Hartmann’s wolfpack was a formation of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

's ''

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...

'' in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, a " wolfpack" of

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

s that operated during the early stages of the

Battle of the Atlantic The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allies of World War II, ...

Background

Hartmann’s wolfpack was the first essay by the ''Kriegsmarine'' during the Second World War in its wolfpack tactic against allied

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

s. Its operations were in October 1939, during the earliest stage of the Atlantic campaign. The name "Hartmann" was unofficial, taken from that of its commander, Werner Hartmann. Unlike later packs which had specific code names this formation was left without an official designation. The original intent of the U-boat Command (

BdU The ''Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote'' or BdU (Eng: "Commander of the U-boats") was the supreme commander of the German Navy's U-boat Arm (''Ubootwaffe'') during the First World War, First and Second World Wars. The term also referred to the Comm ...

) was to organize two packs of five boats each; one composed of Type VIIB’s from

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("Wegener") flotilla and the other of the larger Type IX’s of 6th ("Hundius") flotilla. In the event, several boats were unavailable, so the operation was adjusted to form a single pack comprised six boats. This arrangement meant forming a unit of different type of vessel, who had not previously operated together. The whole force was commanded by Hartmann, flotilla commander of the Hundius flotilla.

Operations

The first five boats sailed independently in October 1939 from bases in NW Germany, sailing northabout around the coast of Scotland in order to reach the

Western Approaches The Western Approaches is an approximately rectangular area of the Atlantic Ocean lying immediately to the west of Ireland and parts of Great Britain. Its north and south boundaries are defined by the corresponding extremities of Britain. The c ...

. The last boat, , which was delayed in departing, was ordered to take the southabout route through the

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; this was more dangerous, but was deemed practicable. In the event ''U–40'' became trapped by the Allies' Channel defences, the Dover Barrage; on 13 October she struck a mine and was destroyed. The remaining five boats under Hartmann’s command took station in the Western Approaches. The German signals intelligence branch, ''

B-Dienst The ''B-Dienst'' (, observation service), also called x''B-Dienst'', X-''B-Dienst'' and χ''B-Dienst'', was a Department of the German Naval Intelligence Service (, MND III) of the Oberkommando der Marine, OKM that dealt with the interception and ...

'', which had penetrated British naval codes, was able to give notice of a convoy (KJF 3) from the

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and BdU instructed the pack to intercept. Three boats found the convoy and attacked, while a fourth failed to make contact. The fifth, , met a freighter sailing independently; she attacked, but was counter-attacked by two destroyers that came to the scene and was destroyed. The attack on KJF 3 was an ad hoc affair (Blair describes it as "an uncoordinated free for all"); though four ships were sunk, one of the attacking boats, was destroyed by the convoy escorts. A second convoy, HG 3 from

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, was detected by ''B-dienst'' and Hartmann’s boats were again ordered to intercept. made contact and shadowed while the other two closed. The attack sank three ships without loss to the attackers. Following this the boats were relieved, and returned home.

Aftermath

This first attempt at operating a wolf pack was, over all, not a success. In the course of the operation Hartmann's skippers had sunk seven ships from two convoys and another four ships sailing alone (stragglers and independent sailings). However three of the six U-boats had been destroyed, some 10% of the available Type VII (sea-going) and Type IX (ocean-going) vessels the

U-boat Arm The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the ...

had. The original pack tactic envisaged that command and co-ordination would be exercised at sea; however while this had worked on exercise in the

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and

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s it was unworkable in the wider reaches of the

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. Hartman reported it was impossible to maintain an overview of the situation from his U-boat in the midst of the ocean and equally impossible to maintain contact with his charges. The experience was also soured by the continuing torpedo problems that the U-boat Arm suffered during the first years of the conflict. Following this, wolfpack tactics were shelved until the following year, when they were tried again with more success during the so-called "Happy Time".Blair p115

U-boats involved

* * * * * *

Notes

References