Depth Charged on 2nd September 1939

[Captain Nemo]

Originally Posted by Ford Prefect

11 o'clock on the morning of the 3rd of september war was declared due to the none withdrawal of german troops from poland. Chamberlain came on the radio at 11:15 to address the nation. You can find the full 8 minute speech online, in it you can hear the regret and emotion in Chamberlain's voice that we were once again going to commit to war with germany and sacrifice countless lives.

Chamberlain hated the thought of going to war with Germany again having lost a close relative during the Great War. However, even he realised eventually that Hitler could not be trusted no matter what agreements had been made and signed. The Munich agreement signed in 1938 (peace in our time) really sold Czechoslovakia down the river but it bought Britain more time to re-arm and be prepared for the war that would inevitably come.

Nemo

[von hally]

seems from what i've read...the americans weren't too shy in attacking u-boats before they changed neutral status.....to the victor...the spoils

[Sailor Steve]

The very first convoy of the war was AB 1/1, which departed Gibraltar on September 2, 1939. It was dispersed on September 13.

The answer is yes, they did start running convoys before they declared war.

[Captain Nemo]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

The very first convoy of the war was AB 1/1, which departed Gibraltar on September 2, 1939. It was dispersed on September 13.

The answer is yes, they did start running convoys before they declared war.

Thanks for the info on pre-war convoys Sailor Steve.

Nemo

[Ford Prefect]

Originally Posted by Captain Nemo

Chamberlain hated the thought of going to war with Germany again having lost a close relative during the Great War. However, even he realised eventually that Hitler could not be trusted no matter what agreements had been made and signed. The Munich agreement signed in 1938 (peace in our time) really sold Czechoslovakia down the river but it bought Britain more time to re-arm and be prepared for the war that would inevitably come.

Nemo

People like to label him an idiot for giving into Hitler when infact at the outbreak of the war we were as prepared as we could be. We were pushed onto the back foot by dunkirk and the loss of so much armaments etc but by the time of the first battle of Britain our factories were out producing Germany 2 fold. The German generals, admirals and chiefs of staff said the war came too early for them, before they had in place the technology and forces they wanted, but had they waited their enemies would have also been better equipped to repulse them. Quite a quandary, no?

[Captain Nemo]

Originally Posted by Ford Prefect

People like to label him an idiot for giving into Hitler when infact at the outbreak of the war we were as prepared as we could be. We were pushed onto the back foot by dunkirk and the loss of so much armaments etc but by the time of the first battle of Britain our factories were out producing Germany 2 fold. The German generals, admirals and chiefs of staff said the war came too early for them, before they had in place the technology and forces they wanted, but had they waited their enemies would have also been better equipped to repulse them. Quite a quandary, no?

Chamberlain was no idiot, he wanted a peaceful solution to Europe's problems rather than a world war and he tried very hard to achieve this, but at the same time he realised he had to prepare Britain for war as this was a very distinct possibility given Hitler's track record.

Very difficult to say whether if war had come later Germany would have been better prepared to defeat Britain. From a naval point of view this is probably true, as Germany's navy was way outnumbered by the Royal Navy ship for ship in 1939. Before the war, when Donitz questioned Hitler on the possibility of an imminent war with Britain didn't Hitler reply along the lines of "if we go to war with Britain it will finish Germany"? Well I suppose that's one thing Hitler got right.

Nemo

[Feuer Frei!]

I think that the reasons for the appeasement in 1938 are reasonably clear, ie why Chamberlain ceded to Hitler's demands:


Effects of World War One, Treaty of Versailles, Lack of Allies and Hitler's cleverness all contributed to it,


There were many reasons why Britain 'appeased' Hitler in the 1930s. Historians have ascribed every possible motive to Chamberlain - sheer abject cowardice, that he was duped by Hitler, that it was a noble attempt to prevent bloodshed, that he was buying time for Britain to re-arm... and many others!


The five most important reasons, however, were:

Some British people approved of Hitler's policies.

The British people hoped that a strong Germany would stop the growth of Communist Russia.

Many people felt that events in Europe were not Britain's business.

Many British people wanted peace.

Many British people agreed with Hitler that the Treaty of Versailles was unfair.

I must apologise to Captain Nemo, seems the thread you started with the destroyer depth charging has taken on a different spin now, sorry for getting off-topic?