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Atlantic, Battle of the: |
| The Battle of the Atlantic is the name given to the period in 1941 and 1942 when German U-boats proved to be most effective against Allied opposition in the Atlantic, and the subsequent struggle to hold on to this dominance. It can be described in two phases: before and after the attack on Pearl Harbor. This first phase was greatly in favor of the German U-boats. While no U.S. warships were sunk until October of 1941, the British losses were extremely severe, at minimal cost to the Germans. However, as American technology adapted to fight the subs, the tide swiftly turned in favor of the Allies. In the first half of 1942, the Germans had sunk about 600 ships while suffering only small losses. However, as the Nazi sub commanders were killed, new, inexperienced captains were brought in, and they could not fight as well as their predecessors. As a result, the Allies continued to amass strength in the Atlantic. By 1943, it seemed that the Germans were almost totally ineffective in the Atlantic, and the U.K. and the U.S. were able to supply Stalin along the previously perilous Murmansk Run, which ran just north of Nazi Norway. This Battle fueled Congress to recognize the need for naval superiority, and the enacted the Two-Ocean Bill, which would set production levels high enough to produce the most powerful navy in the world by 1944. |
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