Richard Overy in 1995 published his novel titled Why the Allies Won; Overy is a professor of modern history at King’s College in London and has published numerous works on World War II. Why the Allies Won is inclusive to Overy’s in depth study of why the allies won World War II, when it seemed that the axis powers were ahead until 1942-1943. Overy begins by clearly laying out the basic information as to why the allies did win. He discusses three major elements of World War II in terms of where the battles were: in the sea, in the air, and on the ground. By doing this he is clearly illustrates the allies’ rough situation upon entering the war, and how they were able to improve their performance both militarily and economically and come out of World War II victorious.

Overy discusses, in great detail, the war at sea. He goes into depth discussing the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, which ultimately cause the United States to enter the war. He talks about the intelligence of the allies and how they were eventually able to break the code of submarine warfare tactics which allowed them to defeat the German U-boats. The code-breaking and radar technology allowed their anti-submarine warfare tactics to become technologically superior alongside the United States Navy; both of which led to the demise of the German U-boat threat and the Japanese Navy.

The war in the air, as portrayed by Overy, consisted of more ineffectiveness, than actual effectiveness. Overy illustrates how the American bombing offensive had cause disruptions in Germany’s economy and actually diverted Germany’s resources to Reich. However, Overy also illustrates the importance of the American bombers along with the new radar technology, when dealing with the Japanese Navy and locating submarines. In one aspect, Overy does not seem to give the air force enough credit, but then in other areas he illustrates the importance of the aircraft with the bombings. For example, he talks of the Soviet air force and how their skill and confidence was aided in the allies winning the war; however, he compares that to the Germans and Japanese who were more militarized at the beginning of the war. In the way Overy compares the nations, he clearly illustrates that the allies had to learn how to fight in war; while the axis powers were already prepared for war.

The difference between the allies and the axis powers military skills, according to Overy, aided in the allies’ victory. The axis powers were prepared for war, while the allies had to learn war. The allies being pulled into the war, especially Britain and America were not as prepared but could then use more modern technology to create better equipment. This element is obviously important in answering the question of why the allies won and Overy does not ignore its importance. The technological advances and quality was illustrated numerous times when dealing with aircraft, bombers, submarines, tanks, and radars. He also illustrated how Germany was also working to improve their technology. In return, Germany developed too many weapons that were not as effective as their old, while at the same time, the Soviets continued working on making fewer new models of weapons but mass-producing their old weapons. As Overy also points out, this is an economic downfall to Germany as they are spending money trying to create something new, that in return fails, the Soviet Union spend their money producing the same equipment and not losing money in the long run.

The weapons proved vital for on the ground warfare. The axis while having better trained soldiers, focused on placing their combat troops in the front and not many in the rear. The allies placed more emphasis on using their troops for supply purposes which allowed them to continue warfare without break unlike the axis troops which were constantly running out of supplies and getting bombarded by the axis while waiting for supplies. Overy illustrates in precise detail the statistics of the allied resources in comparison to the axis resources and in return he portrays the obvious superior allied supply forces. The axis powers were lacking in shipping, tanks, aircraft, oil, steel, ordnance and ammunition as well as man power. All of these, the allied troops had plenty; they relied on obtaining their steel from American and was able to extract twice as much oil as the axis powers. The axis powers had oil; however, Overy points out that they did not have the drilling equipment to obtain the oil. The oil that Germany had and was able to extract was watered down by the time it reached the battle fields, which decreased its octane levels. Germany was unable to successfully extract and transport the high octane oil that, in particular, was vital for their aircrafts.

For the war on the ground the Soviet military force had been nearly defeated in 1941, after the near defeat, Stalin placed strict guidelines on the troops about desertion as well as surrender. Stalin told all troops that any soldier of any stature who muttered surrender or deserted the troops was to be shot down. The soviet military troops were quick to learn from their mistakes in 1941, and Overy points out how they organized themselves better and quickly became an overwhelming ground force that held massive defeats at Stalingrad and Kursk. Overy also points out that with the, now highly skilled, Soviet military and the inexperienced American troops working together axis illusion of victory would quickly fade.

Overy illustrates key elements in all the tactics made by the prominent military figures. Overy dedicates an entire chapter discussing not only the well-known military figures such as Churchill, Stalin, and Hitler, but he also points out key figures that are typically looked over and not often appreciated. Little known figures such as Alexander Novikove, who was the architect of the Red air force, and Alexei Antonov who became the chief of staff after 1943 is portrayed by Overy as being important to the allies winning World War II, but often ignored by other historians.

Overy examines six different settings in answering the question of why the allies won. He begins by discussing the navy powers and used the Coral Sea and midway, and the Battle of the Atlantic to illustrate the allied Navy powers. He used Stalingrad and Kursk to portray air warfare tactics. Finally, he used the strategic bombing offensives and Normandy to portray the technological and leadership aspects of allied victory.

One element that Overy also includes in a separate chapter is that of morality and the moral aspects of war. This is an element that is important to World War II and the allies’ victory over the axis powers. In this chapter Overy includes the atomic bomb and nuclear warfare that was used at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. While the super bomb was effective in winning the wars the result of the atomic bomb was much more horrific than anyone anticipated. While there were originally three atomic bombs only two hit their target and left massive destruction and devastation after the realization of the atomic bomb it was a morality issues and decided that nuclear warfare would never occur again. When dealing with warfare Overy points out that civilian lives are commonly lost to the best of soldiers abilities, but to the extent of nuclear weapons, morally and ethically it was wrong.

Also in dealing with morality, Overy explains the Japanese warfare tactics with suicide bombers and people willing to give their lives knowing it would be lost, in comparison, with the allied troops who were willing to fight to the death. The difference between fighting in war with the intent to fight to the death verses fighting to die brought about another great point in not only warfare but the different nationalities and cultures that were involved in the World War II.

Why the Allies Won is a novel that would be a great addition to any historians library or simply for a World War II enthusiast. This book provides great insight on World War II and an in depth look at the allied verse axis powers. Throughout Overy’s book a reader is pummeled with historical statistics and data that make the book perfect for research. In addition to research the book is overall an easy read, and both accurate and reliable facts. The book is a quick read and can provide much insight into intricate details often overlooked about World War II, as well as makes readers question and wonder what would have happened had the axis actually been victorious instead of the allies. One downfall that I discovered in the book was that it took some getting into. Like any great literary work the beginning can often seem dry and loose the interest of readers, for me it began slowly but by the time one reaches beyond the first chapter the book is one that is difficult to put down. The range and use of blending both allied and axis information into each page keeps the readers in tuned to a chronological aspect, although the book is not in chronological order from cover to cover, and helps the readers realize how things played out. I found it to be fascinating how Overy includes a cultural historians point of view in the book with the included chapter about the morals of war and the different moralities concerned with each nation, how those morals differed yet the soldiers were all present to win the war. 

In conclusion, Overy allows readers to thoroughly understand the outcome of World War II by illustrating elements such as: technological quality, combat prowess, organization and leadership, and even comments of fighting a moral war in order to express why the allies won World War II.  Overy presents these thematic elements in a way that can easily be understood by readers, without omitting facts and statistics. Overy does not allow for any misconceptions when one finishes his book. From military leaders to battle plans, Overy covers the entire course of World War II, in order to answer the ultimate question that many people ask: how did the allies win the war after the axis powers were so far ahead.  

During the war, before the U.S entered, the Germans used U-boats, or submarines to sink ships. In an effort to keep the U.S neutral, they signed the Sussex Pledge, vowing to warn ships before sinking. Once the United State was no longer deemed a threat by Germany, they broke the pledge and sank ships without warning, angering the United States. Even before the pledge, the Germans sank the R.M.S Lusitania, a British ship, killing over one-hundred U.S citizens, this sparked U.S interest in the war and Germany.

In 1917 Arthur Zimmermann sent a telegram to Mexico asking for a German – Mexican alliance to wage war on America. The British “ Room 40” headed by Winston Churchill, intercepted it and decoded it, then sent it to the Americans. This message frightened many, as if it were taken seriously by Mexico, we would have an enemy right on our border. Thankfully, Mexico did not take it seriously, but the U.S did, and it became one of the final things that pushed us to war.

The last major reason that the U.S went to war was that the United States needed to protect its trade partners. In the twentieth century, Britannia was our biggest trade partner, as we exported tons of material to them. The United States government figured that if Britain lost the war, we wouldn’t have anyone to export to. We needed to secure a win for the British so we would have a stable trade economy later in history.

Been on board a Q ship was undoubtedly dangerous for their crews even if such ships carried cargoes that would keep them afloat longer if hit by German torpedoes. Q ships got more sophisticated once the Germans became increasingly suspicious of lone merchant ships sinking them.

The limitations of Q ships became obvious once the Germans implemented unrestricted submarine warfare at the start of 1917. U boats were eventually nullified by convoys, depth charges, new destroyers and ASDIC sonar devices.

Bibliography

Massie R K (2005) Castles of Steel – Britain, Germany and the winning of the Great War at Sea, Pimlico, London

Karl Donitz was born in1891and joined the Imperial German Navy during the course of the First World War. His brief experience as a submariner made him convinced of the value of the U – boats in any future conflict with Great Britain.

Donitz continued to serve in the tiny navy Germany was allowed after the First World War, a force banned from building battleships and submarines. He like many of his fellow Germans was bitter about such restrictions.

After the emergence of the Third Reich Donitz was the senior naval officer that Hitler trusted the most, and that trust was certainly well placed. This highly capable admiral almost single handledly masterminded the construction of a revived U – boat force that would almost win the Battle of Atlantic during the Second World War.

Although the German Navy only had a small number of submarines in 1939 the invasion of France gave them opportunities to sink British shipping than ever before. Only American industrial capacity and the availabilty of effective anti-submarine measures led to the U – boats been beaten.

Unlike other politicians Donitz never lost his loyalty to the Nazi regime making him the only viable successor to Hitler although he had no chance to surrender.

Biography

Hobsbawm, E Age of Extremes the Short Twentieth Century 1914-1991, (1994) Penguin Books Ltd, Middlesex

James H, (2003) Europe Reborn – A History, 1914 – 2000, Pearson Longman, Harlow

Palmowski J, (2008) Oxford Dictionary of Contemporary World History, Oxford

Woodruff W, A Concise History of the Modern World, (2005) Abacus, London

ST George’s Day is celebrated by the Royal Marines not as the feast of England’s patron saint or even that of the patron saint of soldiers.  It is the anniversary of the raid on Zeebrugge in 1918.

The German Navy was using the Belgian port as a U-boat base and these submarines were preying on the convoys carrying food, munitions and American troops over the Atlantic Ocean.  These attacks could cost the Allies the war and had to be stopped.  One suggestion was for block ships to be scuttled in the harbour entrance, bottling up those in the base and preventing patrolling U-boats from returning for refitting.

Once this plan was accepted, it was realised that the block ships would be unable to steam into the harbour unless the defences on the mole were neutralised.  This concrete breakwater was heavily defended and the task of occupying it was given to the 4th Battalion Royal Marines Light Infantry.

This unit of three companies from Portsmouth, Chatham and Plymouth starting intensive training at Deal.  Most of this preparation took place on a mock-up of the mole at night and wearing gas masks.  These marines were also given false information to pass on to the Germans in case of capture.

HMS Vindictive was specially adapted as a landing vessel with eight gangways.  Support weapons, manned by the Royal Marines Artillery, included mortars, flamethrowers and machine guns.  Vindictive was to transport the assault troops through the minefields to storm the mole while three block ships filled with concrete steamed into the harbour to scuttle themselves.  More troops were aboard HMS Royal Daffodil and HMS Royal Iris III.

At midnight on April 22, 1918, Admiral Roger Keyes made the signal “St George for England.”  Vindictive replied “May we give the dragon’s tail a dammed good twist.”

Vindictive came alongside the breakwater and grappling irons were throw.  Many volunteers lost their lives trying to secure these, then Iris rammed the ship into the mole and the battalion stormed ashore.  They were being decimated, but they still held the mole.

Intrepid, Iphigenia and Thetis steamed through on the other side of the mole, using a lighthouse, which the Germans had neglected to extinguish, as a marker and sank a dredger.  They scuttled themselves and the crews escaped in the ships’ boats.  Meanwhile Submarine C4 blew herself up under the bridge with an explosion, which shook the mile long mole throughout its length.

Vindictive was unable to sound the retire due to damage on her siren.  Another ship gave a garbled version of alternate long and short blasts instead of a succession of short blasts.   The survivors acted on this recall and fell back onto Vindictive. The majority were taken off the mole safely.  The U-boat base had been bottled up.

The remnants of the 4th Battalion paraded before King George V, who disbanded the battalion, saying that there were no men good enough to replace those that had been lost at Zeebrugge.  The unit became known as the Immortal Forth and Zeebrugge is revered as an honour day in the Royal Marines.

The Admiralty directed that two Victoria Crosses were to awarded to the Royal Marines under the rarely used Clause 13 of the Victoria Cross Award Warrant.  This meant that the officers and men had to ballot on who received the award.

One went to Captain Edward Bamford RMLI for leading his company with initiative, daring and a person disregard for his own safety and for setting a magnificent example to his men.

The other rank VC was awarded to Sergeant Norman Finch RMA.  He was second in command of the support weapons team on the foretop of Vindictive. Two direct hits by heavy shells killed or disabled everyone with the exception of Sergeant Finch.  He continued to harass the enemy with Lewis Gun fire, despite being seriously wounded, until another direct hit destroyed the gun.

The Anglo-Belgian Union erected a memorial in the form of a tall column, surmounted by St George and the Dragon at the shore end of the mole.  This monument was unveiled by the King and Queen of Belgian on the 7th anniversary of the operation.

WINSTON Churchill always maintained that the only thing that kept him awake at nights was the Battle of the Atlantic.  The U-boat could break the Atlantic Bridge that brought vital supplies and later troops from America to Britain.  This was the longest battle of the war beginning on September 3, 1939 and only ending in May, 1945 when the U-boats surfaced and surrender.

Intelligence played a major part in this conflict and it was essential to break the Enigma Code.  The Royal Navy captured German weatherships far out in the wastes of the North Atlantic and took the code books.  This action also deprived the Germans of accurate weather reports, this hampering their operational planning.  Later Enigma machines and code books were recovered from damaged U-boats. Eventually British experts were able to read Enigma almost as quickly as the Germans.

This intelligence, known as Ultra, was used in a variety of ways.  First of all convoys could be rerouted, taking them away from where the U-boat wolf packs were massing.  Secondary hunter-killer groups of anti-submarine ships and aircraft could be despatched to attack the U-boats.

Another use was to send surface units to capture or sink the supply ships, thus curtaining the patrol period of the U-boats.

HMA Dunedin, a light cruiser from the First World War was typical of the ships that handled this task.  Her anti-submarine capability was almost non-existent as the U-boat threat was not really perceived at that time.

Ultra intelligence directed her to the South Atlantic in 1941 to deal with the Lothringen, a supply ship which serviced four U-boats.  Lothringen was successfully boarded and sent to Freetown.  The U-boats had to return to base with little food, fuel or ordinance.  This action forced the Germans to cancel their Cape Town Operation.

U-124 sighted Dunedin sailing on a zig-zag course and fire four torpedos at extreme range.  Two of these struck and sank the cruiser, causing excessive casualties.  Many survivors were drowned or were taken by sharks before the Carey floats were picked up.

Jim Davis, a survivor of Dunedin had his revenge, serving on HMS Stonecrop when she sank U-124 two years later.

THE breaking of the German Enigma Code was crucial in shortening the way and saving many lives, both allied and Axis.

Thirteen of the 14 Enigma code machines recovered from stricken U-boasts were recovered by the Royal Navy.

U559 was crippled and sinking in the Mediterranean Sea in October, 1942.  Lieutenant Anthony Fasson and Able Seaman Colin Grazier dived into the water from HMS Petard and swam over to the U-boat to recover the code machine and vital code books.  Galley Assistant Tom Brown, from North Shields and a NAAFI employee, joined them.

The two navy men went into the depths of U559 and began passing equipment and documents to Brown.  Meanwhile Petard had launched a boat, which began ferrying the riches back to the ship.  Brown loaded the launch three times.

However U559 suddenly plummeted to the seabed, taking the two trapped sailors with it.  Brown was rescued and later awarded the George Cross, becoming its youngest recipient, for his gallant actions.

The recovered material was sent to the Government Code and Cipher School at Bletchley Park to help in the secret war.

Brown’s brothers, Stan and David presented his medals to the NAAFI, who placed them in a museum in 1985.  That museum has since closed and Brown’s medals have been returned to the North-east of England, where they will be placed in the NAAFI HQ at Darlington.

Another tribute to Tom Brown’s gallant behaviour is the stained glass window, designed by Maralyn O’Keef, in the Saville Exchange Building in his native town of North Shields.

On the morning of Tuesday 6 June, 1944, the forty-four year old Ernest Hemingway was hanging onto the wheelhouse rail of his LCVP (Landing Craft, Vehicle and Personnel) feeling dreadfully hungover, a state of affairs that did nothing to help relieve the excruciating pain in his head due to a car accident in London just a few days before. The hospital doctor, after applying fifty-seven stitches, had told Hemingway that he should rest for several weeks. But Hemingway, famous and influential writer, big game hunter, would be bullfighter, infamous drinker and deep-sea fisherman, was not a resting kind of guy, and certainly not a war correspondent who was going to miss the biggest military invasion known to man.

So there he was vomiting over the side of the LCVP, taking pain killers washed down with slugs of brandy from a silver hip flask. The pain simply got worse.

” Okay, Doc,” he said to himself, ” pain killers and booze don’t mix.”

Two months earlier Hemingway had been sailing his boat, ‘Pilar’, in the warmer waters off the Gulf of Mexico looking for German U-boats as part of deal he’d done with the FBI, who’d paid him $500 a month, which could buy a lot of booze for him and his motley crew. And Hemingway’s bunch of irregulars did spot a U-boat on one occasion, managing to get the information back to the mainland, which resulted in the capture of a submarine, although it may not have been the same submarine.

Although, after the war, Hemingway made the best of those U-boat hunting days in his posthumous novel, Islands in the Stream, he did know he was pretty much wasting his time, and should be in Europe reporting  the war, as his then wife, the distinguished journalist Martha Gellhorn, was about to do.

So, after a telephone call his old employer, Collier’s Weekly, he was employed by the magazine as their chief war correspondent, with the instruction he get to Europe and onto the beaches. Within days Hemingway was on a scheduled flying boat to Britain, and a few weeks later on the New Orleans built LCVP.

Hemingway liked the tough young commander of the LCVP, US Navy Lieutenant Robert Anderson, no doubt because he reminded Hemingway of himself when he was young and driving a Red Cross ambulance in Italy during World War I. And Anderson liked Hemingway too, and not just because he admired the man’s writing, but because he gave Anderson some added expertise in military and sailing matters, and because the older man showed absolutely no sign of fear. Hemingway was a good man to have on board at dangerous times like these.

As the light of the morning increased, and Hemingway trained his field-glasses on Omaha Beach, the old First World War One US Navy battleships, ‘Texas’, ‘Arkansas’ and the ‘Nevada’ opened fire with an assortment of high explosive shells and rockets on the German positions concreted into the bluffs behind the beach. Surely nothing could survive, thought Hemingway, under that sort of bombardment, but when the order came for the landing craft to advance deadly German 88 artillery fire came screaming in, with two shells exploding very close to the side of Anderson’s boat. But Anderson kept his craft heading in as straight a line as he could, until the fire became so intense he shouted to his Coxswain, Frank Currier:

” Frank, get her round and outta here before we’re all dead meat!”

Frank lurched the craft to starboard and, with the 225hp engine roaring and shaking at full-throttle headed  back along the craft’s own wake.

Anderson now put his hand on Currier’s shoulder and looked at Hemingway.

” Frank, now turn her back round for another go,” shouted Anderson.

The LCVP turned quickly in the increasingly choppy waters.

” Okay, Bob,” shouted Hemingway, ” see that church over there, and the wooded inlet to our left, head between the two.”

Anderson looked through his glasses and nodded.

” Okay Frank,” shouted Anderson, ” head straight for that gap between the church and the inlet.”

” Yes, sir,” shouted Currier, who then gave the engine full throttle once more and took the LCVP in fast under heavy German artillery and machine gun fire.

The LCVP hit the beach at speed with the ramp crashing down immediately. Officers and NCOs started barking orders as murderous MG38 and MG42 machine gun fire ripped into the GIs scrambling to get ashore. Most didn’t make it.

Hemingway couldn’t believe his eyes. Omaha Beach was a bloody shambles, with hundreds, perhaps thousands of dead and dying everywhere. There was no cover for the GIs. Where were the bomb craters that were meant to give some sort of cover? Young Americans were being slaughtered before Hemingway’s eyes, he couldn’t do anything except look and remember. For the first time in his life he felt utterly helpless. All he could do now was help get some wounded back on board as the LCVP reversed rapidly away from the beach, its ramp closing slowly like the bloodied mouth of a huge whale.

Later that day, on yet another run to the beach, Hemingway could see GIs climbing the bluffs.

‘ They were not firing’, he wrote later, ‘ just slowly, laboriously…going the other way from home.’

During the early days of the First World War, in a situation eerily similar to the War of 1812 (yeah, I know nobody has heard of the War of 1812), a geographically removed America attempted to remain distant from a destructive European conflict. Unfortunately, many of the same complications ensued. Germany and its allies were in fierce combat with the allied powers and were under a British Blockade that obstructed the North Sea, their only maritime trading route. While the United States was willing to trade with any European power, British warships guaranteed that, in actuality, U.S. vessels could only trade with the allied powers. The war was of such magnitude that all countries involved were in need of massive quantities of supplies and resources. American trade would have provided the Brits with a decisive advantage.

Germany’s situation was so desperate that it could not afford to recognize the commonly accepted rights of neutral countries, particularly the right to unimpeded trade. It deployed its deadly U-Boats which took a heavy toll on the U.S. merchant marine and occasionally sunk ocean liners loaded with passengers, notably the Lusitania, which Germany claimed, perhaps rightfully, was loaded with weapons. The United States attempted negotiations and made agreements with Germany including the Sussex pledge. The Sussex Pledge was Germany’s promise to only sink Merchant Marine Vessels after determining they carried contraband and only after allowing the crew to evacuate. This was impractical because a surfaced U-boat could be easily destroyed by any deckguns on a merchant vessel. Additionally, the fundamental details remained the same: Germany could not afford to recognize American neutral rights without sacrificing its own war effort. Germany’s violations of American neutral rights, however necessary to their own victory against the Allied Powers, would eventually force President Wilson into declaring war or turning a blind eye to the situation- essentially an act of political suicide. Of course, Germany’s far-minded plot to bring Mexico to bear against the Southwestern U.S. couldn’t have helped matters…Even this apparently blatant act of war is unclear. Many historians allege that Great Britian concocted this “Zimmerman Note” bearing the plan and arranged for the Americans to intercept it.

It’s important to remember that at the time war was declared, vast sections of the American public still opposed it. Many felt after the war that the primary effect had been a vast increase in profits for American manufacturers that produced goods for the military. It is also valuable to note that the Germany we fought was not Nazi Germany and that Hitler actually began his career in the trenches of WW1 as a common soldier. The economic and political damage caused by the end of war settlement, the Versailles Treaty, arguably provided the conditions of desperation and bitterness in Germany which led to Hitler’s climb to power. But that’s an entirely new topic.

Floop out.

Sometimes submarines would have the periscope sticking out to look at the surface for allies, enemies or victims. Just like a shark which sometimes have the fin sticking out. Some sharks are really swift and active. The German U- boats are a tiny swift but they are kind of active. The next paragraph will be facts about them.

The first German submarine was the U-1 and was built in 1905. During World War one The first country to employ submarines in World War one was Germany. During World War 2 Germany was dominating the “Battle of the Atlantic” until the allies developed new antisubmarine tactics. Their targets are usually oil tankers, fuel ships and merchant vessels. The next paragraph will tell why.

Britain. A country that helps the allies and depends heavily on imported food. If the Germans can get to the merchant vessels Britain might lose and be under German rule and the allies might lose everything. That is a reason for German U-boats to destroy merchant vessels. The reason to destroy fuel ships and oil tankers is that if they can get that the allies can’t fuel their ships, planes etc. Fuel ships and Oil tankers are easy targets because if the fuel or oil catches fire the ship might explode. But the allies figured how to defeat them and sent out ships to attack them like when medieval England sent out a navy to find pirates.

Similarities

• The u-boats were like sharks closing in on its prey.
• The u-boats when sinking a boat is like a shark swallowing it’s prey.
• The oil tankers were like big defenseless fish.
• The merchant vessels were like small baby fish.