WW2, Atlantic Crossing Peril, German UBoat-Wolfpacks 🇨🇦 Canada Supply Ships to Britain; Dieppe, France Raid

[appalachiablue]

Note: Contains Graphic Material. - WWII veterans of the Canadian Navy recount the harrowing journey through the Atlantic during the Second World War. From facing Nazi submarines to surviving treacherous seas, every moment was a battle for survival. (2024).
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- Wiki, Ed. - Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of WWII. The core was the Allied naval blockade of Germany, announced the day after the declaration of war, and Germany's subsequent counter-blockade. The campaign peaked from mid-1940 through to the end of 1943.

The Battle of the Atlantic pitted U-boats and other warships of the German Kriegsmarine (Navy) and aircraft of the Luftwaffe (Air Force) against the Royal Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, US Navy, and Allied merchant shipping. Convoys, coming mainly from North America and predominantly going to the UK and the Soviet Union, were protected for the most part by the British and Canadian navies and air forces. These forces were aided by ships and aircraft of the US beginning Sept. 13, 1941.

As an island country, the United Kingdom was highly dependent on imported goods. Britain required more than a million tons of imported material per week in order to survive and fight. In essence, the Battle of the Atlantic involved a tonnage war; the Allied struggle to supply Britain, and the Axis attempt to stem the flow of merchant shipping that enabled Britain to keep fighting. Rationing in the UK was also used with the aim of reducing demand, by reducing wastage and increasing domestic production and equality of distribution.

From 1942 onward, the Axis also sought to prevent the build-up of Allied supplies and equipment in the UK in preparation for the invasion of occupied Europe.

The defeat of the U-boat threat was a prerequisite for pushing back the Axis in Western Europe. The outcome of the battle was a strategic victory for the Allies—the German tonnage war failed—but at great cost: 3,500 merchant ships and 175 warships were sunk in the Atlantic for the loss of 783 U-boats and 47 German surface warships, including 4 battleships and 27 destroyers. This front ended up being highly significant for the German war effort: Germany spent more money on producing naval vessels than it did every type of ground vehicle combined, including tanks. The Battle of the Atlantic has been called the "longest, largest, and most complex" naval battle in history...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Atlantic
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- Military: WOLFPACK (naval tactic), a system of submarine warfare used by the Kriegsmarine of Germany and the U.S. Navy during World War II
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfpack_(naval_tactic)

- Britannica, Ed.- CONVOY: vessels sailing under the protection of an armed escort. Originally, convoys of merchant ships were formed as a protection against pirates. - World War II British convoys. British convoys battling Axis aircraft in the Mediterranean Sea during World War II.
During World War II the convoy system was developed to its fullest extent, and it played a decisive role in achieving victory against the formidable German submarine fleet formed to prey on Allied shipping.

The new use of sonar, air escorts, specially designed rescue ships, and voice radio communications permitted convoys to be more easily coordinated, and afforded greater protection against the new German tactics of marshalling U-boats into “wolf packs” of 8 or even 20 submarines that would intercept convoys and attack them at night en masse. The effectiveness of the convoy system during the Battle of the Atlantic can be seen in the fact that of the approximately 2,700 Allied and neutral merchant vessels sunk by submarines, less than 30% were torpedoed while sailing in convoy, 60% were unescorted, and the rest were stragglers from convoys.

From 1939 to 1942, 4,435 Allied and neutral ships were lost from all causes, including U-boats. From 1943, when the convoy system became fully operational, only 1,452 Allied and neutral ships were lost...
https://www.britannica.com/topic/wolf-pack
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- Wiki. - DIEPPE RAID, France, Aug. 19, 1942.
Operation Jubilee or the Dieppe Raid (19 Aug. 1942) was an unsuccessful Allied amphibious attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe in northern France, during the 2nd World War. Over 6,050 infantry, predominantly Canadian, supported by a regiment of tanks, were put ashore from a naval force operating under protection of Royal Air Force (RAF) fighters. The port was to be captured and held for a short period, to test the feasibility of a landing and to gather intelligence. German coastal defences, port structures and important buildings were to be demolished.

The raid was intended to boost Allied morale, demonstrate the commitment of the United Kingdom to re-open the Western Front and support the Soviet Union, fighting on the Eastern Front.

Aerial and naval support was insufficient to enable the ground forces to achieve their objectives; the tanks were trapped on the beach and the infantry was largely prevented from entering the town by obstacles and German fire. After less than 6 hours, mounting casualties forced a retreat. The operation was a fiasco in which only one landing force achieved its objective and some intelligence was gathered (including electronic intelligence).. Both sides learned important lessons regarding coastal assaults. The Allies learned lessons that influenced the success of the D-Day landings...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dieppe_Raid

[Chainfire]

1. If you want to read about a convoy disaster of a massive scale, research Convoy PQ-17.

https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/horror-arctic-catastrophe-convoy-pq-17

[appalachiablue]

2. What a massive effort and tragedy. I have plenty to learn and

know little about the merchant marines, esp supply ships to ports in the Artic for Soviets. The Natl WW2 Mus articles are well done, I hope to visit the museum some day. Thanks much.