It's difficult to say. I've always been a fan of the U-boats... and many U-boatmen weren't Nazis. Unfortunately, with the "regular" Germans came the Nazis... so as a submarine fan, I've always pulled for the Kriegsmarine and hoped it may have done better... but I certainly wouldn't like to see a world run by the Nazis... so I am glad history worked out the way it did.
I was under the impression that Plan-Z was already started in the late 1930's when Bismarck and Tirpitz were laid down? Graf Zepplin was laid down, but never really finished. Those ships were supposed to be a part of it, right?
Anyway, yes... I agree... find the "choke points" and stack up your U-boats there. That's a great tactic... as far as your so called "brutality" of attacking rescue ships and other types of ships... sink 'em all! If the world has been notified of a submarine blockade and neutral ships are still sailing in THAT zone, they do so at their own peril. You HAVE TO be aggressive and go right for your enemy's jugular, so to speak, in order to win the war... otherwise, you're just wasting your time... again... this is just my opinion.
In regards to the Med... Hitler had pressure from Mussolini to send subs to the Med to help out. Otherwise, he probably would'nt have done it. In my opinion, Germany did well with the VII and IX... the perfect mix of size and range... depending who you want to attack. With slightly stronger pressure hulls, snorkels and perhaps some other goodies earlier in the war, the VII and IX U-boats may well have won the day and not needed the "Electro boats." Nice chatting with you folks, but I'm off to bed. Hopefully by tomorrow evening, some other people will have weighed in w/ their opinions... quite an interesting question posed here!
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