German Kriegsmarine

The Kriegsmarine was created in 1935 as the naval branch of the German military. It replaced the older Imperial Navy from World War I. The force grew quickly as Germany prepared for war by building many new ships and submarines. At the start of the conflict, the navy focused on attacking trade ships that supplied Great Britain. The German U-boats, which were special submarines, were the most important part of their strategy. They traveled in groups to find and sink merchant ships in the Atlantic Ocean. This period was often called the Battle of the Atlantic. By 1943, the situation became harder for the German navy as the Allies improved their own ships and planes to hunt the submarines. Many sailors were lost as the tide of the war turned against Germany. By the end of the conflict in 1945, most of the German fleet had been destroyed or captured by the Allied nations. The organization was formally ended after Germany surrendered. Today, the modern German navy is a separate group that focuses on peace and defense.