Wolfpacks (german: U-Boot-Gruppe) were employed by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of 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 It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic.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 a ...

during

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 ...

against Allied and neutral shipping.

Outbreak of War

From the outbreak of war until mid-1940 there were various groups of U-boats engaged in collective patrols. With the exception of experimental

Hartmann's wolfpack Hartmann’s wolfpack was a formation of Nazi Germany's '' Kriegsmarine'' in World War II, a " wolfpack" of U-boats that operated during the early stages of the Battle of the Atlantic. Background Hartmann’s wolfpack was the first essay by the ' ...

in 1939, the first recognised wolfpack was led by ''KrvKpt''

Günther Prien Günther Prien (16 January 1908 – presumed 8 March 1941) was a German U-boat commander during World War II. He was the first U-boat commander to receive the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and the first member of the ''Kriegsmarine'' to r ...

in June 1940.

Invasion of Norway & Denmark

In preparation for the impending invasion of Norway and Denmark, in early April 1940, 31 U-boats were ready for operations between England and Norway. On 6 April, the codeword " Hartmut" was transmitted and German submarines began their designated operations.

Wolfpacks

Bibliography

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfpacks of World War II, List of 01 World War II submarines of Germany Lists of military units and formations of Germany Military units and formations of the Kriegsmarine U-boats World War II naval-related lists Germany in World War II-related lists