1. The Battle of the Atlantic The other attack on the United States

2. The Battle of the Atlantic  Fully equipped to go to war with the Axis, the U.S. will soon realize that the war has come to their shores  We will find ourselves in a battle for the seas before we even get to Europe  “Britain’s lifeline can’t be severed.”

3. The Battle of the Atlantic  Before the U.S. joined the war, Germany had used U-Boats (German Submarines) effectively on allied ships, especially the British Navy  Now in early 1942 with the U.S. in the war, an all out attack is ordered by Germany  “Operation Drumbeat”: German attack on the ports of the East Coast of the U.S.

4. The Battle of the Atlantic  Why did Germany bring the war to us?  U.S. ships, loaded with supplies waited in port for the voyage across the Atlantic  Silhouetted against the bright lights of American towns and cities, these ships were easy targets for U-Boats

5. The Battle of the Atlantic  The U.S. would eventually lose over 3.1 million tons of supplies because of U-Boats in just 1942  The U.S. had no initial defense, but eventually fought back, sinking 2 U-Boats  Wrecks today can be found off the coast of Rhode Island and New Jersey

6. The Battle of the Atlantic  We had very few anti-submarine ships in 1942 so little was done initially  How does the U.S. defend itself?  Blackouts: Citizens living on the coast were ordered to turn off lights at night so our ships could not be seen

7. The Battle of the Atlantic

8.  Blackouts worked initially, but the U.S. cannot hide from Germany behind the cover of darkness. We must get to Europe  The first merchant ships that attempted to cross the ocean were unsuccessful because they carried no defenses and sonar was new

9. The Battle of the Atlantic Admiral Karl Donitz: Commander of the German U-Boat fleet

10. The Battle of the Atlantic Admiral Ernest King: Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Naval Fleet

11. The Battle of the Atlantic  Admiral King needed a new strategy but was limited because of the Destroyers for Bases Deal  Finally by July 1942 King has enough destroyers to form a convoy  Convoy: A group of ships that would sail together to provide protection against U- Boats

12. The Battle of the Atlantic

13.  Convoys were successful at first, but Admiral Donitz would also adapt his strategy  Donitz orders his U-Boats to attack in groups known as Wolfpacks  U-Boats would patrol in straight lines, but converge when a convoy was spotted

14. The Battle of the Atlantic

15.  The Wolfpacks had their disadvantages and the convoy system was proving to be successful  The U.S. also develops new defenses such as depth charges, advancement in sonar and airplanes, and the HF/DF system

16. The Battle of the Atlantic  The biggest break for the Allies came in late 1942 when they broke the secret German code  Germany had used an Enigma Machine to transmit messages between U-Boats  A U-Boat was captured and boarded, and code books and enigma keys were recovered

17. The Battle of the Atlantic  Using these books and keys, the British were able to break the German code with their system known as Ultra  This allowed the Allies to locate German Wolfpacks and route their ships away from them and safely to England

18. The Battle of the Atlantic  The Battle of the Atlantic was one of the most costly  Thanks to technology, code breaking, strategy, and the effort of military leaders, the U.S. reaches Europe and Africa, and can start the war