Battle ships are impressive, but plywood boxes won the war
Published: Fri, 06/07/19
As you will have noticed yesterday was the 75th anniversary of D day, the start of the allied campaign to retake Western Europe from the forces of Nazi Germany. However, did you know that less than two weeks ago, Monday (the 27th of May) was the 78th anniversary of the sinking of the Bismarck? Don’t worry if you didn’t, you would have to be pretty keen on Naval history to have that date lodged in your mental calender. I know mainly because I have been reading a rather detailed account of the tragic event and the circumstances which led up to it. The Bismark was a 41,700 ton battle ship launched in 1939 for Nazi Germany’s navy. The Bismarck was named after Otto Von Bismarck (1815 to 1898) who was the first Chancellor of Germany and is still remembered as one of her greatest statesmen. The Bismarck was intended to patrol the North Atlantic and harass shipping bringing much needed supplies to the UK.
At first the Bismarck, escorted by the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, had some limited success in her mission, then on the 23rd of May the two German ships encountered the British battle ships including the HMS Prince of Wales and the battle cruiser HMS Hood. A shell fired by the Bismarck sank the Hood with only three survivors out of a crew of 1,421. The Bismarck was also damaged and sailed for port. However, the German battle ship was successfully hunted down by several British ships including the aircraft carrier Ark Royal. Swordfish torpedo bombers, flying from the Ark Royal, attacked the German battle ship and crippled her. Several British warships then pressed home a massive bombardment and the Bismarck was sunk with the loss of all but 115 of her crew of over 2000 officers and men. The wreck lies in nearly 16,000 feet of water about 400 miles West of the French port of Brest. The wreck was discovered in 1989 by Dr Robert
Ballard (who also found the wreck of the Titanic). Apparently an inspection of the well preserved wreck suggests that the Bismarck was scuttled by the crew rather than sunk by gunfire and torpedoes as the British claimed at the time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_battleship_Bismarck
So what? Apart from being an interesting episode in military history, the story of the Bismarck is also a classic example of a tactical asset failing to serve a strategic goal. The German strategy of disrupting convoys to the UK crossing the Atlantic was a sound one. However, using massive surface battle ships were far less effective than submarines or U Boats. This had been proved in October 1939 when a lone German submarine, U-47, found its way into Scapa Flow in the Orkneys and managed to sink the battleship HMS Royal Oak with the loss of 833 lives. Battle ships are big, impressive status symbols for the nations which build and sail them. In the run up to the second world war the British and the Germans embarked on a race to build the biggest and the best battleships. Once the war actually started large battleships proved to be more of a liability than an asset. The craft which made the greatest impact during the conflict
turned out to be much less glamorous than the Bismark. U boats destroyed millions of tons of shipping carrying essential supplies for the UK. American dockyards built over 2,700 liberty cargo ships which brought over the men and materials to the UK in preparation for the Normandy Landings. Perhaps the design of boat most critical to allied victory in WW2 was the Higgins landing craft. These were a plywood box with a motor at the stern and a drop down ramp at the bow. Seventy five years ago this Thursday thousands of these vessels carried the troops who stormed the Normandy beaches on D day. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LCVP_(United_States)
Which vessels were more important to the war strategies of the respective sides? The magnificent battle ships with their huge guns and massive hulls which turned out to be quite unsuitable for disrupting convoys? Or plywood boxes designed to deliver troops to the Normandy beaches?
We all have strategic goals in life, not on the scale of fighting a world war of course but the principle is the same. Once we have decided on our strategy we need tactics which will enable us to succeed in our goals. The problem is that we get attracted to exciting, glamorous and expensive tactics (like the Bismark) which do not actually serve our real goals. What we usually need are cheap, simple, rather boring and un-glamorous solutions like the Higgins landing craft. Something to think about if life is proving a bit of a struggle, ditch the battle ship and find yourself a metaphorical U boat, liberty ship or landing craft instead that will actually serve your needs.
regards
Graham
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