German Submarines Combats In The Second World War

By André Geraque Kiffer

The Kriegsmarine (War Navy) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It replaced the German Imperial Navy of the German Empire (1871-1918) and the interwar Reichsmarine (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. Germany s main naval weapon was the submarine (u-boot); its main mission was to cut off the flow of supplies and munitions reaching Britain by sea. Submarine attacks on Britain s vital maritime supply routes in the Battle of the Atlantic began immediately with the outbreak of war. The criticisms of this German corsair war are the result of when the history of wars is told only by the winners, as we have seen, historically, the greatest victim in this war, England in the 16th century, made intense use of this same type of naval warfare. In this and other historical simulations of the Second World War I do not decide my hypotheses based on the morals of one ideological faction or another. I do seek to study military strategic, operational and/or tactical variants for the story narrated, analyzed and simulated. In this book I will dedicate myself more to the tactical and technical decision-making levels, simulating a campaign that will be considered victorious if escapes the anti-submarine war and comply with the missions.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Clube de Autores
• Release date: Feb 25, 2024

Book preview

German  submarines combats  in  the Second  World  War A  historical  simulation

André  Geraque  Kiffer

[  2  ]

---  Kiffer,  André  Geraque.

German  submarines  combats  in  the  Second  World  War.  A historical  simulation.  André  Geraque  Kiffer.

Author’s  Edition,  Rio  de  Janeiro,  2024. Bibliography:  161  p.  115  il.  21  cm..

1.  History.  2.  Art  of  War.  3.  Science  of  War.  4.  War Games.  I.  Author.  II.  Title.

ISBN  978-65-00-95044-1

HISTORICAL  FACT...................................................  5

5 HISTORICAL  ANALYSIS.........................................  2

2  3 3

HISTORICAL  SIMULATION....................................  2

2  9 9

REFERENCES.......................................................  1

1  5

5  9 9

[  3  ]

As  a  Military  Historian  I  rely  on  a  summary  of  the historical  fact,  I  analyze  and  highlight  the  decisive  factors, before  simulating  hypotheses  what  if…  hypotheses through  a  board  game.  In  the  simulation,  all  possibilities of  the  purpose  of  the  study  are  completed,  when  the  past of  history  is  analyzed  based  on  the  theory  of  the  present and  projected  for  similar  situations  in  the  future.  Since 2010  I  have  published  the  following  series  of  simulations: I.  Historical  Simulation  of  the  Wars  of  the  First  Empires; II.  Historical  Simulation  of  the  Wars  in  Classical  Greece; III.  Historical  Simulation  of  the  Roman  Wars;  IV.  Historical Simulation  of  Wars  in  the  Medieval  Era;  V.  Historical Simulation  of  Wars  in  the  Modern  Era  (1453  to  1774);  VI. Historical  Simulation  of  Wars  in  the  Age  of  Revolutions (1775  to  1860);  VII.  Historical  Simulation  of  Wars  in  the Industrial  Age  (1861  to  1913);  VIII.  Historical  Simulation of  the  First  World  War;  IX.  Historical  Simulation  of  World War  II;  X.  Historical  Simulation  of  the  Cold  War  (1917  to 1991);  and  XI.  Historical  Simulation  of  Contemporary Wars  (1991  to  ...). Keywords:  History.  Art  of  War.  Science  of  War.  War

Games.

German  submarines  in  WW  II.  A  historical  simulation  by  André  Geraque  Kiffer

HISTORICAL  FACT

The  corsair  war

A  privateer  or  corsair  (from  the  Italian  corsaro)  was someone  who,  by  a  mission  or  letter  of  privateer  (or brand)  of  a  government,  was  authorized  to  plunder another  nation's  ships,  taking  advantage  of  commercial transactions  through  material  transfer  of  riches.

Img  1:  Targeted  routes.

This  corsair  warfare  was  employed  as  an  easy  and  cheap way  -  without  having  to  bear  the  costs  related  to maintenance  and  shipbuilding  -  to  weaken  the  enemy, disrupting  its  sea  lanes. Theoretically,  a  pirate  with  a  card  of  privateer  could  be considered  a  corsair,  recognized  as  such  by  international law.

[  5  ]

German  submarines  in  WW  II.  A  historical  simulation  by  André  Geraque  Kiffer

Sometimes,  in  their  country  of  origin,  corsairs  were considered  true  heroes,  such  as  Francis  Drake,  who, thanks  to  the  fabulous  Spanish  treasures  he  collected  for England,  was  made  Knight  or  Sir  by  Queen  Elizabeth  I.

Img  2:  A  first  record.

The  strengthening  of  the  modern,  centralizing  state  made the  practice  of  privateering  obsolete.  The  attack  on  the enemy's  commerce  was  losing  proportions.  The  new steamships,  which  demanded  large  production  and maintenance  costs,  also  brought  the  private  sea  war  to  an end. After  the  Crimean  War,  the  Treaty  of  Paris  of  1856  was signed,  in  which  the  great  powers  gathered  there  agreed to  definitively  end  the  practice  of  privateering. Thus,  as  it  was  often  the  privateering  that  led  to  piracy, this  also  tended  to  decrease.  Pirates  have  not  completely

[  6  ]

German  submarines  in  WW  II.  A  historical  simulation  by  André  Geraque  Kiffer

disappeared  –  now  also  associated  with  terrorism  –  but  it is  certain  that,  with  the  development  of  communications and  surveillance  systems,  this  activity  has  been considerably  weakened.

Img  3:  The  Nautilus  (1),  the  Turtle  (2)  and  the  Hunley  (3).

Submarines  until  World  War  II

The  first  submersible  whose  construction  there  is  reliable information  was  designed  and  built  in  1620  by  Cornelis Drebbel,  a  Dutchman  in  the  service  of  James  I  of  England. It  was  driven  by  oars. The  first  military  submersible  was  the  Turtle  (1775),  a hand-powered  balloon-shaped  device  designed  by American  David  Bushnell  to  accommodate  a  single  person. It  was  the  first  submarine  capable  of  independent

[  7  ]

German  submarines  in  WW  II.  A  historical  simulation  by  André  Geraque  Kiffer

underwater  operation  and  movement,  and  the  first  to  use propellers  for  propulsion.

Img  4:  The  Explorer.

In  1800,  France  built  a  human-powered  submarine designed  by  the  American  Roberto  Fulton,  the  Nautilus. The  French  gave  up  on  the  experiment  in  1804,  as  did  the British  when  they  later  considered  the  project. In  1864,  at  the  end  of  the  American  Civil  War,  the Confederate  Navy's  Hunley  became  the  first  military submarine  to  sink  an  enemy  ship,  the  Union  war  sloop Housatonic.  His  successful  attack  employed  a  barrel  full  of powder  on  a  stringer  as  a  torpedo  charge.  The  submarine also  sank  as  the  shock  wave  from  the  explosion  knocked out  and/or  killed  the  crew  instantly,  preventing  them  from pumping  the  hold  and/or  boosting  the  submarine. In  1866,  the  Sub  Marine  Explorer  was  the  first  submarine to  successfully  dive,  navigate  under  water  and  emerge under  crew  control.  German-American  Julius  H.  Kroehl's

[  8  ]

German  submarines  in  WW  II.  A  historical  simulation  by  André  Geraque  Kiffer

design  incorporated  elements  that  are  still  used  in  modern submarines.

Img  5:  The  Plongeur  (1),  the  Ictíneo  (2)  and  the  Peral  (3).

The  first  submarine  that  did  not  depend  on  human  power for  its  propulsion  was  the  French  Plongeur,  launched  in 1863,  which  used  compressed  air  at  180  psi. Narcís  Monturiol  designed  the  first  combustion-powered submarine,  the  Ictineo  II,  which  was  launched  in Barcelona  in  1864. A  reliable  means  of  propulsion  for  the  submerged  ship  was only  possible  in  the  1880s  with  the  advent  of  electric battery  technology.  The  first  electrically  powered  boat  was built  by  Isaac  Peral  y  Caballero  in  Spain,  the  Peral.  Its design  featured  torpedoes  and  other  systems  that  would later  become  standard  on  submarines.

[  9  ]

German  submarines  in  WW  II.  A  historical  simulation  by  André  Geraque  Kiffer

Img  6:  The  Whitehead.

The  submarine  became  a  potentially  viable  weapon  with the  development  of  the  Whitehead  torpedo,  designed  in 1866  by  British  engineer  Robert  Whitehead,  the  first  self- propelled  torpedo  or  locomotive  torpedo. Submarines  were  not  employed  in  routine  service  by navies  until  the  beginning  of  the  20th  century,  when  a pivotal  moment  occurred  in  the  development  of  this  new weapons  system,  with  several  important  technologies appearing. Electric  &  diesel  propulsion  became  the  dominant  power system  and  equipment  such  as  the  periscope  became standardized.  Countries  conducted  many  experiments  on effective  techniques  and  tactics  for  using  submarines, which  led  to  their  great  impact  in  World  War  I. Commissioned  in  June  1900,  the  French  submarine  Narval employed  the  now  standard  double  hull  design,  with  one

[  10  ]

German  submarines  in  WW  II.  A  historical  simulation  by  André  Geraque  Kiffer

pressurized  inner  and  one  outer.  These  200-ton  ships  had a  range  of  more  than  100  miles  underwater.

Img  7:  Russian  submarines  in  1904-5.

These  types  of  submarines  were  first  used  during  the Russo-Japanese  War  of  1904–05.  Due  to  the  blockade  at Port  Arthur,  the  Russians  sent  their  submarines  to Vladivostok,  where  on  January  1,  1905  there  were  seven, enough  to  create  the  world's  first  submarine  fleet. She  began  her  patrols  on  February  14,  usually  lasting about  24  hours  each.  A  first  confrontation  took  place  on April  29,  1905,  when  a  Russian  submarine  was  attacked by  Japanese  torpedo  boats. More  submersible  than  real  submarines,  they  operated mostly  on  the  surface  using  regular  motors,  occasionally submerging  to  attack  with  energy  stored  in  batteries. The  submarines'  ability  to  function  as  more  practical  war machines  depended  on  new