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The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest continuous military campaign〔Blair 1996, p xiii〕〔Woodman 2004, p 1〕 in World War II, running from 1939 to the defeat of Germany in 1945. At its core was the Allied naval blockade of Germany, announced the day after the declaration of war, and Germany's subsequent counter-blockade. It was at its height from mid-1940 through to the end of 1943. The Battle of the Atlantic pitted U-boats and other warships of the ''Kriegsmarine'' (German navy) and aircraft of the ''Luftwaffe'' (German Air Force) against the Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Navy, and Allied merchant shipping. The convoys, coming mainly from North America and predominantly going to the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union, were protected for the most part by the British and Canadian navies and air forces. These forces were aided by ships and aircraft of the United States from September 13, 1941.〔Carney, Robert B., Admiral, USN. "Comment and Discussion" ''United States Naval Institute Proceedings'' January 1976, p.74. Admiral Carney was assistant chief of staff and operations officer to Admiral Arthur L. Bristol, commander of the support force of United States ships and planes providing North Atlantic trade convoy escort services. This support force was designated Task Force 24 after the declaration of war.〕 The Germans were joined by submarines of the Italian Royal Navy (''Regia Marina'') after their Axis ally Italy entered the war on June 10, 1940. As an island nation, the United Kingdom was highly dependent on imported goods. Britain required more than a million tons of imported material per week in order to be able to survive and fight. In essence, the Battle of the Atlantic was a tonnage war: the Allied struggle to supply Britain and the Axis attempt to stem the flow of merchant shipping that enabled Britain to keep fighting. From 1942 onwards, the Germans also sought to prevent the build-up of Allied supplies and equipment in the British Isles in preparation for the invasion of occupied Europe. The defeat of the U-boat threat was a pre-requisite for pushing back the Germans, Winston Churchill later wrote, The outcome of the battle was a strategic victory for the Allies—the German blockade failed—but at great cost: 3,500 merchant ships and 175 warships were sunk for the loss of 783 U-boats. The name "Battle of the Atlantic" was coined by Winston Churchill in February 1941.〔Keegan, John, "Churchill Strategy", ''Churchill''. Edited by William Roger Louis. Oxford University Press, 1996. p. 341.〕 It has been called the "longest, largest, and most complex" naval battle in history.〔David Syrett, ''The defeat of the German U-boats: The Battle of the Atlantic'' (1994).〕 The campaign started immediately after the European war began, and lasted six years. It involved thousands of ships in more than 100 convoy battles and perhaps 1,000 single-ship encounters, in a theatre covering thousands of square miles of ocean. The situation changed constantly, with one side or the other gaining advantage, as new weapons, tactics, counter-measures, and equipment were developed by both sides. The Allies gradually gained the upper hand, overcoming German surface raiders by the end of 1942 and defeating the U-boats by mid-1943, though losses to U-boats continued to war's end. ==Name== On March 5, 1941, First Lord of the Admiralty A.V. Alexander asked Parliament for "many more ships and great numbers of men" to fight "the Battle of the Atlantic", which he compared to the Battle of France, fought the previous summer.〔"Admiralty pleads for ships, men to wage 'Battle of the Atlantic'", ''The Montreal Gazette'', Mar 6, 1941. (AP)〕 The first meeting of the cabinet's "Battle of the Atlantic Committee" was on March 19.〔Churchill, Gilbert, p. 367.〕 Churchill claimed to have coined the phrase "Battle of the Atlantic" shortly before Alexander's speech,〔Gilbert, Martin (ed.), ''The Churchill War Papers: The Ever Widening War, Volume 3: 1941'', p. 314.〕 but there are several examples of earlier usage.〔Ernest Lindley, "The Grand Alliance", ''St. Joseph News-Press'', Sept 30, 1940. "Until the outcome of the battle of the Atlantic can be more clearly foreseen, there would be high risks both to Japan and ourselves in becoming engaged in war." Sargint, H.J.J., "Mighty Nazi effort to invade England now in the making: Observers see amphibious attack as Hitler's anticipated thrust against British Isles", ''Miami News'', Jan. 18, 1941. "This country is fighting a battle which may well be called the battle of the Atlantic, though it is not more than an extension of the battle of Britain."〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of the Atlantic」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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