The confined theatre left submarines little room to scout, evade or recover from an encounter. A target that survived an ambush might immediately destroy its attacker. That danger helps explain the campaign's intensity and heavy losses. By this comparison, the Tenth Flotilla's small force operated more aggressively in some respects than the much larger German and Italian submarine forces. Britain's fear of the Battle of the Atlantic may help explain why later accounts understate the Mediterranean campaign.
Notable Point · 31:16-33:18
Mediterranean submarine war as close combat
The Mediterranean forced submarines into a hazardous contest of ambush and counter-ambush, with far less room than the Atlantic or Pacific offered.