The Attack by German Submarine U 156 on Funchal within the Scope of Changing Naval Warfare in 1917

Detalhes bibliográficos
Autor(a) principal: Saecker, Mathias
Data de Publicação: 2021
Tipo de documento: Artigo
Idioma: por
Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
Texto Completo: https://ahm-abm.madeira.gov.pt/index.php/ahm/article/view/49
Resumo: The article analyses the U-boat attack on Funchal in December 1917 in the context of the German naval command’s strategy that basically consisted in defeating England by blocking its (transatlantic) supply chain through unrestricted submarine warfare. This concept failed, however, because since mid-1917 merchant ships used to sail in convoys, escorted by Allied warships. Hence German submarines encountered increasing difficulties in locating and sinking hostile tonnage. Under these circumstances, the captain of U 156 bombed Funchal once there were no ships to sink in the roadstead. Obviously, his decision was a compensatory action arising from social pressure to meet the high expectations of both superiors and subordinates and the German public.On Madeira, the presence of German submarines aggravated the economic crisis, which worsened the precarious living conditions of the population. The attack itself reveals that Portuguese armed forces could not guarantee the protection of Madeira after the withdrawal of the Royal Navy. There was no way to provide sufficient budgetary resources for the military defense of the archipelago. Keywords Unrestricted Submarine Warfare; War Aims; Cruiser Submarines; Convoy System; Military Defense of Madeira.
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spelling The Attack by German Submarine U 156 on Funchal within the Scope of Changing Naval Warfare in 1917O Ataque do Submarino Alemão U 156 ao Funchal à Luz das Alterações na Guerra Naval em 1917The article analyses the U-boat attack on Funchal in December 1917 in the context of the German naval command’s strategy that basically consisted in defeating England by blocking its (transatlantic) supply chain through unrestricted submarine warfare. This concept failed, however, because since mid-1917 merchant ships used to sail in convoys, escorted by Allied warships. Hence German submarines encountered increasing difficulties in locating and sinking hostile tonnage. Under these circumstances, the captain of U 156 bombed Funchal once there were no ships to sink in the roadstead. Obviously, his decision was a compensatory action arising from social pressure to meet the high expectations of both superiors and subordinates and the German public.On Madeira, the presence of German submarines aggravated the economic crisis, which worsened the precarious living conditions of the population. The attack itself reveals that Portuguese armed forces could not guarantee the protection of Madeira after the withdrawal of the Royal Navy. There was no way to provide sufficient budgetary resources for the military defense of the archipelago. Keywords Unrestricted Submarine Warfare; War Aims; Cruiser Submarines; Convoy System; Military Defense of Madeira.O artigo analisa o ataque ao Funchal, em dezembro de 1917, no contexto da estratégia do Almirantado alemão que consistia basicamente em derrotar a Inglaterra, bloqueando a sua cadeia de abastecimento (transatlântica), pela guerra submarina irrestrita. No entanto, este conceito fracassou porque, desde meados de 1917, os navios mercantes navegavam frequentemente em comboios, escoltados por vasos de guerra aliados. Assim, os submarinos alemães tiveram dificuldades crescentes em localizar e afundar tonelagem hostil. Nestas circunstâncias, o capitão do U 156, não encontrando alvos no ancoradouro, bombardeou o Funchal. Obviamente, esta decisão resulta duma ação compensatória desencadeada pela pressão social para satifazer as altas expetativas tanto dos superiores e subordinados como do público alemão.A presença de submarinos alemães no Atlântico Centro-Leste agravou a crise económica na Madeira, deteriorando as precárias condições de vida da população. O próprio ataque revela que as Forças Armadas portuguesas não conseguiram garantir a proteção da Madeira após a retirada da Royal Navy. Não havia forma de gerar recursos orçamentais suficientes para a defesa militar do arquipélago. Palavras-chave Guerra Submarina Irrestrita; Objetivos de Guerra; Cruzadores Submarinos; Sistema de Comboio; Defesa Militar da Madeira.DRABM – Direção Regional do Arquivo e Biblioteca da Madeira2021-07-01info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttps://ahm-abm.madeira.gov.pt/index.php/ahm/article/view/49Arquivo Histórico da Madeira, Nova Série; No. 3 (2021); 383-420Arquivo Histórico da Madeira, Nova Série; N.º 3 (2021); 383-4202184-5743reponame:Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)instname:Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informaçãoinstacron:RCAAPporhttps://ahm-abm.madeira.gov.pt/index.php/ahm/article/view/49https://ahm-abm.madeira.gov.pt/index.php/ahm/article/view/49/58Direitos de Autor (c) 2021 Arquivo Histórico da Madeira, Nova Sérieinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessSaecker, Mathias2024-03-16T09:51:11Zoai::article/49Portal AgregadorONGhttps://www.rcaap.pt/oai/openaireopendoar:71602024-03-20T04:01:39.620877Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) - Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informaçãofalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv The Attack by German Submarine U 156 on Funchal within the Scope of Changing Naval Warfare in 1917
O Ataque do Submarino Alemão U 156 ao Funchal à Luz das Alterações na Guerra Naval em 1917
title The Attack by German Submarine U 156 on Funchal within the Scope of Changing Naval Warfare in 1917
spellingShingle The Attack by German Submarine U 156 on Funchal within the Scope of Changing Naval Warfare in 1917
Saecker, Mathias
title_short The Attack by German Submarine U 156 on Funchal within the Scope of Changing Naval Warfare in 1917
title_full The Attack by German Submarine U 156 on Funchal within the Scope of Changing Naval Warfare in 1917
title_fullStr The Attack by German Submarine U 156 on Funchal within the Scope of Changing Naval Warfare in 1917
title_full_unstemmed The Attack by German Submarine U 156 on Funchal within the Scope of Changing Naval Warfare in 1917
title_sort The Attack by German Submarine U 156 on Funchal within the Scope of Changing Naval Warfare in 1917
author Saecker, Mathias
author_facet Saecker, Mathias
author_role author
dc.contributor.author.fl_str_mv Saecker, Mathias
description The article analyses the U-boat attack on Funchal in December 1917 in the context of the German naval command’s strategy that basically consisted in defeating England by blocking its (transatlantic) supply chain through unrestricted submarine warfare. This concept failed, however, because since mid-1917 merchant ships used to sail in convoys, escorted by Allied warships. Hence German submarines encountered increasing difficulties in locating and sinking hostile tonnage. Under these circumstances, the captain of U 156 bombed Funchal once there were no ships to sink in the roadstead. Obviously, his decision was a compensatory action arising from social pressure to meet the high expectations of both superiors and subordinates and the German public.On Madeira, the presence of German submarines aggravated the economic crisis, which worsened the precarious living conditions of the population. The attack itself reveals that Portuguese armed forces could not guarantee the protection of Madeira after the withdrawal of the Royal Navy. There was no way to provide sufficient budgetary resources for the military defense of the archipelago. Keywords Unrestricted Submarine Warfare; War Aims; Cruiser Submarines; Convoy System; Military Defense of Madeira.
publishDate 2021
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2021-07-01
dc.type.status.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
dc.type.driver.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
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status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.uri.fl_str_mv https://ahm-abm.madeira.gov.pt/index.php/ahm/article/view/49
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dc.language.iso.fl_str_mv por
language por
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv https://ahm-abm.madeira.gov.pt/index.php/ahm/article/view/49
https://ahm-abm.madeira.gov.pt/index.php/ahm/article/view/49/58
dc.rights.driver.fl_str_mv Direitos de Autor (c) 2021 Arquivo Histórico da Madeira, Nova Série
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv Direitos de Autor (c) 2021 Arquivo Histórico da Madeira, Nova Série
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv DRABM – Direção Regional do Arquivo e Biblioteca da Madeira
publisher.none.fl_str_mv DRABM – Direção Regional do Arquivo e Biblioteca da Madeira
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv Arquivo Histórico da Madeira, Nova Série; No. 3 (2021); 383-420
Arquivo Histórico da Madeira, Nova Série; N.º 3 (2021); 383-420
2184-5743
reponame:Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
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instacron:RCAAP
instname_str Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informação
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institution RCAAP
reponame_str Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
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repository.name.fl_str_mv Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) - Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informação
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