Hitler's Greyhounds: The Brittany U-Boat Menace

Hitler's Greyhounds: The Brittany U-Boat Menace
With Chris Sams
Part of our Brittany Campaign series
• The Brittany Campaign ...
Also part of our Submarines series
• Submarines
In 1940 to enable his U-boats to be able to swiftly strike in the Atlantic, Admiral Karl Dönitz, Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy, decided to base much of his submarine force in the French ports in Brittany. Massive pens were constructed in the cities of Brest, La Rochelle, Lorient and Saint Nazairre, from which the U-Boat menace carried out many successful operations.
Chris is a First and Second World War researcher and writer who has somehow found himself specialising in the German Navy in both conflicts. You might remember him from his episode on Operation Juno, his time on History Hack or helping Alina out with her Warsaw uprising podcast. You can also find him writing for his Substack on jerijerod14.su...
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[@philbosworth3789]

A sound start to a week of Brest videos.

[@michaelfleming6420]

Loved the details on the Uboat Arm from WW1 to the Massive Pens of WW2

[@mikemerritt1443]

Fantastic presentation Woody and Chris. Another area of history I never knew or even thought about. Never too old to learn actual history.

[@KevinJones-yh2jb]

Just watching on a catch up, brilliant presentation by Chris, such professionalism and so very informative. Many thanks Chris and Woody

[@TrzeciaWspolnota]

Great work Woody and Chris. Thank you.

[@DDB168]

I should be watching Crocodiles at Brest (live), but I had to finish watching this one. Great presentation with some amazing statistics.

[@DaBigChode]

Excellent job Woody!!

[@timaitchison7348]

Excellent show Woody.

[@barrynorth5177]

Sorry I missed this live; great overview thanks Chris.

[@davidwatson8118]

Interesting stuff. A good start to more on the U-boat war.

[@dougmcmillan4341]

What a great presentation 👍

[@johnlucas8479]

excellent presentation

[@jimwalsh1958space]

80 years ago today is a heady thought. Thank you Chris Sams for putting everything in to perspective with what happened then. The gift that keeps giving .

[@marks_sparks1]

Great presentation by Chris. The statistics of the U-boat war are sobering considering the amount of ships they sunk versus the attrition they suffered. The comment "they shouldn't have bothered" summed up the futile effort.

[@nicklehuray526]

Just caught up on this. Superb talk and I learned a lot. Well done chaps.

[@DaveGordon-up5ln]

Another great one, thanks guys!

[@peterbrown1208]

Excellent! Woody, Chris would be a great guy to have in your pub parties. I'm not a naval guy but I'd love to "dive" deeper into this with him. Good stuff.

[@jonathanmarsh5955]

Thanks to you both, Paul and Chris, for that most informative presentation! Apart from the massive concrete pens and the odd salient point that cropped up in passing, I knew next to nothing about the Brittany-based U-boats nor the campaigns fought to counter them! This series will definitely require two-watches minimum!

[@tomduggan51]

Paul, Thanks for this interesting talk on the U-boat war with Chris. The remaining U-boat pens in Brittany must make marvellous venues for historical tours. Chris deals well with what became ultimately a losing and very costly campaign for Nazi Germany!

[@TheBurr75]

Excellent stuff guys

[@tomw9875]

thank you.

[@richardschaffer5588]

The diversion of axis resources to the Atlantic from the eastern front was obviously significant.

[@robert506007]

Chris as a Man who would like to be doing what you are doing I must/shall say you are not lucky, you are able and commited, hence why you do what you do. Keep it up Sir and will continue to do what you love! Mic Drop

[@davewolfy2906]

It was easier to break Luftwaffe codes than the navy codes. This gave away some upcoming operational details.

[@cameronsimpson-ld8nk]

Another brilliant video.

[@ruudsgs]

Enjoyed that one👍👍👍

[@HGmusiclist]

There is more below the surface and Chris explained it very well. Also some credit to the Dutch (Snorkel) and some bad things we did, building U-boats for the Germans. Great how he tried to pronounce the Dutch company, which is simple impossible for a foreigner 🤣

[@KrisV385]

Like this Woody! Thanks

[@DABrock-author]

The short answer to the question about the effectiveness of the German rotor-kites (Focke-Achgelis FA-330 IIRC) is 'Not very'

[@dermotrooney9584]

Lovely lovely!

[@Na808Koa]

Great talk and information from Chris about Brittany and the U-Boat, thanks Woody.

[@mdog111]

Thanks for another fascinating talk.

[@davidlavigne207]

Thanks WW2 TV. I am a real fan of WW2 Naval history and appreciate your taking the time to bring us such a charming and likeable guest. Chris is a knowledgeable fellow and I subscribed to his history stack right on. I look forward to some great podcasts and articles, as well as some occasional correspondence too. Please consider including me to present in future when you contemplate a naval week or some such. Cheers.

[@jimwalsh1958space]

I would like that David L.

[@davidlavigne207]

@@jimwalsh1958space Thank you James. I shall be patient as I know Woody is so overworked at times. I shall send him some revised PowerPoints that may help him decide. The one I did on OTD was a bit long and I know Woody likes them a bit shorter in duration.

[@AdarshKumar-lh3wo]

Great video, But I wish you would bring china week back instead of naval week.

[@Idahoguy10157]

Out of tea!

[@edsteadham4085]

Havent seen Das Boot in 40 years so my memory may be at fault. But didnt it lean toward the idea that the officers and crew were doing their duty but weren't crazy about the Nazis. But as the speaker here notes u boat crews were among the most fervent believers. Das Boot is such an adroit film it can actually have one feeling sympathy for the crews troubles instead of overwhelming joy at the end when Allied planes send it to the bottom.

[@Idahoguy10157]

With enough U-Boats in 1940 Germany could have starved Britain out of the war with an armistice and peace treaty.

[@edsteadham4085]

Once the us got involved it was just a matter of time

[@edsteadham4085]

And more u boats would have meant fewer planes tanks divisions on the Russian front. As the speaker said Germany spent more on the navy than any other service

[@Idahoguy10157]

@@edsteadham4085 … Germany could have cancelled the battleships and cruiser constructions. Put it into U-Boats and training. I’m not advocating a German victory over Britain. I’m say if Germany learned WW1. To not challenge the Royal Navy. To go after cargo ships and tankers delivering supplies and soldiers to Britain. To avoid another two front war.

[@TJBell-n6y]

Thanks for the show. Learned a new word today Wehraboo. Hoping to be in Chatham early next year, so Chris hope to meet you. For the Wehraboos, your mates had two test matches last century. In both you batted, bowled and fielded well in the first Innings. In the second your mates got a good hiding. What is really disappointing from Wehraboos is that your Grandparents fought Nazis to give us the life we enjoy and yet here you are bigging up a force who were lucky the Western Allies applied humanity to the reconstruction. If Northwest Germany had suffered under British occupation as did Poland under German occupation you may have a case. You don't, grow up.

[@StevenSeiller]

🎩Woody, the Historian Helmet is looking Splendid - despite what anyone else says! 🤣

[@lisakurkowski9131]

🎉

[@Idahoguy10157]

Battleships and Cruisers in the Kriegmarine were a waste of resources.

[@Idahoguy10157]

The Battle of the Atlantic lasted 1939-45. The longest battle of WW2. It took three allied navies , two air forces, amid hundreds of escorts, and ASW hunting aircraft carriers

[@WW2TV]

It did, but never reached a crisis

[@Idahoguy10157]

@@WW2TV Because of the supreme efforts of the UK and USA. Along with the shortsightedness of Herman Goering. Also Admiral Doentiz giving his U-Boat locations to the allies. And building Liberty ships . Yeah

[@WW2TV]

Indeed, I was not downplaying the significance of the Battle of the Atlantic. I have often said it was the most important campaign of the war, but I don't believe it was ever close to being an Allied defeat

[@Idahoguy10157]

@@WW2TV … I’m saying had Hitler have any understanding of war at sea Germany could have forced Britain into an armistice and treaty in 1940/41. However the kriegmarine was a sideshow compared to the Heer and Luftwaffe. So Britain wasn’t strangled

[@williampage622]

They built Library ships in two weeks.

[@jbuckley2546]

What happened if you took them back late?

[@davidlavigne207]

I'm certain that you are referring to "Liberty" ships? I do like the idea of there being a "Library" class all the same, as I am an avid reader, as many WW2 soldiers and sailors were. Cheers William Page!

[@dermotrooney9584]

​@@jbuckley2546 America charges interest?

[@davidlavigne207]

@@jbuckley2546 Perhaps there would be a kind of penalty shot allowed by the enemy? LOL

[@Jebediah1999]

The Nazis go from burning books to sinking them.

[@davewolfy2906]

95 per cent of Allied convoys lost no ships. So there.

[@nimaxwerker]

They were outside the luftwaffe the most NAZI, is not an relevant issue . They were far removed from the place where Shoah took place and were generaly not in the know. Admiral Canaris was one in the know and took no part in it he was active in the wehrmacht faction against Hitler. Donitz was the second fuhrer, and helped a lot of war criminals evade justice but there was no evidence found that he knew and aided in any of the shenanigans of the SS. And the german U-boats were not built in the Netherlands the german design was tested in the Netherlands, but all the boats build were used by the Dutch Navy and none of the useable boats were captured by the germans . Those boats were put to good use in the pacific against german ally Japan. In the first 8 months of the war in the Pacific the Dutch navy had the most sinking's of the Allies.

[@WW2TV]

Are you, checks notes, defending the Kriegsmarine?