DK - World War II Map by Map

168 TURNING THE TIDE 1943–1944

PACIFIC

OCEAN

ATLANTIC

OCEAN

Caribbean

Sea

Gulf of

Mexico

Norwegian

Sea

North

Sea

Bay

of Biscay

M

ed

it

er

ra

ne

an

S

ea

LABRADOR

NEWFOUNDLAND

HAITI

CUBA

Bahamas

Bermuda

Trinidad

DOMINICAN

Jamaica REPUBLIC

Puerto Rico

Cape Verde

Islands

Canary

Islands

Madeira

Azores

BRITISH

GUIANA

PANAMA

GUATEMALA

COSTA RICA

NICARAGUA

BRITISH

HONDURAS

HONDURAS

EL

SALVADOR

SURINAM

FRENCH

GUIANA

ICELAND

GREENLAND

TUNISIA

N

O

R

W

AY

(^) S
W
ED
EN
FI
N
LA
N
D
GOLD
COAST
PORTUGUESE
GUINEA NIGERIA
LIBERIA
IRELAND SWITZERLAND
DENMARK
UNITED
KINGDOM
SIERRA
LEONE
PORTUGAL
BELGIUM
NETHERLANDS
REICHSKOMMISSARIAT
-OSTLAND
St. Eval
THE
GAMBIA
MEXICO
SPAIN
MOROCCO
ALGERIA
ITALY
RF
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C
H
W
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T
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N
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NEZ
UELA
R
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O
RO
FRANCE
VICHY
FRANCE
CANADA
BRAZIL
Halifax
St. John’s
Dakar
Gibraltar
Freetown
New York
THE CONTINUING ATLANTIC WAR
From early 1942 to spring 1943, the German U-boats were very successful,
particularly in the western Atlantic. Fortunes reversed, however: May 1943
was a disaster for the Germans, and U-boat activity tailed off afterward.
Territory under Allied control 1943
Territory under Axis control 1943
Allied merchant ships sunk by
U-boats, Jan 1942–Feb 1943
U-boats sunk,
Jan 1942–Feb 1943
Main areas of U-boat success
Jan 1942–Feb 1943
KEY
1942 1943 1944 1945
1
2
3
4
5
TIMELINE
Extent of Allied air escort cover
Major convoy routes
Allied merchant ships sunk
by U-boats, May–Sep 1943
U-boats sunk,
May–Sep 1943
Main areas of U-boat success
Mar–Sep 1943
After Germany declared war on the US in December 1941, the
Atlantic Ocean became the theater for the early conflict between
the nations. Admiral Karl Dönitz, commander of the German
U-boat fleet, launched Operation Drumbeat to harass merchant
ships moving along the US east coast. The first casualty was a British
tanker, sunk on January 14, 1942, and by June of that year a total of
492 Allied ships had been lost, even though there were never more
than a dozen German submarines operating in the area.
As the US improved its coastal defenses, the focus of the sea battle
shifted to the mid-Atlantic, with additional attacks continuing in the
Caribbean Sea. Germany poured ever-increasing resources into its
submarine fleet and by November 1942, more than 80 U-boats were
active in the Atlantic theater. That month was to prove the deadliest
of all for the Allies, who lost over 88,000 tons (80,000 metric tons) of
merchant shipping; the tally for the year 1942 amounted to over
6 million tons (5.4 million metric tons).
The tide of the war in the Atlantic turned in favor of the Allies
in the spring of 1943. Faced by a real threat to Britain’s oil supplies,
the Allies deployed long-range aircraft equipped with improved
radar, as well as hunting packs of anti-submarine vessels, typically
escorted by small escort aircraft carriers. The tactic worked. In May
1943, when 41 U-boats were sunk, Admiral Dönitz unwillingly
recalled all his vessels from the North Atlantic. Although they would
return later, the U-boats never again presented the grave threat that
they had in the early years of the war.
DEFEAT OF
THE U-BOATS
America’s entry into the war began a new wave of
U-boat activity in 1942 as the submarines hunted ships
off the US east coast. Improved defenses soon drove
the U-boats out into the mid-Atlantic, where they faced
increasingly effective countermeasures by 1943.
Jan 13, 1942 The first U-boats reach
US coastal waters. Over 24 days
they sink more than 165,300 tons
(150,000 metric tons) of shipping
without suffering losses themselves.
Aug 22, 1942 Brazil
declares war on Germany,
opening South Atlantic
bases for Allied convoy
air cover.
U-BOATS RETURN SEPTEMBER 1943–1945
The U-boats that returned to the mid-Atlantic from
September 1943 were equipped with snorkels that
allowed them to cruise at periscope depth while
submerged. By this time, however, the U-boat war was
effectively lost. The costs became fearful: more than
400 of the submarines were sunk in the last two years
of the war, many off the Bay of Biscay en route to or
from their French bases. By the war’s end, 70 percent of
all the men who had served on them were dead.
5
Danger zone for U-boats in the French approaches
Karl Dönitz served as a submarine
officer in World War I. In the
mid 1930s he took charge of the
clandestine program to rebuild
Germany’s U-boat fleet, which had
been banned in 1919. Promoted to
Rear-Admiral in 1939, he proved a
skillful strategist—so much so that he
was made Commander-in-Chief of
the German navy in January 1943.
For his loyalty, Hitler chose him as his
successor, and he briefly served as
Germany’s head of state following
the Führer’s suicide in 1945.
ADMIRAL KARL DÖNITZ 1891–1980
US_168-169_Defeat_of_U-boats.indd 168 22/03/19 2:39 PM