[Rockin Robbins]

The strategy comparison is the most interesting aspect for me.

The German strategy was cooperation between U-boats to gang up on convoys to overwhelm the escorts and kill most of the merchies. They set up screens across a suspected convoy route. When a submarine detected the convoy they radioed base, which coordinated available U-boats to form a wolfpack attack on the convoy. This strategy was fatally flawed as it assumed that there could not be enough direction finding equipment close enough to compromise the positions of the U-boats. They also were so convinced of the superiority of the German mind that it was inconceivable that enemies could decode their messages. Throughout the war, they never tested the integrity of either system, even after inexplicable losses should have sounded the alarm. So the German method was "Design an attack system and work it to death." Unfortunately, the death was their own.

American strategy was......... um..........er...........no stragegy at all! OK, no strategy left, as the fleet boat was supposed to be the eyes and ears of the fleet, seeking the showdown at the OK Corral with the Japanese Navy. How would that have worked out? Not too good! Fortunately, the Japanese sank our contribution to the showdown, forcing some new thinking as the old strategy was busy attracting fishies to their new homes. At that point all we had left was submarines and some bright person noticed that was all the Germans had to begin with! Why not copy their battle plan? We did exactly that with some important refinements. We assumed that all radio transmissions endangered the submarine and all messages could be understood by the enemy. Therefore German wolfpack tactics were willfully sacrificed in favor of secrecy. The submarine program was top secret to avoid the wonderfully helpful publicity the Nazis gave their submarine successes. While it bolstered home spirits and succeeded in some demoralization of the enemy, we gleefully learned much information that resulted in death for many U-boat crews. In the final analysis, though, American strategy was based on imitating the strengths of German efforts and attempting to avoid the negatives the Germans were never aware of.

The German story will always be more compelling for several reasons. First, the German sub captains were the rock stars of the war, even surpassing pilots in glamor and excitement. Therefore their exploits are much better known, even to this day. Any information we know about the American efforts was published after the end of the war. Also, the German experience was truly a Shakespearian tragedy. What made them strong was what brought them down, their dependence upon compromised communication to concentrate their attacks on well-defended convoys. Their hubris, so believing in their mental superiority that they considered their Enigma code impregnable, was the final piece in their puzzle of complete anihilation. In spite of the failure of their commander, crews remained faithful, captains courageous to the end. What a story! It's better than Thermopylae! Who can resist identifying with it?