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Causes of the Battle of the Atlantic

Britain declared war on Germany in 1939, but Germany caused The Battle of the Atlantic shortly after. The Axis’ control of Newfoundland in Atlantic led to their intention of subduing America—this, of course, got the Allies involved. Also, the importance of Britain’s shipping lanes between Europe and North America became apparent to Germany. U-boats became a major threat to Britain’s shipping routes.

The Axis viewed this dependence as their victory if they were to destroy the lifeline of Britain’s import of supplies. This would limit the accessibility of necessities to the British troops fighting the war. Lack of food, clothing, ammunition, and automotive parts would deter the success of the Allies. Meanwhile, Britain perceived The Battle of the Atlantic as survival of Great Britain while retaining liberty of Western Europe and seas from German control.

Trading Routes.

SS Athenia

The attack in the Atlantic was Germany’s plan to subdue Britain through pressure of loss of supplies and the possibility of famine. This was Germany’s best opportunity to defeat Britain; however, its military was too weak to confront the Allies directly at the time. Instead, the Axis resorted to all-out submarine warfare with the Allies. The first shots fired at the battle caused SS Athenia to sink from Germany’s U-30 ship attack.

 

 

 

SOURCES:


"Battle of Atlantic." Battle of Atlantic. Web. 1 June 2015. <http://www.naval-history.net/WW2CampaignsAtlanticDev.htm>.


"Battle of the Atlantic Timeline." Battle of the Atlantic Timeline. Web. 1 June 2015.


"Battle of the Atlantic." The Canadian Encyclopedia. Web. 1 June 2015.

 

BBC News. BBC. Web. 1 June 2015.


BBC News. BBC. Web. 1 June 2015. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/ff3_battle_atlantic.shtml>.

 

 

 

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