![]() ![]() ![]() U-boats (German submarines) were the key to Germany's early dominance in the Battle of the Atlantic: they could launch both surface and underwater attacks. German forces sought to cut off these supply lines. Throughout World War II, Great Britain relied on the Atlantic waterways as paths for receiving much-needed food, fuel, manpower, military supplies, and equipment to fight the Germans. Great Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales) is surrounded by water: the Atlantic Ocean to the west and north, the North Sea to the east, and the English Channel to the south. The Battle of the Atlantic-a deadly, six-year-long campaign-had begun. Over one hundred of the ocean liner's thirteen hundred passengers perished. On that same day the British passenger ship Athenia, traveling westward across the Atlantic Ocean toward Canada, was sunk by a German submarine. Great Britain and France had promised to protect Poland if it were attacked and declared war on Germany two days later. Germany's invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, marked the beginning of World War II (1939-45). ![]() ![]() Excerpt from Iron Coffins: A Personal Account of the GermanU-Boat Battles of World War IIįirst published in 1969 reprinted in 1998 ![]()
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