This handout for session ii contains 1) an outline 2) major points from the last session 3) questions to answer while viewing this presentation. It is tied to the intro presentation which is showing continuously as students arrive during the 20 minutes before class. These study aids have three purposes: 1) promote punctuality 2) review the previous material 3) guide the viewing of the new information

1. The U.S. Navy in World War II
Part I-War in the Atlantic
Session ii- Atlantic Surface Operations, I (71 slides)
I. “Phony War” (4-10)
A. Poland-a violent beginning
B. from Blitzkrieg to Sitzkrieg
II. The War Begins at Sea (11-18)
A. Adm. Raeder gives the Führer options
B. the Kriegsmarine at war’s outset
C. Britain’s strategy
D. the convoy system
III. The Battle of the River Plate (19-33)
A. Graf Spee’s early successes
B. the battle
C. its aftermath
IV. Other Early Operations (34-41)
A. U-47’s coup
B. Prien’s later career
C. the Altmark affair
V. The Invasion of Norway (42-71)
A. Both sides prepare to violate Norwegian neutrality
1. Germany’s motive
2. Britain’s motive
B. German success
1. the plan
2. the execution

2. C. British failure
1. mistakes?
major points from last week’s session:
• the Paris Peace treaties sowed the seeds of WW II. The League of Nations was
doomed from the start
• the disarmament conferences were unable to secure their goals
• in the ‘30s U.S. naval rebuilding began under FDR’s leadership. The tempo increased
as war loomed
• WW II can be said to have begun on 18 September 1931
• Italy demonstrated the weakness of the League of Nations and the collective security
system in Ethiopia
• Hitler “went the Japanese and the Italians one better”
• American pacifism and isolationism were understandable though wrong
questions to answer in this session:
• why did the phony war happen on land? why wasn’t there a similar one at sea?
• what was Britain’s most vital naval task?
• how was Graf Spee eliminated by inferior British forces?
• what German triumph put Scapa Flow in the news again?
• what was the significance of the Altmark affair?
• why did Germany invade Denmark and Norway?
• how would you evaluate the operation? the British response?
1/31/14
jbp