The Battle of the Atlantic the war at sea.
The Story of it All
Along with the declaration of war, the Battle of The Atlantic was the longest military campaign in World War II. It has been said to be the "longest, largest, and most complex" naval battles in history, lasting 5 years and 8 months up until the defeat of Germany in May 8th 1945.
Germany had felt that it did not want the Allies to receive armament, food, goods and supplies that were shipped to them across seas. German U-boats were to attack and sink Allied merchant vessels and their escorts.
Many German warships were already at sea during the declaration of war, such as most U-boats. Within hours of the declaration of war, german U-boat "U-30" sank the liner "SS Athenia", being mistaken for an armed merchant cruiser, breaching its orders not to sink passenger ships, and leading the Admirals to believe that unrestricted submarine warfare had been launched. Thus beginning the almost 6 year long military campaign.
