Submarines and the World Wars: The History of Submarine Warfare in World War I and World War II
Charles River Editors
During World War I, German U-boats operated solo except on one occasion. Initially, the British and nations supplying England with food and materiel scattered vessels singly across the ocean, making them vulnerable to the lone submarines. However, widespread late war re-adoption of the convoy system tipped the odds in the surface ships' favor, as one U-boat skipper described: “The oceans at once became bare and empty; for long periods at a time the U-boats, operating individually, would see nothing at all; and then suddenly up would loom a huge concourse of ships, thirty or fifty or more of them, surrounded by a strong escort of warships of all types.”
World War I proved the value of submarines, ensuring their widespread employment in the next conflict, and one critical innovation in World War II's Atlantic U-boat operations consisted of wolf-pack tactics, in which Admiral Karl Dönitz put great faith: “The greater the number of U-boats that could be brought simultaneously into the attack, the more favorable would become the opportunities offered to each individual attacker.
Meanwhile, submarines exercised a decisive impact on the outcome of the Pacific Theater in World War II. The U.S. submarine fleet, largely though not exclusively under the overall command of Vice Admiral Charles Lockwood, strangled the supply lines and shipping traffic of the Empire of Japan. Their commerce raiding crippled both Japan's ability to keep its frontline units supplied and to manufacture the weapons, vessels, and vehicles needed to successfully carry on the struggle. Though constituting only 1.6% of the total U.S. Navy’s tonnage in the Pacific, the submarine fleet inflicted massive losses on the Imperial Japanese Navy and Japan's crucial merchant marine. Submarines sank 55% of the merchant shipping lost, or approximately 1,300 vessels
Duration - 4h 19m.
Author - Charles River Editors.
Narrator - Dan Gallagher.
Published Date - Monday, 30 January 2023.
Copyright - © 2018 Charles River Editors ©.
Location:
United States
Description:
During World War I, German U-boats operated solo except on one occasion. Initially, the British and nations supplying England with food and materiel scattered vessels singly across the ocean, making them vulnerable to the lone submarines. However, widespread late war re-adoption of the convoy system tipped the odds in the surface ships' favor, as one U-boat skipper described: “The oceans at once became bare and empty; for long periods at a time the U-boats, operating individually, would see nothing at all; and then suddenly up would loom a huge concourse of ships, thirty or fifty or more of them, surrounded by a strong escort of warships of all types.” World War I proved the value of submarines, ensuring their widespread employment in the next conflict, and one critical innovation in World War II's Atlantic U-boat operations consisted of wolf-pack tactics, in which Admiral Karl Dönitz put great faith: “The greater the number of U-boats that could be brought simultaneously into the attack, the more favorable would become the opportunities offered to each individual attacker. Meanwhile, submarines exercised a decisive impact on the outcome of the Pacific Theater in World War II. The U.S. submarine fleet, largely though not exclusively under the overall command of Vice Admiral Charles Lockwood, strangled the supply lines and shipping traffic of the Empire of Japan. Their commerce raiding crippled both Japan's ability to keep its frontline units supplied and to manufacture the weapons, vessels, and vehicles needed to successfully carry on the struggle. Though constituting only 1.6% of the total U.S. Navy’s tonnage in the Pacific, the submarine fleet inflicted massive losses on the Imperial Japanese Navy and Japan's crucial merchant marine. Submarines sank 55% of the merchant shipping lost, or approximately 1,300 vessels Duration - 4h 19m. Author - Charles River Editors. Narrator - Dan Gallagher. Published Date - Monday, 30 January 2023. Copyright - © 2018 Charles River Editors ©.
Language:
English
Opening Credits
Duration:00:00:10
Introduction
Duration:00:07:20
The Evolution of Submarines
Duration:00:08:25
Early U-Boat Actions
Duration:00:10:27
Unrestricted Warfare
Duration:00:14:12
British Submarines in World War I
Duration:00:18:23
A Return to Unrestricted Warfare
Duration:00:03:03
Minelayers
Duration:00:02:01
Submarines on the East Coast
Duration:00:14:21
Defeating the U-Boats
Duration:00:10:33
The Importance of the Atlantic during World War II
Duration:00:10:27
Tactics on Both Sides during World War II
Duration:00:37:53
American Operations in the Atlantic
Duration:00:18:24
The Heyday of U-Boats in the Atlantic
Duration:00:22:06
Allied Victory in the Atlantic
Duration:00:12:37
Submarines at Pearl Harbor
Duration:00:10:23
Japanese Submarines
Duration:00:07:34
American Submarines
Duration:00:02:23
Submarines from Pearl Harbor to Operation Cactus
Duration:00:07:20
Divine Turtle Operation Number 2
Duration:00:07:26
Japanese and American Campaigns
Duration:00:04:28
1943
Duration:00:15:30
The Fate of Prisoners
Duration:00:04:21
1944 and 1945
Duration:00:09:38
Ending Credits
Duration:00:00:11