Wolfpack Breslau

Last updated
Wolf pack Breslau
Active 2 October 1941 - 29 October 1941
CountryFlag of German Reich (1935-1945).svg  Nazi Germany
Branch Kriegsmarine
Size 6 submarines
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Klaus Bargsten
Hans-Werner Kraus
Reinhard Suhren

Breslau was the name given to a wolfpack of German U-boats that operated during the World War II Battle of the Atlantic in 1943 from 2 October 1941 to 29 October 1941. [1]

The wolfpack was a mass-attack tactic against convoys used by German U-boats of the Kriegsmarine during the Battle of the Atlantic.

Nazi Germany The German state from 1933 to 1945, under the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler

Nazi Germany is the common English name for Germany between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party (NSDAP) controlled the country through a dictatorship. Under Hitler's rule, Germany was transformed into a totalitarian state that controlled nearly all aspects of life via the Gleichschaltung legal process. The official name of the state was Deutsches Reich until 1943 and Großdeutsches Reich from 1943 to 1945. Nazi Germany is also known as the Third Reich, meaning "Third Realm" or "Third Empire", the first two being the Holy Roman Empire (800–1806) and the German Empire (1871–1918). The Nazi regime ended after the Allies defeated Germany in May 1945, ending World War II in Europe.

U-boat German submarine of the First or Second World War

U-boat is an anglicised version of the German word U-Boot[ˈuːboːt](listen), a shortening of Unterseeboot, literally "underseaboat." While the German term refers to any submarine, the English one refers specifically to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role and enforcing a naval blockade against enemy shipping. The primary targets of the U-boat campaigns in both wars were the merchant convoys bringing supplies from Canada and other parts of the British Empire, and from the United States to the United Kingdom and to the Soviet Union and the Allied territories in the Mediterranean. German submarines also destroyed Brazilian merchant ships during World War II, causing Brazil to declare war on the Axis powers in 1944.

Contents

Breslau

The group was responsible for sinking 7 merchant ships (21,578  gross register tons (GRT)), 2 warships (2,795 tons) and 1 warship damaged (6,746 tons).

Gross register tonnage or gross registered tonnage, is a ship's total internal volume expressed in "register tons", each of which is equal to 100 cubic feet (2.83 m3). Gross register tonnage uses the total permanently enclosed capacity of the vessel as its basis for volume. Typically this is used for dockage fees, canal transit fees, and similar purposes where it is appropriate to charge based on the size of the entire vessel.

Raiding History

Date U-boat Commander Name of ship Tons Nationality Convoy Fate
12 October 1941 U-83 Hans-Werner Kraus Corte Real Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal 2,044Sunk
14 October 1941 U-204 Walter Kell Aingeru Guardakoa Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 97Sunk
14 October 1941 U-206 Herbert Opitz HMS Fleur de Lys Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy 925OG-75Sunk
19 October 1941 U-206 Herbert Opitz Baron Kelvin Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 3,081Sunk
19 October 1941 U-204 Walter Kell Inverlee Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 9,158Sunk
24 October 1941 U-564 Reinhard Suhren Alhama Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 1,352HG-75Sunk
24 October 1941 U-564 Reinhard Suhren Ariosto Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 2,176HG-75Sunk
24 October 1941 U-564 Reinhard Suhren Carsbreck Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 3,670HG-75Sunk
24 October 1941 U-563 Klaus Bargsten HMS Cossack Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy 1,870HG-75Sunk
26 October 1941 U-83 Hans-Werner Kraus HMS Ariguani Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy 6,746HG-75Damaged

U-boats

U-boat Commander From To
U-71 Walter Flachsenberg [2] 2 October 194129 October 1941
U-83 Hans-Werner Kraus [3] 2 October 194129 October 1941
U-204 Walter Kell [4] 5 October 194119 October 1941
U-206 Herbert Opitz [5] 2 October 194123 October 1941
U-563 Klaus Bargsten [6] 4 October 194129 October 1941
U-564 Reinhard Suhren [7] 2 October 194129 October 1941

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References

  1. "Wolfpack Breslau". uboat.net. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  2. "Walter Flachsenberg". u-boat.net. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  3. "Hans-Werner Kraus (Knight's Cross)". u-boat.net. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  4. "Walter Kell". u-boat.net. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  5. "Herbert Opitz". u-boat.net. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  6. "Klaus Bargsten (Knight's Cross)". u-boat.net. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  7. "Reinhard Suhren (Knight's Cross)". u-boat.net. Retrieved 2 June 2015.