General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
Brutality/Atrocity Theory/Reality.
Posted by:
Fin Bonset
()
Date: March 12, 2001 06:00PM
<HTML>Hi everyone,
Since the hot topic this week seems to be atrocities committed on the high seas by both sides, I have been thinking more about it and here are some things I thought I would share.
Another theory/reality about the reason for committing atrocities whether it be on the high seas or on land would be to scare/intimidate the other side so much that they do not want to even be a part of it. In other words, you\'re playing with the morale of the enemy. This was highly effective in Vietnam (one of my other interests) as the Viet Cong were known to mistreat any downed pilot or captured soldiers. But then again, men still fought bravely and I don\'t think it had that much of an effect on the fighting spirit. But it has been documented that the morale in the Vietnam war was very low.
I don\'t think the morale in the second world war was low on both sides. I think it was very high, even among the brave Merchant Marine men. My point is that some atrocities during the war were carried out for these types of reasons, especially on the Eastern Front where there was very little regard for life on both sides. I firmly believe that the sea warfare theatre was a lot different. There is a common respect for each other with seamen. Even in battle, overall, both sides in the Atlantic were very humane and that is one of the reasons I respect the u-boat men and the allied merchant men/navy.
In the Pacific, however, I think things were different. But that is for another Forum.
What is the point of this post? Well, atrocities and shootings in the water serve another purpose. As evil and disrespectful as that is, it plays a part in enemy morale. That was one the reasons Hitler contemplated it as well in addition to the Laconia incident(thanks to Donitz for the intervention).
Anyway, thanks for allowing me to rant about this :-) I\'m sure you guys have points and opinions to add to this and I certainly always look forward to them, hence the reason for my post.
Fin Bonset
</HTML>
Since the hot topic this week seems to be atrocities committed on the high seas by both sides, I have been thinking more about it and here are some things I thought I would share.
Another theory/reality about the reason for committing atrocities whether it be on the high seas or on land would be to scare/intimidate the other side so much that they do not want to even be a part of it. In other words, you\'re playing with the morale of the enemy. This was highly effective in Vietnam (one of my other interests) as the Viet Cong were known to mistreat any downed pilot or captured soldiers. But then again, men still fought bravely and I don\'t think it had that much of an effect on the fighting spirit. But it has been documented that the morale in the Vietnam war was very low.
I don\'t think the morale in the second world war was low on both sides. I think it was very high, even among the brave Merchant Marine men. My point is that some atrocities during the war were carried out for these types of reasons, especially on the Eastern Front where there was very little regard for life on both sides. I firmly believe that the sea warfare theatre was a lot different. There is a common respect for each other with seamen. Even in battle, overall, both sides in the Atlantic were very humane and that is one of the reasons I respect the u-boat men and the allied merchant men/navy.
In the Pacific, however, I think things were different. But that is for another Forum.
What is the point of this post? Well, atrocities and shootings in the water serve another purpose. As evil and disrespectful as that is, it plays a part in enemy morale. That was one the reasons Hitler contemplated it as well in addition to the Laconia incident(thanks to Donitz for the intervention).
Anyway, thanks for allowing me to rant about this :-) I\'m sure you guys have points and opinions to add to this and I certainly always look forward to them, hence the reason for my post.
Fin Bonset
</HTML>
Brutality/Atrocity Theory/Reality.