Germany's Laughably Awful Attempt at Naval Special Forces

In the opening days of the Second World War at sea, the U-boats of the German Kriegsmarine reigned supreme. Attacking in deadly, coordinated wolf packs,these stealthy vessels cut swath through Allied shipping convoys in the north Atlantic, threatening to sever Britain’s vital lifeline to North America and starve the island nation into submission. But this “happy time” -as U-boat crews called it -was not to last, for by 1943 major developments in Allied naval technology and tactics -from radar and sonar to escort carriers and long-range patrol aircraft -had succeeded in turning the tide, putting the once-feared U-boat arm firmly on the back foot. Meanwhile, the German surface fleet -never large to begin with -remained largely bottled up in port, its commanders hesitant to commit their expensive capital ships to battle. With the Allies pushing into mainland Europe -first in Italy, then in France -theGerman Navy began to look increasingly irrelevant. In response to this changing strategic situation, the Kriegsmarinedecided to switch gears and think small, deploying a variety of bizarre miniature attack craft from human torpedoes and midget submarinesto frogmen and explosive, remote-control motorboats. While certainly creative, the combat performance of these weapons of desperation was less than impressive, and ultimately had little impact on the course of the war. This is the story of Nazi Germany’s hilariously awful Naval Special Forces. Author: Gilles Messier Host: Simon Whistler Producer: Caden Nielsen