Over four years, 100,000 people died and 2,500 ships were sunk in the Battle of the Atlantic. It brought Britain to the brink of defeat. From the eastern seaboard of the U.S.A. to the west coast of Africa, those who died had no graves – only their names carved on memorials. This four part series unpacks the critical moments of the biggest naval campaign of the 20th Century. Powerful interviews with those who fought in the battle, dramatic archive - some of it in colour, and impressionistic drama reconstructions brings the horrors of the Atlantic war to a new generation.
The Brink of Defeat
December 1941, the attack on Pearl Harbor finally led the U.S. to enter World War II. Desperate to cripple Britain's shipping lifeline, Hitler's U-boats are sent to North America in 1942, in search of easier prey. The success of their attacks push the Allies to the edge of collapse.
Alexander IV History's supplementary notes:
Darlow Smithson Productions / Convoy Films Inc. 2009
Narrator: Jamie Lee
Features interviews with:
Andrew Lambert (King's College London)
Ken Ramsden (Royal Artillery, SS Cyclops)
John Tippey (British Merchant Navy)
Geoff Smith (Sonar Operator, HMCS Arrowhead)
Peter Petersen (Engineer, U-518)
Werner Hirschmann (Chief Engineer, U-190)
Reinhard Hardegen (Kapitänleutnant U-123)
23 Jan 1942 - awarded Knights Cross
23 Apr 1942 - awarded Knights Cross with Oak Leaves during his second Paukenschlag patrol
https://www.uboat.net/men/hardegen.htm
https://uboat.net/boats/u123.htm
Operation Paukenschlag (Drumbeat) and links to books on the subject:
https://uboat.net/articles/22.html
On 20 January 1942, during Operation Paukenschlag, Dönitz sent the following radiogram:
An den Paukenschläger Hardegen. Bravo! Gut gepaukt. Dönitz.
(For the drum-beater Hardegen. Well done! Good beating. Dönitz. )
For additional info:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Atlantic
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Merchant_Navy
https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-the-Atlantic
NOTE: Alexander IV History channel is strictly non-political and does not condone written attacks, insults, racism, sexism, extremism or otherwise questionable comments, and reserves the right to delete any comment violating this rule or to block any poster from the channel.
--- This is shared without profit for educational and historical purposes ---
