Transcript Battle of the Atlantic Powerpoint

Hitler was ready to take over Eastern Europe
(Czechoslovakia & Austria)
Hitler intimidated the Austrians -plebiscite
held – Hitler took over
Hitler wanted Czechoslovakia - Security was
guaranteed from France and The Soviets –
(Hitler not scared of France)
France
The
won’t help
British won’t help
Czechoslovakia
feels
betrayed…Meeting is
held and Czech is
informed by France and
Britain to give up the
Sudetenland or fight
Germany alone 
The settlement gave Germany the
Sudetenland and de facto control over
the rest of Czechoslovakia as long as
Hitler promised to make no further
territorial claims in Europe.
however…
…In March 1939, Germany invaded
the rest of Czechoslovakia,
effectively killing any notions of
appeasement.


On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded
Poland, causing France and the United
Kingdom to declare war. The United Kingdom
brought with it the huge British Empire, and
most members of the British Commonwealth
joined the war soon after.
After Poland fell, Germany paused to regroup
during the winter of 1939–1940 until April
1940, while the British and French stayed on
the defensive. The period was referred to by
journalists as “the Phoney War” because so
little ground combat took place
France had fallen in 1940, the United Kingdom was out of
money. USA comes up with loan to help them out.
In December 1941, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
brought the United States into the war.
The Battle of the Atlantic….
The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest
continuous military campaign of World War II,
running from 1939 right through to the defeat of
Nazi Germany in 1945, and was at its height from
mid-1940 through to about the end of 1943.
World War II lasted for a total of 2,075
days. The Battle of the Atlantic lasted
for 2,073 of these. It started with the
sinking of the passenger liner Athenia
on the day Britain and France
declared war on Germany.
Battle of the Atlantic
German U-Boats patrolled the Atlantic
against the British blockade of Europe
and in an effort to stop supplies from
America from ever reaching Britain.
U-boats operated in groups of 10
called "wolf packs." The German navy,
carried out submarine warfare to cut
off Britain's imports and military
supplies.
The Allies developed a convoy system
where merchant ships were guarded
by destroyer escorts. The British
developed a system for detecting
U-boats that resembled radar. this
development gave the Allies the edge
in the Battle for the Atlantic.
The campaign pitted the German Navy’s
surface raiders and U-boats against Allied
convoys from North America and the South
Atlantic to the United Kingdom and Russia,
protected mainly by the British and
Canadian navies and air forces, later aided
by United States ships and aircraft.
The British and their
allies gradually gained
the upper hand,
driving the German
surface raiders from
the ocean by the
middle of 1941 and
decisively defeating
the U-boats in a series
of convoy battles
between March and
May 1943
During the battle:
More than 2,000 merchant ships
were lost to a submarine attack
in the North Atlantic and more
than 30,000 merchant seamen died
as a result.
About 330 convoys in the Atlantic
were attacked by U-boats.
565 escorts and 234 stragglers
were sunk.
1,100 proceeding independently
were also sunk.
96,977 crossings were completed
successfully.

Pictured here ex-veteran Reginald
Draper from Chester, reading the
comments on the wreaths laid by the
lord Mayor and the ships
commanders. Reginald a former
Lieutenant Commander, served in
the Royal Navy 1943-1946.