When it comes to the naval battles in World War II, everyone is familiar with and talk about the Pacific naval battles. The battle between the aircraft carriers of the US and Japan and the bombardment of battleships are very spectacular!On the European battlefield, land battles and air battles were mainly carried out, and the navy has not been Germany's strong point, so people know less about the Atlantic naval battle.In fact, the Atlantic naval battle was still thrilling and tragic. The main belligerents in the Battle of the Atlantic were Britain and Germany.From September 1939 to May 1945, the German Navy fought an arduous battle with its opponent, the British Royal Navy, for nearly six years.The German navy was well-planned and tactically ingenious, and it had repeatedly humiliated the British Royal Navy.Although the final victory of the Atlantic naval battle belonged to the British Royal Navy, they also paid a heavy price.

The revival of the German Navy began with the rise of the Nazi Party in 1933.When the Nazi Party came to power, it actively expanded its arms and prepared for war.At that time, the commander-in-chief of the German Navy was Admiral Raeder who participated in the Battle of Jutland during World War I.Under Raeder's plan, German shipyards worked overtime to build warships. In 1934, Raeder suggested to Hitler: "The key to Germany's sea power lies in the water. Only by obtaining enough submarines can we have the sharp teeth of attack." A few months later, Hitler summoned Raeder to the Chancellery, handed him a telegram, and said: "This is the sharp tooth you want." This telegram is the "British-German Naval Agreement."The short-sightedness of the British is surprising. Britain actually agreed with Germany to build warships equivalent to 35% of the total tonnage of the Royal Navy's surface ships, and submarines can even reach 45%. This means that the restrictions imposed by the "Treaty of Versailles" on the German navy no longer exist.Germany began to vigorously rush to build warships, especially submarines.The short-sighted British did not realize that this decision would cost them dearly after the war.

In the selection of the commander of the submarine force, Raeder chose Dönitz, a veteran of the submarine force during World War I and currently serving as the captain of the cruiser.Raeder asked Doenitz to serve as the commander of the German submarine force and was solely responsible for the formation of the submarine force.Dönitz was overjoyed. He firmly believed that submarine warfare would play a decisive role in future naval battles. By 1938, the Germans had put the Anglo-German Naval Agreement behind them and no longer abided by it, but the development of the German Navy was not as rapid as planned.This is because Hitler had a special affection for the army, while Goering, the second in command, loved the air force. In Nazi Germany's military expansion plan, although submarines topped the list, the army and air force grabbed more resources.

There's no way, who makes someone the führer's darling? The German Army and Air Force blitzed Poland, which is considered to be the beginning of World War II.In fact, the first shot of World War II was fired by the German Navy, and it was an old dreadnought ship. At 4:45 a.m. on September 1, 1939, the dreadnought ship "Schleswig-Holstein" took the lead in firing at the Polish army positions, firing the first shot of the outbreak of World War II.Then, the German army and air force launched a full-scale attack on Poland. As the war started, the German navy, which was at a disadvantage, had to go all out.

In the Second World War, the main task of the navies of various countries was to win the dominance of the sea and protect their own sea transportation lines, especially for the United Kingdom.After the war, the Luftwaffe's indiscriminate bombing of the British mainland seriously affected the production capacity of the British mainland and made Britain more dependent on overseas aid.The total tonnage of the British merchant fleet at that time was 21 million tons, which was equivalent to one-third of the total tonnage of the world's merchant ships at that time. There were about 1,500 British ships sailing in the Atlantic Ocean every day.

In the Atlantic, the Royal Navy's main rival was the German Navy.At the beginning of the war, the British Royal Navy's strategy was the same as that of World War I, intending to draw the main fleet of the German Navy to a decisive battle and defeat the opponent in one fell swoop.The strength of the German navy is far from that of the British Royal Navy, and they are not stupid, so they will not go head-to-head with their opponents. At that time, the German Navy had 4 old-fashioned battleships, 3 pocket battleships, 9 cruisers, and 57 submarines, with a total tonnage of 350,000 tons and a total force of about 160,000.The number of ships of the German Navy is incomparable with that of the British Royal Navy. They are not at the same level at all. There is not even a single aircraft carrier, and the number of large surface ships is pitifully small. The comparison between destroyers and the British Navy is 30:230, which is only comparable A fraction of others.Only the number of submarines of the German Navy is close to that of the British Navy, which is 57:58. However, most of the German submarines are small submarines, and small submarines do not have the ability to operate in the ocean.

Although the German navy was clearly at a disadvantage, they showed high fighting spirit and superb tactics.Especially the German U-boats fought vigorously at the beginning of the war. Germany used U-boats throughout World War I and World War II.Why is it called a U-boat?This is because the numbers of German submarines all use the German "untersee-boot"-this word means submarine-so they are named after the first letter U plus a number, referred to as U-boat. In 1906, the Germania shipyard in Germany built the first U-boat for the German Navy.From the moment of birth, the German U-boat has become the most formidable weapon in the Atlantic Ocean.

In World War I, the countries participating in the war built more than 640 submarines, of which Germany built more than 300. The total number of merchant ships sunk by German U-boats reached more than 5,900, with a total tonnage of more than 13 million tons. With its excellent combat capabilities, U-boats have shown their glory at sea. Just because they had tasted the sweetness of U-boats, Hitler and the German generals would not forget this weapon. In 1935, Germany began to build submarines. Before the war, 57 ships were built; during World War II, another 1,131 ships were built; a total of 1,188 ships.Submarines often become the main weapon of the navy in countries with weak surface ships.With its advanced U-boats, Germany severely hit the Allied merchant fleet and escort fleet in the Atlantic Ocean.

It is worth mentioning that among these offensive plans, the "wolf pack tactics" invented by the commander of the German submarine force Dönitz gained the most and achieved the most fruitful results. "Wolf Pack Tactics" consists of 6 to 12 U-boats to form a small team to hunt at sea. After finding the target, a "head wolf" will command the "pack of wolves" to act in a unified manner. Submarines in the "Wolf Pack" pass covertly through the gaps or flanks of the opposing escort fleet and approach the target. The "wolves" often do not attack during the day, wait until dusk to enter the attack position, suddenly surface at night, and use multiple submarines to launch torpedo attacks on a target at the same time.

This tactic is very scary, it greatly improves the hit rate, and it is easy to succeed.Because the attack method is very similar to that of wolves, "wolf pack tactics" got its name.In the early days of the war, the German army used this tactic to frequently destroy the Allied sea transportation lines, causing heavy losses to the Allied forces.