1940 German Subs in the North Sea

Italian Newsreel No. 1658. January 26, 1940.In September 1939, Germany invaded Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany, and World War II began. Having anticipated the war to begin in 1945, The Kriegsmarine was caught unprepared for war. The Z Plan was tailored for a war beginning in 1945, not 1939. The plan called for a balanced fleet with a greatly increased number of surface capital ships, including several aircraft carriers. At the time war did start, Dönitz's U-boat force included only 57 boats, many of them short-range, and only 22 oceangoing Type VIIs. He made do with what he had, while being harassed by Raeder and with Hitler calling on him to dedicate boats to military actions against the British fleet directly. These operations were generally unsuccessful, while the other boats continued to do well against Dönitz's primary targets of merchant shipping.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• German
• U-Boats
• U-Boot
• Submarines
• Kriegsmarine
• North
• Sea
• World
• War
• II
• Navy