Atlantic Warfare Today : 433 



At the end of the war the Germans were developing the schnor- 

 kel or breather-tube submarine which could draw air for crew and 

 motors through an extensible pipe while still running submerged. 

 This late development was incorporated in a submarine that had a 

 higher than usual rate of speed when on the surface of the water and 

 also when submerged. It had no effect on the late war but the pat- 

 tern or patterns to which it gave rise will undoubtedly prove impor- 

 tant in any war of the future. 



While the submarine war was developing and being brought to its 

 fortunate conclusion many other forms of warfare were simultane- 

 ously being conducted on the Atlantic and on the Continent. The sub- 

 marine war and these other forms of war were definitely related in 

 the sense that the other wars could not be won, in fact they could 

 not even be vigorously pursued until the menace of the German sub- 

 marine had been reduced and controlled. Thus the air patrols operat- 

 ing from Norway, working jointly with submarines lurking beneath 

 the surface of the sea, took a heavy toll of the convoys carrying goods 

 and supplies to the Russian ports from Iceland. 



Other important sea lanes were similarly harassed. Prolongation of 

 the submarine war could have delayed American assistance to the war 

 in Europe in a serious and possibly even in a critical way. As it 

 worked out, however, it took some time to accumulate effective 

 American participation and during this time the submarine threat 

 was abated, but until the submarine war was won it would have been 

 impossible to stage the American landing in North Africa or the 

 delivery of the American Army in England. 



During the war there were many spectacular occurrences in which 

 naval vessels were involved and the navy and marine corps were 

 indispensable to the successful conduct of the most important opera- 

 tions but there were few naval engagements of the old pattern. 



British naval forces made a gallant effort to assist Norway during 

 the German invasion of 1940. This began in February with the rescue 

 of over 300 prisoners of war from the German ship Altmark^. On 

 April 8 the French and British announced that they had mined the 

 waters of southern Norway to prevent the passage of German vessels. 

 Nonetheless the German attack one day later was successfully carried 

 out by sea-borne troops as well as those carried by air. Important 

 coastal cities such as Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, etc., were occupied. 

 Despite the surprise of the attack, Norway put up a good resistance 

 and the operation cost Germany four cruisers and four troopships. 

 The Norwegians drove the Germans out of Trondheim and Bergen. 



