A New Look At The Battle Of The Atlantic

By Colonel Donald L. Davis USMC

The paper examines the Battle of the Atlantic from an operational rather than the usual strategic perspective. The impressive achievements of the small force of German submarines against such overwhelming odds was a direct result of Admiral Karl Doenitz’s skillful practice of the Operational Art. An examination of his attributes and methods may provide useful guidance for the commander of the small, austere force of the future. Superior numbers or technology does not guarantee for military success. Sound doctrine, vision, operational excellence, initiative and audacity, on the other hand, can produce substantial advantages. The paper also cautions that the dramatic allied reconstitution which did so much to turn the tide in the Battle of the Atlantic is unlikely to reoccur and that the large, costly multi-purpose weapons platforms of today may be as ineffective in fighting the low intensity naval battle on the littoral as the large capital ships were in the Battle of the Atlantic.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lucknow Books
• Release date: Aug 15, 2014
• ISBN: 9781782897156

Colonel Donald L. Davis USMC

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Text originally published in 1993 under the same title.

© Pickle Partners Publishing 2014, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.

Publisher’s Note

Although in most cases we have retained the Author’s original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern reader’s benefit.

We have also made every effort to include all maps and illustrations of the original edition the limitations of formatting do not allow of including larger maps, we will upload as many of these maps as possible.

A New Look At the Battle of the Atlantic

By

Donald L. Davis

Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS 4

Abstract 5

CHAPTER I 6

Preface. 6

The Battle of the Atlantic 7

CHAPTER II 11

Admiral Doenitz and the Operational Art. 11

Formulating the Objective. 12

Center of Gravity. 12

Doctrine 14

Vision 14

Initiative 15

Centralized Direction, Decentralized execution 15

Mass and Economy of Force 16

Culminating Point 17

CHAPTER III 18

The Lessons of the Battle of the Atlantic 18

A Few Lethal Assets Can Constitute an Effective Fleet in Being. 18

Overconfidence in Superior Technology. 18

The Importance of the Force Multiplier. 19

The Viability of Reconstitution. 20

The Price of the High Cost, Multi-purpose Weapons System. 20

The Importance of Joint Operations. 21

The Price of Forward Operations Without Forward Bases. 21

The Importance of Doctrine. 22

CHAPTER IV 23

Conclusions. 23

Recommendations. 23

REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER 25

BIBLIOGRAPHY 26

Abstract

The paper examines the Battle of the Atlantic from an operational rather than the usual strategic perspective. The impressive achievements of the small force of German submarines against such overwhelming odds was a direct result of Admiral Karl Doenitz’s skillful practice of the Operational Art. An examination of his attributes and methods may provide useful guidance for the commander of the small, austere force of the future. Superior numbers or technology does not guarantee for military success. Sound doctrine, vision, operational excellence, initiative and audacity, on the other hand, can produce substantial advantages. The paper also cautions that the dramatic allied reconstitution which did so much to turn the