The Long Road to Normandy
With the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and America’s entrance into the war, the conflict is now truly global. Over the next 30 months it will be fought on frozen plains, on steamy jungle-covered mountains, high in the sky, and under the sea. The Axis powers try to conquer territory for their empires; the Allies strive to push Germany, Italy, and Japan back within their borders. All the while the Allies plan and prepare for the decisive battle the invasion of Europe.
Convoys and Wolfpacks the Battle of the Atlantic
The Battle of the Atlantic revolves around the Allied need to ship men, machines, and materiel from the United States to Great Britain, Russia, and the Mediterranean and the Axis efforts to disrupt the flow of supplies. Early in the war, the Germans used both surface ships and land-based aircraft to attack ship- ping in the Mediterranean and Atlantic, but the bulk of the German effort was made by submarines the U-boats.
By the beginning of 1942, the U-boats are using the Rudeltaktik wolfpacks consisting of as many as 40 submarines to attack Allied convoys. While this tactic helps minimize the losses of experienced crews, it also pits the U-boats against Allied escorts. Over the next 18 months the escorts will steadily improve their submarine fighting capabilities.
Throughout 1942, the Allies make strides in improving their convoy system. They also begin installing radio direction finders to locate U-boats; the Germans counter by installing radar search receivers that detect Allied signals before the U-boat generates a return signal. Between August and December 1942, the Allies lose over 100 ships per month.
The Battle of the Atlantic crests in 1943. Axis subs sink 100 Allied ships in both January and February. Each side strives to gain an edge. The Allies begin equip- ping B-24s with new 10-cm radar sets that prove effective at finding U-boats; the radar search receivers installed on German submarines work only on the 1.5-meter radar.
The British Admiralty estimates that the Germans come closest to defeating the Allied convoy system during the first 20 days of March 1943. When the Allies lose 72 ships in the Atlantic to U-boats.
In April U-boats sink over 50 ships, but the Allies sink 15 U-boats. May proves pivotal; the Allies lose another 50 ships to subs, but the Germans lose 41 subs. The Germans attempt to regain the initiative, sending wolfpacks after the Atlantic convoys, but they lose 17 U-boats in June, 37 in July, and 25 in August—and the Battle of the Atlantic is essentially over. The remaining U-boats are ordered to
