''Schlieffen'' was a wolfpack of German

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

s that operated during 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 Allied naval blockade ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Service history

''Schlieffen'' was formed in October 1943 to operate against the North Atlantic convoy routes and comprised 14 boats. It consisted of 6 boats from the disbanded group ''Rossbach'', plus 7 others from bases in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, while another, , joined from patrol in the Mid Atlantic. Whilst moving into position a number of boats came under attack, principally from aircraft from USS ''Card'', which was operating against their re-fuelling operation. The tanker was attacked on 12 October, but suffered little damage; however, , which was also attacked later that day, was forced to return to base. On 13 October two more boats ( and ) were attacked, and both were destroyed. Another two boats, and ''U-455'' collided; both were damaged, and ''U-455'' was forced to retire to base for repairs, while ''U-631'', with her torpedo tubes out of action, was put on observation duties. From 15 October ''Schlieffen'' operated against convoys ONS 20 and

ON 206 On, on, or ON may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * On (band), a solo project of Ken Andrews * ''On'' (EP), a 1993 EP by Aphex Twin * ''On'' (Echobelly album), 1995 * ''On'' (Gary Glitter album), 2001 * ''On'' (Imperial Teen album), 200 ...

, which were travelling together;

s from ''Schlieffen'' sank one ship of , but lost six boats (, , , , and ) in one of the most calamitous nights of the campaign for the U-boat arm (''U-Bootwaffe'', UBW). ''Schlieffen'' was disbanded after this attack, with a number of its boats forming the nucleus of a new group, code-named ''Siegfried''.

U-boats involved

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The name

''Schlieffen'' was named for Count

Alfred von Schlieffen Graf Alfred von Schlieffen, generally called Count Schlieffen (; 28 February 1833 – 4 January 1913) was a German field marshal and strategist who served as chief of the Imperial German General Staff from 1891 to 1906. His name lived on in the ...

, a Prussian

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

and strategist of the 19th century.

References

* Jak P M Showell ''U-Boat Warfare: The Evolution of the Wolf-Pack'' (2002) * Clay Blair : ''Hitler's U-Boat War olume 2 The Hunted 1942-1945'' (1998) (2000 UK paperback ed.)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schlieffen Wolfpacks of 1943

Wolfpack Schlieffen ''Schlieffen'' was a wolfpack of German U-boats that operated during the battle of the Atlantic in World War II. Service history ''Schlieffen'' was formed in October 1943 to operate against the North Atlantic convoy routes and comprised 14 boat ...