atlantic. Keeping in min d that Britain was the largest naval fleet in the world and Winston
Churchill's immense confidence in Britain's ability to win the war, it was frightening for the British to think
that this was a battle that Winston Churchill was actually afraid Britain might not win. This is a very
reliable source because it was said by Winston Churchill, who was leading England at the time. It's not
particularly biased, and it's useful because it shows how extreme the situation was.
Again, the fact that Winston Churchill was actually frightened by anything related to World War II, in spite
of his immense confidence in Britain, was frightening. This may be a small quote, but it has a large
significance. If Britain lost the Battle of the Atlantic, WWII could have been lost. This quote essentially
speaks for all the British people at the time. One real world connection that can be made between this
and a current event is like how at first Japanese government officials thought that they had cont rol of the
situation and the people of Japan trusted them, but lately they have realized that they might not be able to
solve this situation as efficiently as they thought. The people of Japan who at first were very patient and
efficient have started to at last start a little bit of an uproar.
A prayer for “Those who went to sea in great ships” Men of the Navy, Merchant
Marine, and the Submariners of all Nations involved in the Battle of the Atlantic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tN_0t11P-nA
Ready aye Ready