By Yvon Lehoux
The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest battle of the Second World War.
The ongoing sea clash between the Allies and Nazi Germany and Italy lasted 2,075 days from September, 1939, until May, 1945.
For nearly six years, Nazi Germany’s surface warships and submarines attempted to destroy trans-Atlantic convoys that were sailing to unoccupied Europe, more specifically Britain.
The Battle of the Atlantic consisted of naval blockades, convoys and fierce sea and air fighting. It is widely considered a defining moment for the Royal Canadian Navy, the Royal Canadian Air Force, and the Canadian Merchant Navy.
This long battle brought the war right up to Canada’s door steps on the Atlantic coast and far inside the St. Lawrence Seaway right up near Quebec City.
Most of the allied ships travelled to—and assembled into convoys in—protected bays in both Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. These convoys would then travel in groups of ships protected by mostly Royal Canadian Navy destroyers, corvettes, and aircraft.
The goal of the German Kriegsmarine was to choke and starve Britain by means of submarine wolfpacks (concentrations of multiple submarines in one area). This tactic enabled the Germans to effectively sink and destroy allied merchant vessels by attacking in great numbers and in all directions.
These convoys provided a vital lifeline to the British Isles so the Brits could survive and be ready to fight another day. However, in the early stages of the battle, the Allies lost ships at a high rate and Britain almost starved to death.
In 1939, at the onset of the war, Canada’s navy sailed into war with 13 warships and roughly 3,500 sailors. As the war progressed, and with the high cost of losing ships and sailors, Canada learned hard lessons about warfare and armaments. As a result, new technologies were developed in the detection and destruction of submarines.
Canada’s navy grew to about 400 warships by the end of hostilities with over 100,000 men and women in uniform. By 1945, Canada’s navy was the fourth-largest navy in the world.
The Battle of the Atlantic proved to be the longest continuous military operation of the war. During this long battle, the Royal Canadian Navy lost 2,438 sailors and 752 airmen. The merchant marine fleet lost 2,233 ships, including 55 Canadian vessels, and 30,000 merchant marine sailors were among the Allies who lost their lives in history’s greatest conflict.
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Yvon Lehoux will be part of a special parade and ceremony May 7 at Crescent Beach to commemorate the Battle of the Atlantic. Marshalling for the parade will begin at 10 a.m., the parade will begin at 10:35 a.m., and a small commemorative ceremony will follow.
The event is being hosted by the Surrey Sea Cadets (307 Mariner Royal Canadian Sea Cadets Corps) and the Cloverdale Legion. Organizers expect about 50 people to be in the parade. The ceremony will take place at Crescent Beach Pier/Blackie Spit Park.
Lehoux is the sergeant-at-arms for the Cloverdale Legion, Branch No. 6.
editor@cloverdalereporter.com
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