082 - Wolves of the Indian Ocean

German U-Boats / Japanese Midget Submarines

The German Submarine (known as an Underwater Boat – or U-Boa for short) was an integral component of the War in the north Atlantic. They were infamous for working in squadrons, hunting down and sinking Cargo Ships that traveled between America and England. Because of the vicious nature of these ‘hunts’, the German U-Boat Squadrons became known as Wolf Packs. Just as the German U-Boats had been effective in the Atlantic, so, too, were the Japanese Submarine Squadrons that prowled the waters off the coast of India and in the South Pacific.

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Although the Allies consisted of everyone except the Japanese, Germans, and Italians, these three countries had each developed an “industrial military complex”. These complexes were a joint-effort between politicians, military leaders, and businessmen.

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As these three groups co-operated, large militaries with modern tanks, planes, and ships – such as those created by the Nazis (and also Japanese), created what the Germans called “Wehrmacht”, the German word for War Machine. 

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Still, freighters and taners from smaller Allied countries such as Greece, Holland, Yugoslavia, New Zealand, and Panama attempted to provide much needed supplies to the Australian and American forces in the Pacific.

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Throughout most of 1942, both Japanese Submarines and German U-Boats harassed the smaller Allied forces, sinking massive numbers of Freighters, Cargo Ships, and Transports. In fact, the Eastern Passage south of India became so treacherous for shipping that the. Allies had to resort to air routes over the Himalayan Mountains to supply their troops. Planes such as the Bristol Beaufighter from Britain and the American B-17 Bomber became essential components in the Allied supply line to Australia, China, and the South Pacific.

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