General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
Definitions
Posted by:
SuperKraut
()
Date: April 28, 2001 10:09AM
<HTML>We are getting into another one of these \"the glass is half empty vs. the glass is half full discussions\". The U-boats certainly had a significant effect on the western front, but they were never decisive. Exactly how significant that effect was can be argued for a long time.
\">In the case of the U-boats, they very nearly brought England to her knees.<\" That is an exaggeration, but it depends on how you define \"to her knees\". The U-boats were never close to sinking all shipping into Britain, so the issue becomes what does one ship with the available cargo space. There was always going to be enough so that Britain would not literally starve, but raw materials for industry and materiel to support overseas wars was another matter. If you mean forced to seek terms for a negotiated peace with \"to her knees\", they you may be right. If you mean invasion or unconditional surrender, then you are well off, since Germany did not have the assets to impose such an outcome. For someone like Churchill, having to seek terms is \"to her knees\".
\">U-boats sunk HMS Eagle, HMS Ark Royal and HMS Audacity, an escort carrier, each valuable assets in sea warfare.<\" What % of the RN was sunk by U-boats? The examples you give, plus Royal Oak and some other minor ship losses were at worst an inconvenience to the RN. A serious effect on the RN would be if U-boats had sunk say 1/3 or ½ of the Royal Navy. Such a result was only possible with electroboats introduced a few years earlier in large numbers.
Regards,
SuperKraut</HTML>
\">In the case of the U-boats, they very nearly brought England to her knees.<\" That is an exaggeration, but it depends on how you define \"to her knees\". The U-boats were never close to sinking all shipping into Britain, so the issue becomes what does one ship with the available cargo space. There was always going to be enough so that Britain would not literally starve, but raw materials for industry and materiel to support overseas wars was another matter. If you mean forced to seek terms for a negotiated peace with \"to her knees\", they you may be right. If you mean invasion or unconditional surrender, then you are well off, since Germany did not have the assets to impose such an outcome. For someone like Churchill, having to seek terms is \"to her knees\".
\">U-boats sunk HMS Eagle, HMS Ark Royal and HMS Audacity, an escort carrier, each valuable assets in sea warfare.<\" What % of the RN was sunk by U-boats? The examples you give, plus Royal Oak and some other minor ship losses were at worst an inconvenience to the RN. A serious effect on the RN would be if U-boats had sunk say 1/3 or ½ of the Royal Navy. Such a result was only possible with electroboats introduced a few years earlier in large numbers.
Regards,
SuperKraut</HTML>
