SUBSIM Radio Room Forums - The allies could of ended the U-boat war much earlier.

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- - The allies could of ended the U-boat war much earlier. (https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=149183)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oneshot/Onekill (Post 1068179)

It really does amaze me though. With the kind of menace that the Atlantic U-boat war posed, and the incredible vast amount of resources in lives, and materials and technological advances that were needed for the allies to achieve victory in the Atlantic that there was not a more concerted effort to make attempts to slow down U-boat production such as the battery plant and other factories in the same manner that the allies made towards fighter and petrolium production. It would have cost alot less lives to send bombers than to devote 2 entire navies. One other ramafication would have been how far ASW tatics and Technology have been set back, specifically the U.S. Navy?

The thing is the weapon to achieve this early knock-out blow didn't exist in 1940. The giant Allied bomber fleets didn't come into existence until later in the war after a lot of research and development and gearing up for production. Britain alone in 1940 couldn't have sustained a bomber offensive large enough to knock out all U-Boat production. The U-Boat war also played to the Allies greatest strength as both the US and British navies were among the finest and largest in the world. Germany's greatest strength was always in her land army.

They probably thought, even though without attacking the plants they would still win the war..the British and Americans didn't care how many men they lost or would lose, unless it was their whole army. Might as well "head for Berlin" as they planned to do.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JHuschke (Post 1068391)

I can't agree with you here.....the primary consideration was always the fear of losing large numbers of servicemen and the resultant negative impact on opinions back home.

The best example is probably the estimated million+ that could have been sacrificed had the Allies invaded the Japanese mainland, hence the use of the nuclear bomb.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JHuschke (Post 1068391)

Sounds more like the Soviet strategy to me. The reason the Allies delayed D-Day until 1944 was it was thought it would be too costly to mount beforehand. More landing craft and men, experience and planning were needed to make it succeed.

Soviet strategy was to gobble up as much of Eastern Europe and install puppet governments.
Every time I've war gamed the Ostfront the Russian juggernaut punched straight into the north German plain, ignoring Hungary and Rumania and any islands of resistance and takes out Berlin in mid-late 1944.