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Originally Posted by tonyeh
Well, perhaps not all the information was available to everyone, but Britain certainly knew that despite losses to U-boats, the vast majority of convoys were getting through the Atlantic unscathed. Even during the "hard" years of 1940/41. Churchill definitely upped the supposed danger to Britain's "survival" all the way until 1944 for obvious propaganda reasons.
Dönitz etc on the other side had known too that the U-boats were on a loser. There simply was not enough of them and not enough enemy shipping sunk.
Either way it was very clear to both sides by 1942, that no matter how much the available U-boats sank in the Atlantic, it wouldn't have been enough. The best Gerry could hope for was to tie down Allied resources in a harassing campaign.
But still the average view seems to be that the U-boats came within a whisker of starving Britain...mainly due to the propaganda of the times and the immediate post-war period. This view is present in documentary, film and books.
Blair's sober assessment and his effort to set the record straight is very admirable. Not to mention entirely correct.
Tony
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OH I agree with all of this, but it was the Public Perception (as you mention,) that I was talking about rather than the War Office who would, of course, access to information.
I do still think that his objectivity is coloured though, and I still find that at odds with the otherwise very dry tone of his books.