General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
Re: Running comparative numbers USN/Ubootwaffe
Posted by:
tonyingesson
()
Date: October 29, 2012 12:11PM
Thanks Volker,
The first one I've already read, but the second one is one of the very few discussions I've seen where the comparison is actually made. In spite of all the potential pitfalls of this comparative approach (and I'm the first to admit that there are quite a few of those), I still think it's an idea that may produce useful insights.
I presented a paper about this at an international conference last week, and it was relatively well received (there were no submarine experts among the people who listened, but a few military historians and military sociologists as well as officers).
Right now I'm very interested in the role played by Dönitz in the development of norms and "appropriateness" within the Ubootwaffe during the pre-war years. It seems to me that Dönitz was the kind of leader men could rally around, thus becoming a single unifying force. The Americans seem to have had a more fragmented organization during the pre-war years as well as during the first year of combat operations, in which a relatively sizeable minority were adherents of the cautious approach while the rest wanted to be more aggressive.
The first one I've already read, but the second one is one of the very few discussions I've seen where the comparison is actually made. In spite of all the potential pitfalls of this comparative approach (and I'm the first to admit that there are quite a few of those), I still think it's an idea that may produce useful insights.
I presented a paper about this at an international conference last week, and it was relatively well received (there were no submarine experts among the people who listened, but a few military historians and military sociologists as well as officers).
Right now I'm very interested in the role played by Dönitz in the development of norms and "appropriateness" within the Ubootwaffe during the pre-war years. It seems to me that Dönitz was the kind of leader men could rally around, thus becoming a single unifying force. The Americans seem to have had a more fragmented organization during the pre-war years as well as during the first year of combat operations, in which a relatively sizeable minority were adherents of the cautious approach while the rest wanted to be more aggressive.
