Role and Innovations of Karl Donitz - Essay Example

?Analysis of the Role and innovations of Karl Donitz, the Navy Commander German Military Organization during World War II The World War II was the deadliest conflict in the history of mankind. The war begun in 1st September 1939 when Germany and Slovakia invaded Poland. Consequently, France and Britain declared war on Germany and this marked the beginning of the World War II. During the inter-war period, Karl Donitz came up with ideas on how Germany could defeat its enemies by focusing its attack on the merchant ships of its enemies. This strategy required the conversion of German fleet to U-boats. Despite opposition from the other senior naval officers, Donitz went ahead to train his crew on his innovation. When the war begun, the German Navy was under the leadership of Donitz. This navy commander was very instrumental in the war because he mobilized his troop to conquer the British merchant ships during the War. At this time, the Germany navy was not prepared for war since it was anticipating that the war would begin in 1945. This unpreparedness resulted from the focus on German Navy's extensive "Z Plan" which was due for completion in 1945. When the war broke out, there was no choice for Germany but the use submarine warfare because it was the only naval option that was already prepared 1. Thesis statement Karl Donitz, a German Naval Commander served as a vital object in persuading the military organization to adopt an innovation based on the submarine in order to conquer the colonial rule during the inter-war period and the World War II. By November 1937, Donitz had a realistic vision of German’s success against its enemies. By this time, he was convinced that it was practical to launch a good campaign against merchant shipping. From this point on, Donitz begun to push for the conversion of the German fleet to U-boats to the greatest and most significant extend possible2. He also revived the idea of creating wolf-packs out of the entire German fleet. His influence was effective owing to his position in the navy. Since January 1938, he served as Commodore and Commander of Submarines. Many chief army commanders including Erich Raeder, the naval leader strongly opposed Donitz. There was also competition from people like Herman Goring who received much attention during this time. Despite the existing controversy with Raeder, Donitz went ahead and conducted intense training on his crews regarding the new tactics. His opposers had put their hope in German Navy's extensive "Z Plan,” a plan that was scheduled to be completed in 1945. As noted earlier, they were anticipating that the World War II would start in 1945. However, the war broke out in 1939 and at this time, the German surface fleet was in a state of marked inferiority. Because of this, the only naval option available for Germany was submarine warfare. Donitz and His Military tactics Background in the military Donitz joined the Imperial German Navy in 1910 and in April the same year, he became a sea-cadet. In April 1911 Donitz begun serving as a midshipman before becoming an officer working aboard the cruiser SMS Breslau in 1912. In September 1913, he was commissioned as an Acting Sub-Lieutenant. When the Breslau was sold to Ottoman navy in 1914, Donitz and his colleagues began operating out of Constantinople under Whilhem Souchon. At this time, they served in the Black sea where they were busy engaging the Russian forces. After this, Donitz was transferred to the U-boat service. In March 1916, he was promoted to the position of Navy First Lieutenant and by October, his request to transfer to the submarine forces was granted hence he began serving as a as watch officer on U-39 as from October 1916. In January 1921, Donitz became lieutenant in the Germany navy. By 1928, he was already commanding torpedo boats and was promoted to the position of a Lieutenant-Commander in November the same year. Due to his great work, Donitz was promoted to the position of a full commander in 1933 and to a Captain in 1935. On January 1938, he was promoted to Commodore and Commander of Submarines. Donitz’s role as commander As a commander, Donitz was in charge of UC-25 before moving to UB-68. During this period, Donitz was very instrumental in the formulation of war tactics relating to the utilization of U-boats. This included the grouping of many submarines together into a "wolfpack". He also trained his crews on new naval tactics. The UB-68 operated in the Mediterranean Sea but was sunk by British forces in October 1918 3. Donitz’s Innovations On 1st September 1935, Donitz received a promotion to the position of a captain and was in charge of the first U-boat Flotilla Weddigen. These included U-7, U-8, and U-9. At this time, German doctrine called for the integration of submarines with surface fleets and a utilization of this against the warships of their enemies. By November 1937, Donitz had a realistic vision of German’s success against its enemies. He was convinced that it was practical to launch a great campaign against merchant shipping. Donitz advocated for a strategy of targeting mainly merchant ships in their attacks. These targets were relatively safe to attack as compared to other targets. From this point on, Donitz begun to push for the conversion of the German fleet to U-boats to the greatest and most significant extend possible2. The explanation that Donitz gave to support his idea of attacking the enemies’ merchant ships was that the Royal Navy would lack supplies required to run its ships if Britain's fleet of oil tankers were destroyed. He claimed that this strategy would knock Britain out of war because it would be as effective as sinking Britain’s ships. In order to accomplish the above strategy, Donitz suggested the grouping many submarines together into a “wolfpack”. This tactic was used in the World War I and it was aimed at overwhelming the defensive escorts of a merchant convoy. This means it would conquer enemy ships and aircraft. According to Donitz, it was possible to implement this strategy because during the interwar period, Germany had developed transmitters of ultra-high frequency. This was unlike the First World War period that was marked by limitations of available radios. Communications were also believed to be secure due to the use of Enigma cipher machine 4. Donitz also credited and adopted Wilhelm Marschall's idea of 1922. Marschall's tactic involved the attacking of enemy convoys using surface or very near surface attacks at night. The added advantage presented by this strategy was that it makes a submarine undetectable by sonar. Therefore, attacks against merchant ship convoys would be very successful because the Germany’s submarines would be less visible and therefore hard to attack. At the inception of the war, Donitz force included only 57 U-boats 5. The outcome of Donitz’s strategies and innovations Through the application of Donitz’s innovation, Germany military forces were able to achieve significant success. The British convoy cipher was cracked by Cryptanalysts in Germany. In march 1943, Donitz send a large wolf-pack of 39 U-boats to attack convoys 5C-122 and HX-229. During the attack, a total of 21 merchant ships were lost (140,000 tons and this became the high watermark for the U-boats for that year. Germany forces were also successful in sinking Royal Oak, a battleship and HMS Courageous, an aircraft carrier. Both of them belonged to Britain. On its side, Germany lost only three U-boats 3 . Conclusion Through his innovation, Karl Donitz contributed greatly to the success of Germany during the interwar period and the World War II. His innovations targeted the merchant convoys of its enemies as the best way of paralyzing them. These innovations affected seriously on the industrial war effort of its enemies and imposed logistical constraints on them. Therefore, Germany’s tactical use of U-Boats during the World War II drew the line between Germany’s success and/or failure during the battle. Works Cited Blair, C. (1998). Hitler’s U-boat War: Vol. II, The Hunted, 1942–1945. London. Random House. Donitz, K. (1959). Grossadmiral, Zehn Jahre und Zwanzig Tage, translated by R. H. Stevens as Memoirs: Ten Years and Twenty Days. Cleveland. World Publishing. Grier, H. (2007). Hitler, Donitz, and the Baltic Sea. The Third Reich's last hope. Naval Institute Press. Robertson, T. (1957). The Golden Horseshoes. London. Pan. Roskill, S. (1954). The War at Sea, 1939-1945 (Vol. 3). London. 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