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To
maintain its war effort, Britain imported
enormous quantities of supplies by sea.
If the Germans sank Allied merchant ships
transporting weapons, raw materials,
and food at a faster rate than this shipping
could be replaced, then Britain would
slowly lose the ability to wage war.
This struggle was known as the ‘Battle
of the Atlantic’. Halifax was the
main port on the east coast of North
America where merchant ships formed into
convoys, groups of merchant vessels that
sailed together for the hazardous trans-Atlantic
crossing.
Germany
nearly won this war at sea but, in May
1943, after suffering severe losses to
Allied warships and aircraft, the Germans
withdrew most of their U-boats from the
mid-Atlantic. Throughout the war, the
Royal Canadian Navy (R.C.N.), the Canadian
Merchant Navy, and the immense output
of Canadian industry proved vital in
the costly Allied victory.
See also :
Canadian
Newspapers and the Second World War : The Battle of the Atlantic
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