Originally posted by Kitakami
Much has been said so far, with quotes from scholars to back it up.
I am not a military scholar, so my comments on the subject will be merely the opinion of a layman. But what if Germany had not built the Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Bismarck and Tirpitz had never been built, and the Graf Zeppelin had never been laid down, and all those resources had been directed at building U-boots?
We are talking about some 170 thousand tons of displacement or so, that could have been poured into the U-boot fleet. I strongly believe that would have had a serious impact on the War for the Atlantic.
Another thing I would like to comment on, is that if more U-boots had been available, the percentage of losses would probably have diminished, as they would have put a bigger strain on Allied ASW defenses.
But as I said, I am not serious scholar, so take all this with a grain of salt.
Long before the war, Doenitz had a plan for his U-boats - the Wolfpack concept was a long-held concept for him. He had a strategic grasp of the use of his U-boats.
Hitler, on the other hand, being a land animal, failed to grasp the real use of U-boats until it was too late. He was always fixated on the east.
Some historians focus on the U-boat campaign in isolation, without realizing the incredible potential the U-boat offered. Doenitz always understood this. But as always everything came too late.
There is a reason why Churchill feared the U-boat.
Let's look at the Med Camp.
If Hitler had built more U-boats (and the infrastructure, etc was already there), and had NOT attacked the USSR in 1941 (but delayed it for a year), and instead focused on North Africa, then it would have been a different situation.
With an additional 50-60 U-boats in the Med alone, to isolate Malta and to sink convoys ferrying troops/supplies to Tobruk/Alexandria along with the addition of a couple more panzer divisions, Hitler could have taken all of North Africa, captured the oil fields, AND allowed for another avenue of attack against the USSR from the south.
If just 12 U-boats along the east coast of the USA could sink 585 ships, then imagine what 25, 50 or 100 U-boats could have accomplished. Incidently, 100 U-boats was the number Doenitz wanted to send. He was the architect of Operation Drumbeat.
By mid-1941, Germany was at the height of its power. But for some incredibly short-sighted and stupid actions, and some incredible luck, Germany had the potential for success.
There is much talk that any of Germany's actions or anything it built could be countered, etc. But politics, human nature, and the facts of history run counter to this thinking.
A few examples:
1) Britain barely had time to build more fighters before the Battle of Britain began. Yet, for years Churchill had warned the people about Germany's secret aircraft construction and the danger this posed to Britain's security. For all his tireless efforts, Churchill was scorned and vilified. Even the British Gov't, which knew better, lied to the people. It was a close-run thing, and almost led to disaster.
2) In 1942, even after Pearl Harbour, even after 2 1/2 years of war, and even after being warned by British Intelligence, America was STILL unprepared to deal with the U-boat when it struck along the east coast, and sank almost 600 ships.
3) Stalin, despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, believed Hitler would not attack him, even as German troops were poised to strike on June 21, 1941.
To believe that any and all threats will be/would be countered, simply runs counter to most human thinking, to the problems posed by politics and human nature, as well as to the ample evidence of history.
It took 4 years before the U-boat threat had been dealt with. Four years. The Allies were lucky they had four years. They were lucky Hitler made some incredible mistakes.
Evolutionists are fond of saying, if given enough time, a monkey can pound out a coherent letter on a typewriter.
But occasionally, there may not be enough time. . .
Cheers!
