Battle of the Atlantic 1939-1945

1. Battle of the Atlantic1939-1945 By: Jordyn, Ivana, Emily, Vanessa

2. Events Of The War • Started on September 3rd 1939, ended on May 8th 1945 – Longest battle in the war • Germany was determined to starve the British people in surrendering by cutting off Britain's overseas supplies, they sent out 39 U-Boats and sunk the British ship ‘The SS Athenia’ • Germany controlled the entire coast of Europe, from Narvik to Pyrenees • Royal Canadian Navy began war with 13 vessels and 3,000 men. They ended with 373 fighting ships and 90,000 men

3. Events Of The War Continued… • When Germany marched into France, 4 destroyers of the Royal Canadian Army were sent to the English Channel where they provided aid in evacuation of forces, landed military troops, and carried out demolition • After fall of France, Canadian destroyers joined Royal Navy in struggle to protect south western approaches to Britain where German submarines pressed attacks • June 1940, German U-Boats sunk 900,000 tons of British goods End of 1940, agreement between Great Britain and America was made, 50 old American destroyers transferred to Royal Navy (Canada acquired 6).

4. Events Of The War Continued Again… • Convoys formed to regulate ship movements and to provide escorts both by air and sea • Canada officially joined the war in May 1941, United States joined in July 1941 • Maintaining Atlantic lifeline through convoy protection became Canada’s increasingly vital role • June 1941, over 500,000 tons of shipping were lost to German U-boats

5. And Again… • March 1943 – Allied forces gained advantage over the German U-Boats thanks to their new technology, experience, and execution • Allied Forces made their way through Africa, France, and Italy defeating the Germans • The German battle in the Atlantic was one of their prime sources for casualties, but a major win for the Allied Countries • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-xzcwCZNF8 *This battle was also known as “Germany’s failure at sea”*

6. Canada's Role Canada played a MAJOR role in the Battle of The Atlantic! • There initial role was just to protect supply convoys from North America to Russia • As the battle got more intense, Canada’s role was then to supply its navy to participate in the battle. Canada had the third largest navy in the whole war • The most important act of Canada’s success was the safe passage during the battle of over 25,000 merchant ships under Canadian escort. These cargo vessels delivered almost 165 million tons of supplies to Britain and to the Allied forces that liberated Europe

7. Importance In The Overall War The Battle of The Atlantic was one of the main battles in World War 2, it was also the longest (6 years). • It was important for many reasons: • The U -Boats were sinking supplies being sent from Canada and the USA to Britain at a time when Britain was the main focus for resistance to Germany. • Millions of tons of Allied shipping was lost but eventually the Allies improved their methods of attacking U-Boats both by sea and air • By 1943 the Allies had the advantage and this enabled massive supplies of men and materials to be built up for the invasion of France.

8. Overall… • If the Allied Countries were not able to defeat the Germans in the battle of the Atlantic, the supplies would not have been able to be delivered to Britain, resulting in a potential loss in the war • Since the Allied Countries beat Germany in this battle, the supplies were able to be delivered which helped them build up for the invasion of France

9. British Ship U-Boat Ascending Torpedoes Dropped from Planes U-Boats Grounded British Ships from Top View German U-Boats Canadian Ships Sunk

10. Video • Describes the horrors faced for soldiers in this battle and why this was such a main battle… The Atlantic Lifeline