We all seem to share a fairly common perception.
Large numbers of boats sent to The Med was an idiotic intervention by Hitler.
Large numbers of boats to defend Norway's coast didn't help.
Assigning boats to The Arctic Route was anti-productive as, England was the only nation capable of being "starved into submission" (oil was the weak spot and key).
The South of Afrika, The Indian Ocean, The Pacific, were anti productive.
Once the wolfpack tactic began to fail it was time for uboats to start acting more like the submarines of other nations. Radio Silence being Rule Number 1.
The Type XXI was not the solution. It wasn't what they wanted. It was an emergency stop-gap measure taken when it was realized that the solution would not be available in time.
The envisioned solution was The Walther Boat. It was intended to run on a single propulsion system. No batteries. No diesels. No oxygen needed for the motors.
Dønitz wanted the first true submarine.
The RN's fuel reserves at one point dropped to less than a one month supply.
That was the win or loose point. Once England recovered from that point she was unbeatable.
Had England remained alone, a Mexican Standoff was very possible.
But with USA, and more importantly Russia, brought into the fray, it was just a matter of time.
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