The Atlantic campaign depended on the systems that kept submarines and shipping in operation. Orders to Arthur Harris called for attacks on French U-boat bases and the infrastructure around them. Maintenance facilities, power, water and communications were among the intended targets. Disrupting these services was meant to deny U-boats the secure bases from which they attacked Allied convoys. The initial instructions also allowed a pause so photographic reconnaissance and other evidence could establish what the bombing had achieved.
Chapter · 2:00:14-2:01:55
The Battle of the Atlantic as a logistics war
Orders to attack French U-boat bases show how submarine operations depended on maintenance, utilities and shore infrastructure.