[Homer_J_Simpson]

I question the accuracy of parts of the following excerpt. Most accounts I have read imply strongly that Germany was winning the Battle of the Atlantic in 1941. And Lend-Lease supplies were not “pouring into Britain” because Lend-Lease was only a couple of months old and U.S. production was still getting geared up. Also, much of what was being shipped was getting sunk during the crossing. Maybe I am being too hard on Shirer. I am interested in learning what the wise guys among us have to say on this. – Homer.

William L. Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Winston S. Churchill, The Grand Alliance

[abb]

I question the accuracy of parts of the following excerpt. Most accounts I have read imply strongly that Germany was winning the Battle of the Atlantic in 1941. And Lend-Lease supplies were not “pouring into Britain” because Lend-Lease was only a couple of months old and U.S. production was still getting geared up. Also, much of what was being shipped was getting sunk during the crossing. Maybe I am being too hard on Shirer. I am interested in learning what the wise guys among us have to say on this. – Homer.

Your theory has merit. If you step back and look at the strategic importance Britain placed on the Bismarck threat, it seems they really were fearful of the damage the ship could do to convoys.

Note how just about every available ship has been thrown into the effort to stop Bismarck's mission. While Crete was a loss to British prestige, the Atlantic convoy's represented much greater strategic importance to Britain's survival.

[abb]

This also reminds me of one of my favorite ‘what ifs’ of the war. What if Hitler had allocated more resources to U-boat construction instead of large surface ships. After all KM Bismarck DID NOT fulfill its mission of disrupting convoys. Suppose that instead of building that ship, the resources were put to constructing fifty (or ever how many) additional U-boats?

[BroJoeK]

Homer: "I question the accuracy of parts of the following excerpt."

Here is another take on those same events:

"On the other side of the Atlantic, Adolf Hitler was taking great pains to avoid a clash with the United States.
On April 25 he cautioned his naval forces that

'all incidents with American ships be avoided.'

The commander-in-chief of his navy, Admiral Erich Raeder, was pushing for aggressive action against the United States.

"Hitler answered Raeder at a conference on May 22, ordering that

'Weapons are not to be used.
Even if American vessels conduct themselves in a definitely unneutral manner. . . . Weapons are to be used only if US ships fire the first shot.' ”

Greaves Jr, Percy (2010). Pearl Harbor: The Seeds and Fruits of Infamy Chapter 3